By Chad Nickelson
In light of the hurricanes that have afflicted Florida and many parts off the Southern states of the U.S. in recent months — and devastating natural disasters seemingly every year — groups like IDM want to raise awareness of preparing for emergencies so people can avoid losing their homes and livelihoods.
A panel of experts from the Institute for Disaster Management, which provides expert disaster services and education for future leaders and local organizations at the University of Georgia, gathered on Thursday, Oct. 24, for the 13th annual State of the Public’s Health Conference to discuss the importance of emergency planning.
During the panel’s session, which was convened at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education the experts emphasized that making an emergency evacuation plan, performing exercises to improve that plan, and thinking ahead for future incidences are just a few topics that are important for any organization.
Members of the panel highlight that having a plan is critical, but it is also essential to know how to put a plan into practice. Any strategy often has gaps. To be prepared, exercises should be performed so that improvement can be made. An emergency plan is a group effort that requires all members to understand it and execute it appropriately.
“It is useless for one individual to write an emergency plan for an organization,” said Dr. James P. O’Neal, a clinical professor in IDM, regarding how important it is for a plan to be made, reviewed, and executed by the whole team, not a single person. “It gets put on the shelf — nobody knows what’s in it, and when the time comes to respond, you can’t do it. A plan should be written by a team, and that team should consist of every type of entity in that organization.”
According to O’Neal, making the residents of Georgia more aware of how to prepare for emergencies and exercise these plans will benefit the state significantly. Having a team create plans will allow for more collaboration. Being proactive Rather Than reactive is important because, especially in the Southern area, it is crucial to understand your geographical region and be aware that a storm can come at any time.
Curt Harris, an associate professor and director of IDM, said that too often, residents don’t think far ahead enough when it comes to emergencies.
“The only way we can truly be prepared and really have resilience in our community is that we are proactive, that we are looking ahead, that we don’t look at our communities as people who have the same plans and the same amount of resources,” Harris said. “That’s simply not the case.”
