When Disaster Strikes, CRS Is Ready

By Laura Sheahen

During an emergency, a license plate can make the difference between getting people help fast and not getting there at all.

In February 2008, as Kosovo was preparing to declare independence, CRS Kosovo staff knew the politically charged declaration could cause trouble between the land's divided ethnic groups—Albanians and Serbs. Catholic Relief Services bought and stored food in case one group fled their homes. But delivering aid could have been risky if CRS staff hadn't thought ahead and planned to remove the trucks' license plates—or use vehicles with Macedonian plates—in areas of Kosovo where other plates would draw unwanted attention.

Prepared With a Plan

Thankfully, a full-scale refugee emergency did not develop in Kosovo, though scattered violence did break out in the region. But if it had been worse, CRS was prepared with a plan: vehicles on either side of a contentious bridge in case conflict shut it down; the right balance of foods (grains, meat, fruit juice) to give refugees; satellite phones in case cell phones went out; and a new, temporary office in a northern region of the country if staff from the main office couldn't reach that area.

Throughout the world, CRS must respond to natural disasters and man-made conflict, fast. Years of experience in the field and careful planning help us get immediate food, shelter and clean water to people who have survived hurricanes, earthquakes and war. Every hour counts, and getting our response time down is critical to saving lives.

That's where emergency simulation training comes in. By acting out potential disaster scenarios, identifying gaps in CRS' response, and eliminating those gaps, CRS can help more people during a crisis.

With a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CRS' offices in the Middle East recently simulated how they'd respond to an earthquake, a sudden flood of refugees and unrest at a camp. During a four-hour session, teams of 20 people pretended disaster had struck, and worked on delivering aid over the first 48 hours.

"It helped us improve our skills," says Vivian Manneh, a program manager who was part of CRS' real-life response to the 2006 war in Lebanon. Manneh's experience helped during a simulation exercise involving a fictitious earthquake in Nasr City, a section of Cairo. A building collapsed and several nearby schools were destroyed. The simulation team had to figure out how to get medical care to the wounded, and find temporary housing for the displaced. " CRS' local partner, Caritas Egypt, asked the government to allow schools to be [used as] camps for the families whose homes had been destroyed," says Eman Barr, finance officer at CRS Egypt.

The CRS Egypt team also simulated a refugee scenario in which Palestinians fled Gaza and camped in the Sinai Desert (strangely enough, a similar real-life situation in Gaza developed just two months after the simulation exercise). Knowing that foreign aid workers might be denied access to the area around the Egypt-Gaza border, the simulation team decided to send local Egyptian staff to assess the refugees' needs. They then worked on ways to deliver tents and water to the Sinai.

Challenges and Triumphs

Some gaps emerged. Many participants said CRS needs to keep its lists of suppliers and their bids updated, so in a crisis it can immediately turn to certain vendors for food and other items. "In all the countries of the Middle East, we have a list of local suppliers we can order from in a very short time. We know what type of goods they have in stock and how fast they can deliver," says Sanda Richtmann, CRS' emergency manager for Europe and the Middle East. "In some countries, we do have our own warehouses and we know exactly what we have. But as a preparation measure, we have pre-vetted suppliers that we know can stock things like mattresses, blankets and jerry cans for water within 24 hours." Some offices, the participants said, need to check those lists more often—especially given that rapidly changing prices of food and gas affect vendors' supplies.

The training brought to light some other challenges, including coordination with governments, avoiding duplication of efforts with other charities and working with the media. Richtmann wants to improve the ways teams respond to the people most vulnerable in a crisis: unaccompanied children, the elderly and families headed by women.

But many strengths were noted. "I was impressed at how quickly we were able to allocate funds so we could buy food immediately," says Manneh. "I was also impressed at how quickly we can work with local partners on the ground and activate those longstanding networks."

The simulations brought out the resourcefulness and creativity of CRS emergency teams. "It was funny how people added new dimensions and new spins" to each scenario, says Manneh.

"How CRS responds to emergencies is important and we continuously strive to do it better," says Richtmann. "These simulation exercises are a good way to make that happen."

A participant from CRS Lebanon summed up the experience: "The exercise made me happy and sad. Sad because this is a reality and these things actually might happen, but happy because our local partners are capable and the pieces of the puzzle are all there. We seem ready to take on the challenge together."

Laura Sheahen is CRS' regional information officer for Europe and the Middle East. She is based in Cairo.