EMERGENCY ACTION PLANNING > Blog > Planning > Disaster Planning for Beginners
Disaster Planning for Beginners
Disaster planning for beginners is somewhat of an oxymoron. This is because while in theory the concepts behind emergency preparedness and disaster planning might be quite simple. It’s not rocket science.
However executing effective strategies are not very straight forward and can be extremely difficult. This can even be tough for those who are quite experienced in the world of Disaster Management Planning. With this in mind, this article will attempt to explain the concept of Disaster Planning for beginners and will outline some basic strategies which can help an individual or family to launch their own Emergency Action Plan.
We will cover concepts such as identifying hazards, the rule of threes, achieving buy in, orchestrating a plan of action and optimizing your plan for when it is needed. The words Disaster and Emergency will be used as interchangeable terms throughout the article.
The most basic step for starting an Emergency Action Plan is to have an outline of what you want to accomplish, and to document your actions.
If you don’t have a map or plan of action you will run in circles, go the wrong way down one-way streets, waste time and money for nothing and eventually quit because you are frustrated and pissed off.
Or you will continue, just to say you did it. And you will have a poorly designed Emergency Action Plan that will not accomplish what you want.
If you do not have experience in Disaster Management Planning, the best place to start is FEMA.
In the retail sector you will find a number of books and publications that will pretend to train you on Disaster Management Planning for a price. However, they will only tell you what to do, just as the freely available FEMA materials will.
Once you complete this article go to My New Year Wish For You post.
There you will find the information needed to secure a digital and a physical copy of; Are You Ready? An in-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness handbook produced by FEMA. Next go to your local office supply store and get a 2” three ring binder and a ream of wide ruled paper.
Now I know some of you are saying to yourself, why can’t I just hire you Daniel to do this for me?
I’ll tell you why. Hiring a Disaster Management Planner (really not sure if there is such a position) is worthless because he or she cannot be there when the plan is activated to hold your hand and show you what to do. The plan may pass the smell test because it has the necessary components, but it will not be functional and suitable to fill your needs at a moment’s notice. That is why you, the person this plan is for, must be the person developing the plan.
Identifying your hazards: One of the top two pieces of information to start with. I am aware that most of you already know what the major hazards in your community are. Keep in mind that one hazard will often spawn another and not all hazards are interrelated. Go to Uncle Google and type in the name of your county followed by the term Office of Emergency Management. Contact information should be presented. Note this information in your work book for future reference.
Call the number, tell the operator who you are and that you are developing an Emergency Action Plan, and you would like a copy of the County THIRA (threat and hazard identification and risk assessment). Every county should have one, it’s mandatory for federal funding. In it you will find the hazards and risks the County Planners consider relevant to your community. If your County does not have an Office of Emergency Management (OEM), contact the local Fire Department for information. Yes, not every county will have an OEM.
The rule of threes:
Three seconds of panic and indecision
Three minutes without air
Three hours without shelter
Three days without water
Three weeks without food
Three months without companionship
These are the absolute basic tenets for surviving an emergency or disaster. Yes, there are other considerations such as transportation, communications and medical needs. You will identify them as you develop your plan of action.
Achieving buy in: I do really hate to say this, but sometime banging your head against a brick wall is so much more satisfying.
Let’s be realistic. How long has it taken you to decided you cannot wait any longer to create a plan? It is kind of important, that the people who your Emergency Action Plan is for have some relation to developing the plan. These people are the why. If you do not gain full 100% buy in. Continue with the development of your plan. When the SHTF you will be the HERO.
Every adventure needs a Hero, it might as well be you.
Orchestrating a plan of action: When developing a plan of action, document actions to be taken. Individuals who may be interested in your plan after the fact will need something to reference. Do not pretend to think you will remember everything. You will not. Care should be taken to keep a detailed outline of the specific action plans you are developing. We will cover the documentation needs in a following post. Plans of action are identified in, Are You Ready? An in-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness handbook.
Optimizing your plan for when it is needed: No amount of reading, watching, listening, discussing or idealizing will equal actually knowing what you are doing. Plan optimization comes from practicing your plan. If you do not practice your plans, you will not know if your plan will actually will work. WISHFUL THINKING IS A FAIL!!!
If you have made it this far, I applaud you. By chapter two most people have gone off to distract themselves with kitten videos or some other form of let’s not think about what might happen when the disaster comes activity.
You are obviously several notches above the rest.
Let’s get started. I’ve got your back.
Go to the “My New Year Wish For You” post.
There you will find the information needed to secure a digital and a physical copy of; Are You Ready? An in-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness handbook, produced by FEMA. Next go to your local office supply store and get a 2” three ring binder and a ream of wide ruled paper.
It’s a new year. What are you going to do with it?
Till next time
“Be Safe”