As an umbrella body ERT SAR works in many disasters and emergencies and recommends developing Preparedness and Resilience in communities. By being better prepared in our communities we take some of the weight of our emergency services - but not having to drain any resources we could have planned for and allowing them to get on with emergencies.
It may be as simple as making small changes to better prepare for unexpected incidents and planning contingencies before they occur. For example, when there is a power cut many people do not have plans for their computers or mobile phones or landline cordless phones or torches at hand - etc.,
Every member of ERT has to complete several 'Emergency Planning and Disaster Management' modules prior to full operational status.
ERT do presentations in schools, community groups, churches, businesses etc., to teach members of our communities what to do in an emergency or major incident and how we may be better prepared.
Typically, any large scale incident which may affect a drain on the Emergency Services can be planned and trained for in an effort to help better prepare communities to help each other. This is NOT to put anyone at risk but to help offer suggestions to help build resilience at a community level - such as not driving cars on empty (having a quarter or half a tank a refuelling) or some water bottles or tinned food store cupboard for emergencies.
The emergencies include:
- Severe Weather i.e., Heatwave, Extreme Cold,
- Storms
- Mass Drought
- Flooding
- Natural Disasters (i.e., earthquakes)
- Power Cuts
- Collisions involving people (ships, boats, coaches, etc)
- Train Derailments
- Air Crashes
- Massive Transport Disruption
- Structural fire & Explosions
- Building structural collapse
- The result of Terrorism
- Biological Threats (e.g., Avian Flu)
- Any major emergency that requires large scale coordination
USEFUL WEBSITE LINKS
UNITED KINGDOM
"Integrated emergency management (IEM) comprises six related activities: anticipation, assessment, prevention, preparation, response and recovery. This section of UK Resilience contains information about the first four of those activities. These can be described as the pre-emergency elements of IEM."
Source: The Resilience Website:
Preparing for Emergencies - UK Government
Civil Continegncies Act 2004 - Info (UK Govt)
CANADA
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness - Canada
Canadian Emergency Management Survival Kit
Basic Rescue Skills - From Keeping Canadians Safe
UNITED STATES
Federal Emergency Management Agency - USA Government
UNITED NATIONS
United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC)