Emergency Preparedness, Mitigation and Response

CRS was founded as a disaster assistance organization, when in 1943 it set out to assist war-affected populations in Europe. Through the years, CRS has spent considerable time, energy and donations on emergency programs and has been present during some of the largest emergencies of recent including the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Haiti earthquake and the Pakistan floods.

The organization responds to natural disasters and human-made emergencies. While each emergency has unique causes, each has similar effects on the quality of human life. In CRS' emergency preparedness, mitigation and response, our main goals are to save lives, protect people’s rights, support livelihoods and strengthen civil society. More.

Emergencies publications by type

• Best/promising practices
• Brochures
• Case studies
• Evaluations/assessments
• Fact sheets
• Innovations in CRS programming
• Manuals/user guides
• Posters
• Tool kits
• Training
• Videos

E-course on Seed Systems and Disaster Management

CRS and the World Bank have released a new free training program on seed systems and seed security in the context of disaster risk management. More.

Disaster Risk Reduction

The Community Based Disaster Preparedness (CBDP) "How-To" Guide was developed to help CRS India, its partners, and CRS and other NGOs worldwide, facilitate a community-led disaster preparedness process.

Case Studies

• Community Based Disaster Preparedness in India
• Flood-Resistant Shelter Project in India
• Using Technology in Emergency Response Pilot Project in India
• Prepositioning Emergency Supplies in India
• Protection at Mindanao Institute of Peace Philippines

Protection

• CRS Core Protection Training Manual
• CRS Protection Training Module - Day 1 PowerPoint
• CRS Protection Training Module - Day 2 PowerPoint
• CRS Protection Training Module - Day 3 PowerPoint
• CRS Protection Training Module - Session Plans
• CRS Protection Training Module - Trainer Guidelines
• Catholic Consultation on Protection - October 2009

Shelter

• Learning From the Urban Transitional Shelter Response in Haiti
• Caring for Your Transitional Shelter  [ English | Haitian Creole ]
• Building Equitable Transitional Shelters in Guatemala
• Flood-Resistant Shelter Pilot Project in India

Disaster Preparedness

Emergency Preparedness and Response Handbook. This handbook aims to assist CRS country programs to improve accountability to disaster-affected populations and to assist donors through the design and implementation of high quality emergency preparedness and response programs.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Real-time evaluations and other evaluative reports by CRS are available from the ALNAP Evaluative Reports Database (search under “Commissioning agency” Catholic Relief Services).

Accountability

Impact Measurement and Accountability in Emergencies: The Good Enough Guide. A set of basic guidelines on how to be accountable to local people and measure program impact in emergency situations. The "good enough" approach emphasizes simple and practical solutions and encourages the user to choose tools that are safe, quick, and easy to implement.