Personal Preparedness

Modern emergency management is based on an all-hazards, comprehensive approach. This is characterized by efforts to make communities increasingly disaster resistant and resilient against all hazards, whether natural or human-made, using a systemic perspective incorporating the mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of emergency management. While many tend to focus solely on the roles of government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in this process, professional emergency managers continually stress the importance of having an engaged citizenry, if emergency management is to be successful.

Within this context, high levels of personal preparedness are vital to making a community disaster resistant and resilient. Personal preparedness efforts, regardless of how basic, may provide the resources to support the survival of individuals or families in the immediate aftermath of a disaster ...