Emergency and Disaster Preparedness through Collaboration and Community Outreach

As design professionals we are used to tackling problems involving the environment, transportation and civil infrastructure, buildings, bridges, and their subsequent construction projects, etc. In doing so we often abide by a credo such as South Carolina Regulation 49-301 which states: "The Engineer or Surveyor shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in performance of his professional duties". However, what we as a collective group may not be ready to tackle is the response to manmade or natural emergencies or disasters. Have you ever asked "How can I help to restore and maintain the safety, health and welfare of the public following such an event"? The purpose of this paper will be to illustrate the ongoing process of developing emergency and disaster preparedness procedures in South Carolina through organization collaboration and community outreach. The overall disaster preparedness and response model in the State of South Carolina will be presented and the roles that volunteer engineers and community members play will be discussed. Specific issues covered will include: collaboration between engineering organizations with the local and state authorities through preparedness exercises, the development of awareness guides, as well as education and training of design professionals through the Safety Assessment Program (SAP) and civilians through the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) initiative.