REACT International Training Courses

113 Disaster Basics

Course Overview:

This is a new course in our series of short courses for REACT members to train to perform communications duties in emergencies. A key part of communications in major emergencies and disasters is understanding what a disaster is and the types of impacts it has. This gives the radio operator a better appreciation of the types of things that drive the communications needs of the organizations we support. This course provides an overview of what disasters are, what types of impacts they have, and how we categorize them. A later course will examine the specific impacts of disasters on your job as a communicator.

Our Disaster Basics covers:

• What Is A Disaster?

• The Types Of Disasters

• What Do Disaster Do?

• The Specific Impacts of Events

• Disaster Scales And Other Measures

The course manual is 30 pages in length and should take approximately 2 hours to complete.  There is a detailed final examination – when you are ready, contact our training staff at Training@REACTIntl.org to obtain the web address and password for our online testing system.  Continuing education units are awarded for course completion.  Completing a course on the basics of disasters does not make you an expert. You can improve your knowledge by participating in disaster exercises, online with REACT’s quarterly ALERTEX series, and in exercises in your community. Read your city’s newspaper and watch the evening news to get an idea of how frequently major emergencies and disasters occur. Learn the disaster history of your community – your local emergency management agency is a good starting point. And when you have an idea of the local history spend some time browsing the Internet to increase your knowledge of the specific types of events you may encounter. If you need more information, contact Training@REACTIntl.org for suggested sources.