We have to think about our own preparedness, but the neighborhood is just as important, according to a Swedish researcher.
We must take some measures ourselves to be prepared for a crisis. We must have a stock of food with a long shelf life, water, medicines, batteries and other useful things, according to the Directorate for Social Security and Emergency Preparedness.
But it is just as important to know your neighbours, according to Veronica Strand, who researches preparedness at Umeå University in Sweden.
Because does anyone remember you if your neighborhood is evacuated? Is there anyone willing to lend you batteries if you forgot to buy them?
Who has a tractor?
Veronica Strand interviewed people in the villages of Jämtland and Herjedalen, which border Norway.
There, people had a good overview of each other. The social ties mean that they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, according to the researcher.
– You know who has a tractor, or that she over there is good at fishing, and that a third has a spare generator. It will be a kind of informal catalog of what resources exist in the local community, says Veronica Strandh in a press release from the university.
It makes it easier to get help and supplies in a crisis, even if you live far away or are difficult to reach.
Veronica Strand believes that city people have a lot to learn from rural people.
– Poor preparation for not knowing the neighbour
Avoiding the neighbors is bad behavior from a preparedness perspective, according to Strand. We don’t have to love our neighbours, but we should know their name and what they look like. And we should spend some time establishing a relationship with those who live around us.
In crises, people are found more quickly in areas with a strong neighborhood community. Research from the USA and Australia shows this, among other things, according to Strand.
The Directorate for Social Security and Emergency Preparedness is working on how each of us should prepare for a crisis.
In proposals for new recommendations on self-preparedness, they place more emphasis on how community strengthens us: “We can also be a resource for others. When many people are well prepared to fend for themselves and help others, society is better prepared for crises.”
But the proposals for new advice are mostly about what you yourself should have in the house and have thought about if the crisis occurs.
What dangers threaten you where you live?
The Red Cross is now working on a scheme to strengthen the population’s own preparedness. There, the focus will be on neighbours.
– We have taken inspiration from Australia, where the Red Cross has worked a lot on self-preparedness and preparedness in neighbourhoods, says Anders Thorheim, head of preparedness in the Norwegian Red Cross.
They will recommend that we do an analysis of what dangers we have around us.
– There is a big difference in where you live. There are different types of dangers if you live deep in a fjord in Western Norway than if you live in the middle of Oslo, says Thorheim to forskning.no.
For example, it is a big problem if the electricity goes out for several days, and it is the only thing you have for heating.
– Then you will have problems in 10-20 minus degrees. Or if the water disappears. In Oslo, you can’t fetch water from the stream, as you can in the countryside, says Thorheim.
– Map the neighborhood!
– We would also recommend that you map the neighbourhood. Are there doctors and nurses among the neighbours? Does anyone know things that are useful in a crisis?
It is equally important to survey whether there are neighbors who need help.
Now Thorheim lives outside Oslo, has small children and good contact with other parents of small children and neighbours. He previously lived in Oslo.
– I have never lived so close to people as then, while knowing so few of my neighbours. I think that applies to many people, says Thorheim.
He now lives outside Oslo, has small children and good contact with other parents of small children and neighbours.
The Red Cross’ new plan for self-preparedness will be rolled out during the year.
– It’s about building a robust society, both for ourselves and those around us. We have to think about preparedness, because it has not been at the forefront of Norwegians’ minds for the past 30 years, says Thorheim.
