Core Principles of Disaster Preparedness

Emergencies and disasters have long lasting and profound effects on people’s lives. Not only can these events injure people and cause death and ruin homes, they also disrupt people’s wellbeing, employment and education; break down community networks; damage or destroy landscapes, places and buildings that have meaning; and challenge people’s sense of safety. These impacts can last indefinitely in severe disasters.

Australian Red Cross provides psychosocial support before, during and after emergencies and disasters. Traditionally, the key focus for Red Cross was on people being informed about hazard risk, making a household plan to guide actions in response to this risk and creating an emergency kit. That is, the approach was largely about surviving the hazard with little attention to reducing post-disaster effects.

In 2010, Australian Red Cross introduced the psychological preparedness technique to its preparedness program. This was based on extensive new research showing that the post-disaster psychosocial outcomes can often be more damaging and take longer for recovery, both at personal level as well as across a community, than physical after-effects. The new model is based on 5 pillars of preparedness aimed at strengthening people’s psychosocial wellbeing so that they feel safe, calm, connected to others, able to help themselves, can see a positive pathway to recovery and have access to the services and support they need. Australian Red Cross now works at a community level to encourage communities to take preparedness actions to improve their collective resilience to disruptive events.

At the core of this approach is the concept of social capital, that is, the network of relationships that exist between people and communities which allow them to function collectively, share norms and exchange information quickly and efficiently in times of threat. Social capital has a strong positive correlation with resilience, disaster outcomes and disaster recovery. Communities with deeper reserves of social capital have greater trust, believe in their ability to adapt and change, have a stronger sense of belonging and are likely to take collective action for the benefit of all. As such, developing and strengthening the social capital of individuals, communities and organisations is a significant part of the Australian Red Cross disaster preparedness approach, recognising that social capital can be created and sustained through deliberate action.

In practice, the Red Cross approach to psychosocial preparedness includes all the following elements:

• Households and businesses having plans in place, including rehearsing, for responding quickly in an emergency or disaster including plans to start on recovery as soon as possible once the immediate threat is over. For example, using the Red Cross RediPlan Guide for Households or the NSW Small Business Recovery Toolkit for your organisation or business.
• Establishing strong local networks such as Community-led Resilience Teams (CRTs) which are led by residents in collaboration with emergency services agencies to ensure accurate and timely information and responding in emergencies, as well as lead recovery afterwards.
• Building psychological preparedness for the immediate, short-term and long-term emotional and social effects of disasters. This includes helping people understand their own psychological responses to uncertainty and stress (e.g. coping with fear); building capacity individually and collectively to manage themselves and others safely in a rapidly unfolding crisis; being able to sustain coping skills during an extended period of uncertainty or stress; and managing loss, grief and discomfort especially during the recovery phase.

Predictions are that natural disasters are likely to increase in severity in the next few decades, leading to more individuals affected by the impacts of natural disasters, physically as well as psychologically. In addition, social stress is already having severe impacts on vulnerable communities, with food security, community violence, and homelessness on the rise. Communities that are recognising these threats and integrating psychological preparedness into their disaster preparedness procedures can strengthen disaster management practices overall and build their resilience.

For more information about the local Red Cross Emergency Services & Community Engagement Team call 50506 or email redcrossnorfolkisland@gmail.com