HLSC 600 Discussion 3 Response 1
Hello Phelan,
I enjoyed reading your post and thought you made excellent points. When it comes to
preparedness, there are certainly actions that can be taken by communities, organizations, and
individuals to improve their response capabilities. An important piece of the preparedness
process is to first understand the threats and risks possible for your geographic location.
Community leaders and emergency planners must help educate a skeptical public as to the actual
risks and benefit to being prepared. Local governments directors and budget-strapped leaders
could actually be impediments to the process as well if they cannot be swayed to invest funds in
preparation activities (Phillips et al., 2016).
A great example is for individuals living on the Gulf Coast. They should be familiar with
the threat hurricanes pose and take necessary precautions in advance of a storm. Communities
can hold workshops and provide checklists of items needed during a storm as well as actions to
take. As you mentioned, having a first aid kit is important and that applies to anywhere a person
may live. Organizations can invest in backup generators and invest in structure improvements to
weather a major storm or disaster event.
Communities can create storm shelters and install backup generators to essential
infrastructure but having a preparedness plan in place prior to a disaster event increases the
overall success. Stage and local governments should understand the threats and be proactive in
their activities that aim to protect its citizens. "We have a moral obligation to reduce the impact
of such disasters, especially as those impacts become more devastating with the influence of
climate change, urbanization, environmental degradation, system complexity, and globalization"
Etkin, 2014, p. 329). The goal is to reduce risk and improve resiliency.
The Bible speaks plentifully about preparing for hard times and protecting those in need.
To me, there is no clearer message than: “Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all
thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them” (King James Bible,
1769/2017, Ezekiel 28:7). This can apply to individuals as well as communities as we support
one another during disasters and part of that comes in the preparation process.
References
Etkin, D. (2014). Disaster theory: an interdisciplinary approach to concepts and causes.
Butterworth-Heinemann.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-800227-8.00011-9
Phillips, B. D., Neal, D. M., & Webb, G. R. (2016). Introduction to Emergency Management
(2nd Edition). Taylor & Francis. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781315394688
