While earning an undergraduate degree that is related to emergency management, a student should learn to assess damage that has been caused by natural disasters, establish medical facilities in the affected area, calculate the costs of damages, search for individuals who may be injured and request the help of volunteers. Furthermore, the pupil can prepare to manage the distribution of supplies during an emergency, and the student may study strategies that allow organizations to rapidly provide information to citizens.
Resource: 20 Top Emergency Management Bachelor’s Degree Programs under $23,000 Average Net 2014
Clearing or Creating Roads
According to various analyses, more than 20 percent of natural disasters cause at least two roads to become impassable. Pupils can master techniques that will help them to clear routes that contain debris, and during an emergency, experts may use tractors, bulldozers and sizable trucks that can move damaged vehicles. In remote areas, organizations will also be able to establish dirt roads that are parallel to routes that have been affected by excessive debris.
If a route has been partially damaged, responders can add signs that indicate the maximum weight that the street can handle. When a flood has affected a road, experts should analyze the nearby soil to determine the impact of erosion and determine whether or not the road may collapse.
Preventing Additional Damage
The student will read materials that teach responders to seal off certain areas, establish flood barriers, evacuate buildings that may be unstable and prevent embers from reigniting a fire. Pupils commonly learn how to establish a team of security guards who can stop looting and rioting. Some experts may also teach students to create effective checkpoints in a disaster area.
Taking Notes Effectively
When handling an emergency situation, an expert should create a wide array of notes that describe potential problems that the disaster caused, and the notes can also evaluate an organization’s goals, such as bringing food to displaced residents, providing shelter for victims and ensuring that water is not contaminated. Moreover, the student should learn how to determine the roles of various agencies, and pupils regularly prepare to create detailed reports that can be sent to responders.
Establishing Medical Facilities in Remote Areas
If a natural disaster occurs in a rural region, an organization will typically create mobile hospitals that provide first aid, blood transfusions, gauze and transportation to well-equipped facilities that are in safe areas. An expert can request various types of medications that treat infections, and some of these include amoxicillin and nafcillin. A medical facility may also offer fresh water to victims who have experienced an emergency that could temporarily contaminate tap water.
Providing Information for Citizens
When an emergency situation occurs, experts should offer brochures or flyers that contain instructions for local residents. These pamphlets can indicate the date on which citizens may return to their houses, descriptions of remaining risks, the locations of medical facilities and a list of other areas that the emergency has affected. Additionally, the brochures should contain the phone numbers of agencies that are handling the situation, and the organizations can offer the URL of a webpage that will provide frequent updates about the emergency.
Experts commonly teach strategies that help neighborhoods to recover from the effects of an emergency situation, and pupils may learn to repair damaged residences, reestablish secure lines of communication, distribute food to residents and create temporary housing. Some pupils also study materials that help affected residents to calculate the overall costs of damage and to make insurance claims.
Additional Resource: Top 10 Best Online Emergency Management Degree Programs