FAQ
About Hazards
What are the hazards in my community?
See the Hazard pages under "Topics" for general information about more than 15 different types of hazards.
Why are there more disasters in my community?
Several factors influence the frequency of disaster events. One factor is the changing pattern of meteorological hazards, where storm, flood, and drought events are becoming more frequent and/or more intense in many areas of the world. Another factor is the increasing level of exposure as more development takes place in risk-prone areas around the world. This can be challenging to local communities which need to be familiar with past patterns of disaster events as well as future risks, which may be influenced by climate change, urbanization, and other factors. Information about these factors is available throughout the PrepareCenter site.
Learning & Training on Disaster Preparedness
Where can I find more training and learning opportunities?
Search on the PrepareCenter for training. UN-ISDR’s PreventionWeb also provides an excellent summary of training opportunities in different parts of the world.
Can I take a class?
The GDPC itself does not offer training classes, but there are a variety of training and learning resources referenced on the site. Just search for “training” and the topic or country that you are interested in.
UN-ISDR’s PreventionWeb also provides an excellent summary of training opportunities in different parts of the world.
In addition, many Red Cross Red Crescent national societies offer training courses in local communities. You can contact the Red Cross Red Crescent national society in your country to learn more. There is a listing of contact information for each national society available here.
When is the next practitioner’s workshop?
The GDPC does hold workshops periodically on topics relevant to disaster preparedness and resilience. These workshops are described in the Activities section of the site and in the GDPC newsletter. If you are interested in participating in a workshop on a particular topic, please contact us or make a request for a workshop in the Requests section of the site.
Where can I find resources in my local language(s)?
PrepareCenter.org includes a wide range of resource in different languages. Use the Search box on the site to look for resources in your language.
Who can I contact with my question?
Specific Topic pages on PrepareCenter.org include contact information and links for others interested in that Topic. By registering as a contributor of the site, you can contact those other contributors to ask them specific questions. In addition you can post questions or feedback in the Comments section of any of the Topic, Hazard, Country, Resource, or example pages.
How to take action?
How can I get involved in my community?
There are a variety of ways that you can get involved in disaster preparedness activities in your country. For a list of organizations active on disaster preparedness in different countries see the Partners section of the Country pages on this site.
You can also contact the Red Cross Red Crescent national society in your country as a potential starting point. There is a listing of contact information for each national society available here.
PrepareCenter.org also outlines a variety of steps that you can take in different roles to promote disaster preparedness and resilience in your community. See the How do I PREPARE? section of any of the Topic or Hazard pages on the site for more details.
How can I help?
There are a variety of ways that you can get involved in disaster preparedness activities in your country. For a list of organizations active on disaster preparedness in different countries see the Partners section of the Country pages on this site.
You can also contact the Red Cross Red Crescent national society in your country as a potential starting point. There is a listing of contact information for each national society available here.
PrepareCenter.org also outlines a variety of steps that you can take in different roles to promote disaster preparedness and resilience in your community. See the How do I PREPARE? section of any of the Topic or Hazard pages on the site for more details.
How can this site help me be prepared?
How can I find others in my community interested in disaster preparedness?
For a list of organizations active on disaster preparedness in different countries see the Partners section of the Country pages on this site.
You can also contact the Red Cross Red Crescent national society in your country as a potential starting point. There is a listing of contact information for each national society available here.
Are there templates for continuity plans I can use?
There are a variety of Examples and Resources that are highlighted in the Business Continuity Planning topic page and related pages. The Response Planning topic page also has resources geared to public sector response planning.
Where can I find tools?
Are there any tools that I can use to prepare?
There are a wide variety of tools on the site. You can start by searching in the Resources section or by browsing topics related to your area of interest in the Topics section. The Examples and Resources sections on the Topic pages will be a good place to find tools. If you don’t find what you are looking for, you may want to go to the Ask the Community section to ask about the tools you are interested in or see if anyone has asked before.
How do I connect to leaders in the field?
Each Topic page has a “topic owner” listed in the who to contact section who may be a good starting point to find leaders on a particular topic. The Ask the Community section may be another good tool to find experts and leaders in the field on particular topics and issues.
How can I find others working on the same issues I am?
The website offers some unique features to connect with other practitioners on topics of mutual interest. Each Topic page has a section on who to contact that will help link you with others interested in the same topic. The Ask the Community section may be another good tool to find experts and leaders in the field on particular topics and issues.
Where can I ask a question and see what answer other practitioners have?
The Ask the Community section is oriented to address this precise need. Here you can pose a question to the wide community of practitioners using the site or see questions that have been asked in the past. If you have a question about one of the Topics on the site, you can also ask a question in a comment page on that Topic.
How can I find people to follow up in real life?
The website offers some unique features to connect with other practitioners on topics of mutual interest. Each Topic page has a section on who to contact that will help link you with others interested in the same topic. You can send a message to them through their Profile page on the site. The Ask the Community section may be another good tool to find experts and leaders in the field on particular topics and issues.
Linking up with partners
Who can I partner with?
The Country pages list organizations active in disaster preparedness. These are not comprehensive lists by any means but should give some ideas on starting points on reaching different types of stakeholders in each country. On the site you can also see which other users are interested in Topics you are interested in or are from Countries that you are interested in.
Who else in neighboring areas is working on these issues?
On the site you can also see which other users are from Countries that you are interested in.
What organizations can help me?
The Country pages list organizations active in disaster preparedness. These are not comprehensive lists by any means but should give some ideas on starting points on reaching different types of stakeholders in each country.
How do I find out what other people are doing?
The Examples in the Topic and Country pages highlight program examples and good practices. These are often an excellent starting point for see what others are doing on Topics or Countries you are interested in.
Standards & Best Practices
Measuring Impact
Are there any standards I must follow in a disaster?
The Sphere guidelines provide standard for disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. Standards for disaster preparedness or recovery often need to be specific to the hazard, political, and social contexts of countries. A good starting point are the progress reports submitted by countries to outline their commitments toward the Hyogo Framework for Action and their progress toward those commitments.
How can these practices be used where I work?
The Topic and Country sections of the site include Examples of good practice that often outline how specific solutions have been designed and implemented. Some of the Topics also specifically cover the “how” aspects of implementation. See the CBDRR Practitioner's Guidelines for an example.
Sharing Your Own Experience
How can we measure the impact of our preparedness?
Measuring impact is an essential topic and is covered in the topic on Community-Led Monitoring and Evaluation (in the CBDRR Practitioner's Guidelines) and related topics. If you don’t find what you are looking for there, please feel free to post a comment on one of the Topics or go to Ask the Community to pose a question more generally to the site community.
What’s been the return on investment of different preparedness measures?
There is a good discussion of return on investment in the Topic on Cost Benefit Analysis and related topics. If you don’t find what you are looking for there, please feel free to post a comment on one of the Topics or go to Ask the Community to pose a question more generally to the site community.
Who is validating the preparedness practices?
The resources contributed to the site typically are produced by organizations that have designed and implemented the program or project profiled in the resource and that have been validated by those organizations. In addition there are a wide variety of other practices mentioned and discussed on the site that are validated on an on-going basis by contributors of the site community. If you have questions about a particular practice, Topic, or Resource, feel free to ask the question in the comment section on that page or go to Ask the Community to pose a question more generally to the site community.
How Can I Engage?
How can I share what I’m doing?
There are a variety of ways to share and contribute on the site. You can upload new resource materials, rate and discuss material already uploaded on the site, connect with others interested in the same topics, or even add new text and topics (for this last contact us at gdpc@redcross.org to see about getting Editor access.)
Can I share this link on our site?
Please, we actively encourage our users to share links and other references to the site. If there is particular data on the site that you would like to include as a live feed on your site, please contact us at gdpc@redcross.org to discuss more.
What messages about preparedness should I share with the public?
There is a wide variety of material on the site that you can share with the public. Each Hazard and Topic page includes a section a basic preparedness steps for different stakeholders in the public as well as Examples and Resources pertaining to public outreach on the various topics.
How do I search a specific topic?
There is a search bar listed at the top of every page. You can also go to the Resources section to access more in-depth tools for search the Resource library.
In addition the site includes an innovative cross-language search feature that will return related materials in the language you search in as well relevant materials in other languages. This may help you see how particular topics are being addressed in other countries or identify materials that you would like to get translated into your own language. There is even a feature on each Resource page to suggest translation which will help us gauge demand for new translations.
Where can I get data?
The site includes a variety of data resource under either the Hazard, Topic, or Country pages. The Country pages in particular list a variety of relevant data resources.
Where to follow up with questions?
What can my company offer the humanitarian community and / or the Red Cross?
The site lists contact information for the Red Cross and other humanitarian actors in the Country pages. These organizations are likely the best way to link up on opportunities to support at-risk communities in particular countries.
What are ways to be engaged?
The site offers a variety of ways to you as a visitor or user to engage. You can upload new resource materials, rate and discuss material already uploaded on the site, connect with others interested in the same topics, or even add new text and topics (for this last contact us at gdpc@redcross.org to see about getting Editor access.)