Local Preparedness Capabilities

LOCAL PREPAREDNESS CAPABILITIES
[Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees]
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]

Introduction
When an unprepared community is affected by a disaster there can be incredible damage. It is
ironical that most of the communities are usually not prepared for the same considering that such
disasters do not happen most of the time. Community preparedness is rarely a priority with no
sense of immediate need. It is important that vulnerability reduction is achieved while
communities become assured or made ready for the impacts of the disaster. Historically, there
has been an allocation of physical, human and financial resources in order to effectively and
quickly meet the urgent need of humans(Miller, Adame, & Moore 2013). This particular paper
presents various aspects of disaster preparedness in KAKOJAH community in Kakamasia area.
The main objectives of KAKOJAH community disaster preparedness include the following:
 Reduction of deaths and damages by use of vulnerability and hazard analysis, mitigation
and measures of prevention while effectively utilizing warning and predictive systems.
 Reduction of personal suffering including emotional stress and morbidity following an
occurrence of accident or hazard.
 The next objective is to attain speedy recovery by having an effective mechanism of
response
Current capabilities of the community
The current capabilities of the community in terms of various requirements are based on the
predictable disaster that usually strikes the land like flooding and Earthquakes(Reininger et
al.2013).
Equipment:

The following equipments have been put in place to enhance preparedness for flooding:
 Hydro snakes and hydro sacks which are considered to be eco-alternatives to sandbags.
 Presence of toilet pan seals which stops sewage from flooding into office or house
buildings
 Air Brick Covers which prevent flood water from entering the office or house buildings.
Manpower
Other than a local arrangement by the community to voluntarily dig trenches in areas which are
plain, the community through local government has been seeking the assistance of experts to
enhance the level of preparedness in case of the occurrence(Jose & Dufrene 2014).
Training
Regular training to the community emergency response team has been conducted at least twice
per month just to keep them well equipped with relevant and latest skills.
Funding
The emergency response team has been getting funding from well-wishers, donors, and locally
arranged fundraising programs
Land Area
The area is located on a vast piece of land with accessible points which allow for the movement
of the response team's vehicles during the occurrence of hazards.
Geographical Challenges: