Overview
This lesson explores disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. Students will be introduced to the basics of each of these topics, and they will learn how to prepare an institutional disaster plan. Brief discussions of the challenges of planning for local and regional disasters are incorporated into each section, and the importance of interacting with emergency responders before a disaster hits is emphasized.
The lesson is divided into six parts:
Part I: Introduction. This section reviews major disasters and how disaster planning efforts have changed as a result of the lessons learned from them. Students are introduced to the kinds of damage to cultural resources that various types of disasters can cause.
Part II: Prevention. In this section, students learn how to conduct a risk assessment and explore strategies for reducing risks and preventing/mitigating damage to collections.
Part III: Preparedness. In this section, students consider actions that should be taken prior to a disaster to ensure a quick and effective response.
Part IV: Response. In this section, students become familiar with the basic steps in initial response, assessment of damage, and salvage of collections and other essential records.
Part V: Recovery. In this section, students review the activities that may be needed to rehabilitate collections after they have been salvaged. Funding and planning issues are discussed.
Part VI: Writing a Disaster Plan. This section covers key elements of a disaster plan and provide guidance for preparing a plan. Students will be made aware of the importance of staff training and of updating and testing the plan.