Emergency Preparedness: Disasters and Emergencies

The terms disasters and emergencies are often used interchangeably. For the purposes of this month’s topic, however, we will define them separately.

Disasters can be natural disasters such as earthquakes, extreme heat, floods, hurricanes, landslides, thunderstorms, tornadoes, wild land fires, wind, and winter storms including blizzards, ice storms, and severe cold. Other external disasters include accidents, fires, explosions, pandemics, riots, and terrorist attacks. Internal disasters include bomb threats, explosions, fires, hazardous spills, strikes, and workplace violence.

These disasters can cause emergencies for us because they affect how we operate our business. Many of the above disasters could cause one or more of the following emergencies: loss of electricity, gas, water, phone, computer access, Internet access, shortage of staff, late or no deliveries, and even loss of kitchen or serving areas. Disasters can also create evacuations, either of our residents to another location or another facility’s residents evacuating into our facility.

This month we will discuss items to consider in how to plan for these potential emergencies.

Are there additional disasters or emergencies that you face?