Resilience to Respond to Emergencies and Disasters
The aim of the Rotary GB&I Resilience Group is to develop contingency plans to assist districts and clubs in responding to home based emergencies and disasters, both in the immediate aftermath and the long term recovery phases, in situations where Rotarians are not exposed to personal hazard.
For a number of years, Rotary GB&I districts and clubs have provided valuable assistance to their communities following major emergencies and disasters. This response has often been based on local Rotarians having knowledge of local problems and being able to provide focused and timely assistance. In some cases the response has been in partnership with Local Authority Emergency Planners, in others, it has been independent. There is no single solution as the risks and challenges vary, as do the capabilities of local responding organisations and Rotary.
Considerable work has been undertaken to network with key members of the voluntary sector and the Cabinet Office to see how Rotary districts and clubs in Rotary GB&I might dovetail into resilience plans.
Resilience is a dynamic topic, changing and adapting to local circumstances. It is therefore important that districts and clubs that wish to become involved in resilience, work alongside and in cooperation with local authorities and voluntary sector organisations that are already involved in resilience planning and training.
It is important that "Rotary Best Practice" is shared amongst districts and clubs. This can be achieved by notifying members of the Rotary GB&I Resilience Group of experiences, successes and failures, so that others can learn from them.
As an example see the Braunton Resiliance plan