While local, state, and federal government emergency management agencies regularly respond to public health emergencies, citizens play a major role in enabling a successful response that saves lives. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has compiled a list of informative resources on how individuals can recover following an emergency.

For many situations, including the aftermath of hurricanes, tornadoes or winter storms, FEMA sets out these guidelines:

Aiding the Injured During an Emergency

• Check for injuries. Do not attempt to move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger of death or further injury. If you must move an unconscious person, first stabilize the neck and back, then call for help immediately.
• If the victim is not breathing, carefully position the victim for artificial respiration, clear the airway, and commence mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
• Maintain body temperature with blankets — but be sure the victim does not become overheated.
• Never try to feed liquids to an unconscious person.
  

Maintaining Health During an Emergency

• Be aware of exhaustion. Don’t try to do too much at once. Set priorities and pace yourself. Get enough rest.
• Drink plenty of clean water. Eat well.
• Wear sturdy work boots and gloves.
• Wash your hands with soap and clean water or sanitizer often when working in debris.
  

Preserving Safety During an Emergency

• Be aware of new safety issues created by the disaster. Watch for washed out roads, contaminated water, contaminated buildings, gas leaks, broken glass, damaged electrical wiring, and slippery floors.
• Inform local authorities about health and safety issues, including chemical spills, downed power lines, washed out roads, smoldering insulation and dead or injured animals.

In addition, FEMA has detailed recommendations for responding to the following emergencies:

• Dam Failure
• Earthquake
• Fire
• Flood
• Hazardous Material Incident
• Landslide
• Thunderstorm
• Tsunami
• Wildfire

FEMA emergency guidelines can also help you:

• Find your family
• Get food and water
• Find a place to stay
• Apply for assistance
• Cope with disaster
• Return home safely
• Understand emergency response action steps

To help individuals and families better prepare for a severe public health emergency, the American Red Cross has partnered with Rx Response to provide a comprehensive library of planning documents.  The Red Cross site Prepare.org contains documents to help you plan for:

• Earthquakes
• Fire
• Flood or Flash Flood
• Heat Wave
• Hurricane
• Thunderstorm
• Tornado
• Landslide and Debris Flow
• Tsunami
• Volcanoes
• Wildfire
• Winter Storm

All files in Adobe Acrobat format. Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the FDA is offering information on the use of drugs that have been potentially affected by fire, flooding or unsafe water and the use of temperature-sensitive drug products when refrigeration is temporarily unavailable.