With all of the media focused on the response to Haiti, it might be wise for many of us to review the wisdom that comes from years of disaster response.
First of all some definitions. A disaster is any experience which you have that overwhelms your ability to respond. It can involve only you or a whole nation. The responsibility to respond to disasters begins with you being equipped, prepared and empowered to do good self care. When you are unable to care for yourself, then others, often also in the midst of the disaster must provide care for you. The highest priority when you are not in the disaster should be to answer the question, “Am I ready for the next one?”
Disasters are chaos. If they weren’t chaos, they would be called interruptions or inconveniences. Chaos is chaotic and that’s why disaster response always loosk and feels so messy. That’s why information is always incomplete or late. How do you survive in the chaos? The mantra becomes, “Safe, secure, sanitary.” Are you safe where you are? Can you continue to be safe there as well as secure? Do you have what you need to self shelter until things get better? How will you know when things get better? How will you communicate your own condition and determine the extent of the disaster? These are small things when every thing is okay but they become huge when the phones don’t work, the electric is off, and the cell phones are jamed.
