Disaster preparedness refers to measures
taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of disasters.
That is, to predict and, where possible, prevent disasters,
mitigate their impact on vulnerable populations, and respond
to and effectively cope with their consequences.
Disaster preparedness provides a platform
to design effective, realistic and coordinated planning,
reduces duplication of efforts and increase the overall
effectiveness of National Societies, household and community
members disaster preparedness and response efforts. Disaster
preparedness activities embedded with risk reduction measures
can prevent disaster situations and also result in saving
maximum lives and livelihoods during any disaster situation,
enabling the affected population to get back to normalcy
within a short time period.
Disaster preparedness is a continuous
and integrated process resulting from a wide range of risk
reduction activities and resources rather than from a distinct
sectoral activity by itself. It requires the contributions
of many different areas—ranging from training and
logistics, to health care, recovery, livelihood to institutional
development.
