Chapter 1_Teaching Emergency Management Competence

Recently, as a result of the experience gathered in the last decades, emergency management has been structured in three phases and five stages:

Pre-phase

1. Prevention/preparedness: developing a response plan based upon risk assessment, training of first responders, arrangement of necessary resources, arrangements with other jurisdictions for sharing resources, clarification of jurisdictional responsibilities.

2. Protection

Acute phase

1. Mitigation: assessing the risk posed by a hazard or potential disaster and attempting to reduce the risk.

2. Response: implementing the plan, reducing the potential for secondary damage, and preparing for the recovery phase.

Post-phase

1. Recovery: securing basic needs (electricity, temporary housing, food, and clothing). Recovery is assumed to stop right before reconstruction.