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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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April
2005
Volume 8 - Number 3 |
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FEMA’s “ARE YOU READY” guide to citizen preparedness. By Nick Lawyer In August of 2004, FEMA revised it’s Citizen’s Disaster Preparedness Guide. The new version, described as a summary of hazard awareness and emergency education, is 204 pages long and covers 5 basic sections: “Basic Preparedness” outlines preparation strategies for any hazard. The material encourages the citizen to seek out their local government for information about location specific risks. The citizen is encouraged to create a family disaster plan that will incorporate how to prepare the family for a disaster, what to do during an evacuation or a shelter-in-place order and how to coordinate with each other. Training in CPR and First Aid is encouraged, though no information about how to find such classes is provided. “Natural Hazards” provides specific information about a spectrum of natural hazard risks. There is information about how to understand specific forecasts and warnings and some specific preparatory steps to take. Simple changes in the home environment (such as elevating the water heater in homes at risk for floods) to help both immediate response and long term recovery are discussed. Hazards range from floods to heat waves. “Technological Hazards” such as a Hazardous Material Exposure or a Nuclear Core Release are discussed. The reader is primarily referred to the media for disaster specific information. Several references to the 10-mile and 50-mile zones surrounding Nuclear Plants are made without a full explanation of their differences. “Terrorism” touches on the need to rely on Police and Fire Department directions in the event an attack. There is some information about how to protect oneself in the event of a specific threat, but most sections only refer the reader to agencies like the Red Cross for specific recovery information. There is also a brief highlight of the DHS Advisory System. “Recovery” informs the citizen of what troubles they should expect during the recovery phase of a given disaster. This section stresses that recovery is not a quick process and that both physical and mental health are at risk. A good portion of this section is focused on children and how to help them cope with a disaster. There is a brief summary on what disaster assistance is and about who does it, but nothing on how it works or the expectations that a citizen should have. As a whole this document serves it’s purpose. Yet, it is a bit schizophrenic, at times the breadth is sufficient for an all encompassing text, and at others barely sufficient for a one-page pamphlet. Generally the guide provides a compilation of resources that will serve the inquisitive citizen, but as often the reader is referred to the local government for further information. If local governments are not prepared for this reference, many citizens will be left with no source for risk specific information. The scale of the guide might be intimidating to the general public, and as a document over 200 pages it is not cheap to produce or distribute. Yet, it may still prove successful if FEMA makes the effort to refer the public to this resource, and encourages constant revision of the guide as new legislation is enacted and information becomes available. You can find the guide at www.fema.gov/areyouready |