Disaster Management

Activites and Services

1. Capacity Building:
Aims to increase PRCS’ preparedness in the field of disaster management, by training its staff in various fields such as:

•   Camp management;
•   Relief aid distribution;
•   Health in emergencies;
•   Communications;
•   Water and sanitation;
•   Setting up emergency equipment;
•   Emergency needs assessment.
•  Running PRCS operation rooms to follow up on and monitor changes, assess capabilities in the field, and   determine the extent of interventions and disaster responses ;
•  Organize and implement contingency plans in various districts, at the level of PRCS’ branches throughout the   West Bank and Gaza;
•   Constitute nationwide teams of trained and skilled volunteers to respond to disasters.

2. Training exercises/drills:
In order to enhance the capacities of PRCS’ staff and boost capabilities for an organized response to emergencies and disasters, the Unit holds training exercises/drills for PRCS teams, with the active participation of the Civil Defense, the Ministry of Health, the Palestine Police and local municipalities, as well as a large number of service and relief institutions.

3. Risk Reduction
The program aims to enhance local and especially vulnerable communities’ disaster response capacities. It includes activities designed to build disaster preparedness and response capacities as well as programs to limit or mitigate consequences and training sessions for assessing and measuring underprivileged communities’ preparedness to deal with risks.

4. School-based risk reduction:
As part of the risk reduction program aimed at building and developing communities’ capacity to deal with disasters, this sub-program targets students and teachers, developing their capacities to face emergencies and teaching them how to react to prepare for and respond to disasters.

5. Raising social awareness:
The Awareness Program aims to raise Palestinians’ awareness as to potential disasters and how to face and deal with them. It focuses on the neediest and most vulnerable populations through activities designed to teach them how to react in case of an earthquake and how to handle unexploded ordinance and mines. It also raises their awareness as to the effects of explosives, prevention against chemical weapons, and behavior in case of shelling and shootings.

6. Emergency response program:

A: National
PRCS endeavors to respond to victims of emergencies caused by the occupation or by natural disasters, using its various financial and human resources to this end. For example, during the 2008-2009 war on Gaza, more than 25,000 families received relief aid while emergency shelters were built for families whose houses had been totally destroyed and emergency medical services, mental and primary health care services were provided. Furthermore, PRCS provided volunteers to fully respond to the consequences of that war. On a different level, it responded to emergencies caused by floods triggered by heavy rain in several locations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

B: Regional and international
PRCS and endeavors to respond to victim of disaster at regional and international levels as morocco, Indonesia, Kosovo, Libya , Yamane … etc