There are lots of reasons why it is important to engage communities in preparedness efforts. One of it being that it keeps members of the community aware of the potential emergency situation that could arise in their environment. This will keep them on their toe, and knowing the responsibilities as members of the community will make the implementation of the mitigation measures easy and more efficient.
Risk from natural hazards exists in every community and nation. It could mean the difference between life and death for individuals and households to engage in preparedness activities of varying quality and quantity.
One of the most important factors in saving lives during disasters is community preparation for natural hazards
Take for instance, Australia was hit by more than 310 natural disasters between 1967 and 2013, costing the country more than $171 billion. Bushfires, floods, cyclones, and storms accounted for 93% of all disasters and 96% of all losses in Australia. Natural hazard disasters were on the rise, with the current cost to the Australian economy exceeding $38 billion per year and projected cumulative costs of over $1.2 trillion over the next 40 years under a low emissions scenario.
The Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience and Safer Communities has called for increased investment in disaster resilience strategies, particularly community preparedness.
In flood preparation, it has been demonstrated that this kind of investment has measurable effects at the community level and preparing infrastructure for various hazards.
Self-reliance, risk awareness, and capacity building are necessary for approaches that build on collaborative community-based disaster preparedness.
Why Is It Important To Engage Communities In Preparedness Efforts?
Lets see some very vital reasons;
1. Understanding of the risk
When organizations take the time to engage with their communities, they gain a better understanding of the community’s needs and assets. This leads to increased preparedness and resilience. Plans and actions for preparedness that are more effective and efficient are developed as a result of this understanding.
2. Help Build Trust
Community engagement also builds trust between the organization and the community which is necessary for efficient emergency coordination and communication.
3. Encourages Participation and Support from the Community
Participation and support from community members that are engaged. Communities that are engaged are also more likely to support and participate in recovery and response efforts. Community members are more likely to trust the organization and work together to rebuild after an emergency when they feel included in the process.
4. Foster Perseverance among Community members
People are more likely to persevere in the face of adversity when they are involved in preparedness activities and feel like they have a stake in the process. Community engagement increases resilience. That is an effective strategy for fostering social cohesion among community members necessary for rebuilding after a disaster.
5. Improve Preparedness and Resilience
Community involvement is crucial to both individual and organizational preparedness. Engaging communities in preparedness initiatives has numerous advantages, including improved preparedness and resilience. It also increases participation in preparedness activities and enhances emergency communication and coordination. In this, every industry has a role to play. The media, the private sector, NGOs, and local governments must all participate in preparedness efforts.
6. Reduces Impact
Being prepared is crucial for individuals, families, communities, and businesses. By preparing for an emergency, individuals and families can lessen the impact that an emergency will have on their lives by being ready to respond to and recover from an emergency.
7. Volunteerism:
Engaged communities are more likely to have a pool of volunteers ready to assist in emergency response and recovery efforts which is good for emergency response.
8. Capacity Building:
Preparedness efforts empower individuals and communities by building their capacity to cope with and recover from disasters anytime they happen.
9. Long-Term Sustainability:
Community engagement promotes a culture of preparedness that is sustainable in the long term, ensuring ongoing resilience to future challenges.
10. Resource Mobilization:
Engaging with communities allows for the identification and mobilization of local resources, enhancing the overall capacity to cope with disasters.
11. Crisis Communication:
Building relationships within communities facilitates effective communication during emergencies, ensuring accurate and timely information dissemination.
In terms of preparedness, individuals, families, businesses and communities all play a part. Understanding the risks and hazards that could affect your community is the first step toward being prepared. You can take measures to safeguard yourself, your family, your business, and your community once you are aware of the dangers and risks.
READ: 10 Benefits Of Environmental Education
Emergency preparedness Actions:
- Create an emergency kit
- Create a communication plan for your family
- Stay informed about the risks and hazards that can affect your community
- Protect your property
- Prepare your finances
- Receive training in first aid and CPR.
Keep in mind that being prepared is a shared responsibility. Preparation is the responsibility of every individual. Community preparedness as a whole is everyone’s responsibility. It requires everyone, not just the government, to participate in preparedness efforts. Everyone can contribute to the nation’s resilience in the face of threats like natural disasters, terrorist acts, and pandemics by cooperating with one another.
The Whole Community comprises all levels of government including state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal partners; individuals and families including those with access and functional needs; businesses; faith-based and community organizations; nonprofit groups; schools and academia; media outlets. The phrase “whole community” appears a lot in preparedness materials because it is one of the guiding principles. It has two implications:
- Involving people in the creation of documents regarding national preparedness.
- Ensuring that the content of the materials reflects their roles and responsibilities.
Other Emergency Preparedness Actions Includes;
- Communities should be involved in disaster planning, mitigation, and recovery, as well as acting as first responders. They should be able to prepare for disasters, anticipate problems before they occur, and effectively respond to natural hazards thanks to their knowledge and expertise.
- Communities should also play a role in educating individuals about risks and ways to reduce them. Residents should be better equipped to take precautions, adhere to guidelines, and adopt practices that will assist them in avoiding or minimizing threats when they learn about risks.
- Relationships should be built between communities and elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels. Local leaders must establish efficient channels of communication with elected officials at these levels. In order to identify and reduce risks associated with environmental conditions like flooding, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, and chemical spills, local governments collaborate closely with cities, counties, and states.
- People who live near hazardous sites, waterways, and fault zones should be concerned about the risk posed by these situations. Communities make decisions about where to focus their attention. Data-driven decision-making methods should be used by community leaders to figure out which risks call for action and how to best allocate limited resources for prevention and mitigation.
- Communities should encourage sector-to-sector collaboration. Effective coordination between communities and federal, state, and nongovernmental organizations aids in preventing effort duplication, lowering response and recovery costs, and improving outcomes.
- Communities must gain confidence in their responses’ efficacy. Members of communities frequently believe that they cannot adequately protect themselves from hazards. As a result, leaders must demonstrate to the public how their actions and plans can increase resilience and disaster preparedness.
Methods utilized to engage communities for preparedness? (Data)
According to the findings, there is no one approach that dominate practice. Instead, practitioners adhered to a variety of development, community engagement, and/or consultation frameworks. The International Association for Public Participation framework (IAP2) has been mentioned most frequently as an approved strategy for community engagement.
However, a number of additional engagement frameworks that captured how community engagement is carried out emerged across all participants. In the data, community development and more participatory approaches like codesign and community-based emergency management emerged as a strong theme.
In some instances, it was discovered that an agency’s command-and-control strategy was utilized which reflected the diverse circumstances that emergency managers face.
The attempt to move toward more shared-responsibility community approaches was criticized by a number of participants for its cultural and structural difficulties.
However, despite the absence of a dominant approach to community engagement, the common themes of community development, IAP2, codesign, and command-and-control appear embedded across practitioner approaches, with varying justifications for approaches. The absence of a consistent strategy is significant because it suggests that practitioners must improvise instead of following a clear model of community engagement.
In conclusion, the topic “Why Is It Important To Engage Communities In Preparedness Efforts” is a very pertinent question. Understanding the importance and going by it can safe a whole lot during communal emergency crisis.
Note: You need a collaborative effort to stay afloat during crisis.
Related Posts
6 Reasons For Leave Of Absence From Work
What Is A Physical Hazard; Everything You Should Know
How to Understand OSH (Occupational Safety & Health)
