Disaster Management

Emergency Response

IRCS tackles several emergencies across the country, both manmade & natural in which our dedicated teams worked tirelessly to provide:

Shelter: Safe and secure temporary housing for displaced families.
Food and Water: Nutritious meals and clean drinking water.
Sanitation: Hygienic facilities to prevent disease outbreaks.
Health Services: Medical care and support for those in need.

Building Capacity

Red Cross work doesn’t stop at emergency response. We’re also dedicated to making communities stronger and more resilient. Here’s how we did it:

Disaster Preparedness Training: Conducted sessions to help communities understand and prepare for potential disasters.

Disaster Preparedness Training: Conducted sessions to help communities understand and prepare for potential disasters.

Community-Based First Aid: Trained individuals to provide immediate care in emergencies, saving lives before professional help arrives.

Click here for Revised Guideline for conducting First Aid and Home Nursing Training during COVID-19 Pandemic

The Social and Emergency Response Volunteer (SERV) Programme is designed to build community resilience through training of the target group by Master trainers, Instructors and SERV volunteer on a pan India basis. It is envisaged that, on an average, 1000 trained SERV volunteers and 2 trained SERV instructors will be available in each district of the country and at least one Master trainer will be available in each state Red Cross branch. These SERV volunteers will in turn impart health and disaster related messages apart from leading social campaigns in the community. They will be at the fore front as first community responders in case of any disaster etc. The programme will be jointly funded by National headquarters (NHQ) and the concerned State branch in the ratio of 80:20 of the fund for each activity.

Concept of SERV:

The concept of SERV is premised upon the principles of Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR). It recognizes that:
  1. Communities understand their problems and opportunities better than anyone else.
  2. Communities are more interested in understanding their problems than anyone else.
  3. The community is a key stakeholder for the development of the country, hence it must participate in its own development.
  4. Local communities are capable of initiating and sustaining their own community development.

To contribute to this aim, SERV volunteers will:

  1. Provide immediate relief and response to affected communities before additional support from the government and other agencies arrives.
  2. Reduce vulnerabilities of the communities by training them on first-aid, hygiene promotion, etc.
  3. Conduct vulnerability and capacity assessments of their own communities.
  4. Support any other identified social issues that contribute to the development of the communities.

It is envisaged that the SERVs will be trained according to prescribed modules to deliver the following:

  • Act as First Responders in times of emergencies, participating in providing effective humanitarian services to the affected population to prevent and alleviate their sufferings on behalf of the IRCS.
  • Sensitize the community to make them more resilient to disasters to which they are vulnerable.
  • Facilitate linkages between the community and Government programs.