Community Emergency Planning in NYC - A Toolkit for Community Leaders

THREATS AND HAZARDS: WHAT CAN YOUR COMMUNITY DO?

All emergencies are different. Some are “notice” events, which are events that you know are coming, like hurricanes and heat waves. “No-notice” events occur without any warning, like fires and utility disruptions. Regardless of having advance warning of an emergency, there are several key response roles that communities can play.

COMMUNICATE EMERGENCY INFORMATION: notify your community about what is going on; spread the word about proper precautions and available resources.

ORGANIZE RESIDENTS: coordinate community members, identify and assign tasks.

ASSESS + REPORT NEEDS: identify any unmet needs and communicate with the City to try to meet those needs.

CLEAN UP: help clean up the neighborhood and remove debris. (Remember to inform people about taking proper precautions.)

REBUILD: help rebuild destroyed property or repair essential infrastructure. For health and safety reasons, these tasks should be done with proper permits by trained individuals or under their supervision.

CHECK ON NEIGHBORS: have community members check on, help, and report back on individuals in need of assistance.

MANAGE DONATIONS + VOLUNTEERS: organize volunteers, intake, and distribution centers.