Disaster Preparedness

       The main idea of disaster preparedness is to enhance life safety when a disaster; chemical/biological, natural disaster, or mass casualty occur.  When we prepare for disaster we improve our response activities as well as our coping capabilities.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines preparedness as “the leadership, training, readiness and exercise support, and technical and financial assistance to strengthen citizens, communities, state, local, and tribal governments, and professional emergency workers as they prepare for disasters, mitigate the effects of disasters, respond to community needs after a disaster, and launch effective recovery efforts” (2012).  FEMA has instituted the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as the "comprehensive, nationwide, systematic approach to Incident Management" (2012) so that all entities are following the same rules, the same set-up of incident command, the same avenues for requesting help from the government, and the same process of recovery efforts across the nation.

Preparedness. (2012, October 19). Retrieved December 4, 2012, from Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov/preparedness/