Emergency Preparedness Lessons from COVID-19

Oct 5, 2020

A Competent Approach to Emergency Management: What Lessons Can We Learn from the COVID-19 Pandemic?

COVID-19 took the world by surprise. No one was ready for it – and the thing is, we should have been. Looking back into history, a pandemic is bound to happen within every few decades. Now, we have to learn the lesson the hard way.

Let’s take this as a chance to be better. Though this pandemic surprised all of us, it is now teaching us the essential value of emergency preparedness. In this article, we will look at the different ways to do so.

In this article, we will learn more about emergency management and how it can be applied to our daily lives.

What Is Emergency Management?

Emergency management follows the principles of assessing risk on catastrophic events, whether they are natural or man-made, in communities, cities, provinces, regions, and countries. An emergency can start from storms, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, electrical failures, explosions, terrorism, civil disturbances, war, and similar events.

The scope of emergency management begins from preparation and also involves mitigation, response, and recovery:

  1. Mitigation – This means conducting risk analysis, reducing risks, and working on defeating risk through long-term action and investments.
  2. Preparedness – This means regularly coordinating with respective government arms and other organizations to plan and manage their approach. It involves training people and educating them, having tests, evaluating results, and repeating the cycle regularly so that people will not forget.
  3. Response – This part involves assuring that your organization or your community is ready to face the emergency when it comes. Frontliners like health workers, firefighters, and policemen are equipped to rescue and serve once there is a call for help.
  4. Recovery – This part of the cycle involves being able to think critically and deciding on the immediate needs required by the people. It might require providing emergency financial solutions, rebuilding damaged infrastructure, and providing new employment opportunities.

Emergency management is now an important task of governments all over the world. But now, it must also be studied and practiced by organizations and individuals.

What to Take Away from the COVID-19 Pandemic

  1. Expect the unexpected. – The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized that no matter how much you plan, life is just simply unpredictable. The best thing would always be to keep an open mind for all types of possibilities. Have a backup plan (or ten) for various situations you might encounter for your work life and family life.
  2. Remote work must be a permanent option for workers. – This might seem like a reach but it is time to say goodbye to the traditional workplace. Thanks to technology, there are many roles in an organization that can survive and thrive even without a face-to-face set up. This pandemic opened us to the possibility of working remotely for good. And, it can be something good to do permanently, as it would give a business continuity option to different companies.
  3. Act global, think local. – The battle against the pandemic was not only felt in the Philippines, but it resonated with many countries across the globe. Responses were different per territory, and that is normal, because different countries have different needs and resources. However, it is important to note that our actions must meet the global standards and we can realign it to meet the needs of the Filipino.
  4. The healthcare sector deserves so much more. – At this crucial time, our healthcare workers slaved on and sacrificed their own welfare to help hundreds of thousands of our countrymen to survive at the face of this trial. This is serving to be a wake-up call that the medical field deserves better pay and benefits. Our need for better healthcare facilities was emphasized with this problem, and here is the sign to work on this for the generations to come.

Let’s Make It Personal: Lessons from COVID-19 for an Individual’s Finances and Life In General

  1. Having health insurance is essential. – In our country, the approach to health insurance is not mandatory, unlike other countries. It’s time to change that mindset. Try looking at the experience of someone who had a COVID-19 related death in their family. You will see hundreds of thousands pesos worth of medical bills – some even reach the millions. Without health insurance, you have to shell out all of this yourself. Consider getting one, especially if you are self-employed or if your company does not offer a good one.
  2. Open yourself to alternative sources of income. – The pandemic brought up an unfortunate situation to the economy. Many industries took a hit. This means pay cuts – or worse, layoffs. If you’re not facing this problem, you’re quite lucky. But there’s no way of telling how long this will be. To secure your finances, it’s time find a side hustle. You can find a part time job in a different industry, start an investment, or establish a business.
  3. Build your emergency fund. – Because of how unpredictable the world is, you must be able to ride the tide whatever happens. Though you might have some assets, liquidity is the key to survive at the time of an emergency to help you get the semblance of stability. According to experts, an ideal emergency fund must amount to at least six months’ worth of your salary or regular expenses, so that you’ll be assured that you will have an ample time to get things together.
  4. You can be saved by being a budget master. – Your finances will be in check if you know how to control your spending and monitor the flow of your money. Even if you are getting a consistent flow of income, it will all be gone to waste if you are out of control with your lifestyle. A well-planned budget might seem like a tiring step, but it will save you in the long run.
  5. Diversify your investment portfolio. – If you want to explore the opportunities with financial investment, all veteran investors suggest portfolio diversification to gain the best rewards. This is because diversification will allow you a safety net in case one of those industries face some failures. You can distribute your cash for investment to oil, stocks, commodities, metals, and our P2P lending products.

Final Thoughts: Look Ahead at a Beautiful Future

The coronavirus pandemic might have left us with some bruises, but it was still able to provide us with a humbling and educational experience. Let’s take this time to say goodbye to the difficulties and be optimistic to what lies ahead – now, with knowledge to be smarter more than ever.

These tips that we’ve learned today can bring you to make your life future-proof and have a stronger foundation to defend the uncertainties that lay ahead.