Disaster preparedness
Disaster Preparedness
Disaster Preparedness (pronunciation: /dɪˈzɑːstər prɪˈpɛrɪdnɪs/) refers to the measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of disasters. The term is derived from the combination of the words "disaster", from the Middle French désastre and "preparedness", from the Old French preparatif.
Definition
Disaster Preparedness encompasses forecasting and taking precautionary measures prior to an imminent threat when advance warnings are possible. This involves both ongoing preparedness measures and specific actions taken when a disaster is imminent or has just occurred. Preparedness measures can take many forms ranging from focusing on disaster risk reduction to the development and rehearsal of emergency evacuation plans.
Importance
The importance of Disaster Preparedness is to minimize the impact of disasters on vulnerable populations, to facilitate timely and effective rescue, relief and rehabilitation in the wake of a disaster and to ensure the continuity of critical services such as health care, education, and food supply during and after a disaster.
Related Terms
- Disaster Management: The organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters.
- Emergency Preparedness: The discipline of dealing with and avoiding both natural and manmade disasters. It involves mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters.
- Disaster Recovery: The process, policies and procedures related to preparing for recovery or continuation of technology infrastructure critical to an organization after a natural or human-induced disaster.
- Disaster Risk Reduction: The concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyze and manage the causal factors of disasters.
- Emergency Evacuation: The immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard.
See Also
- Disaster Medicine
- Public Health Emergency Preparedness
- Crisis Management
- Business Continuity Planning
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Disaster preparedness
- Wikipedia's article - Disaster preparedness
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