Welcome
Disaster Action is a charity set up and run by survivors and bereaved from UK and overseas disasters. Founded in 1991, we provide an independent advocacy and advisory service that represents the interests of those directly affected by disaster.
Updates & New Additions
We have just completed updating two of our Guidance for Responders leaflets and all of those in the When Disaster Strikes series. In addition, we have added four new titles to this series:
- Setting up an E-forum Discussion Group
- Legal Representation after a Disaster
- Interviews about Disaster Experience: Personal Reflections and Guidelines for Interviewers
- A Physically Injured Survivor in the Aftermath.
DisasterAction
Not a frontline responder, we seek to influence the human aspects of disaster response. Disaster Action is concerned with the general principles and issues that may be relevant to any disaster, whatever its origin, and does not become involved in the campaigns on specific issues by family/survivor support groups.
We use the experience our members have gained over 20 disasters to offer support and information for the bereaved and survivors from the disasters that continue to occur. This work has led us to produce a series of leaflets entitled "When Disaster Strikes". For the small number of survivors and bereaved who go on to develop conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder as a result of their experience, further help is available.
Disaster Action also seeks to raise awareness of the needs of those directly affected by disaster. In this capacity, we act as lay advisers to central and local government, the police, and the statutory and voluntary services, on the development of major emergency guidance and policy. Disaster Action is fully independent from the organisations to which it offers guidance and advice. Guidance leaflets for responders to disasters, and links to information to support their work, can be found in our guidance for responders' page.
Much of Disaster Action’s work by members is done on a voluntary, unpaid basis. The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, through its power and accountability programme, has funded our work on corporate responsibility since our foundation. The Trust has provided some core funding since 2003. Other funding comes from occasional one-off gratuities and the fees the charity receives when members speak at major emergency seminars and conferences. Disaster Action receives no funding from Government, in order to preserve our independence.
Disaster Action aims to help create a safety climate in which disasters are less likely to occur. As part of this work, we are regularly involved in projects, discussions and consultation in relation to corporate responsibility. This work is conducted through our corporate responsibility project.
We also offer a lecturing service with members regularly contributing to emergency management courses, seminars and conferences where the focus is on the human aspects of disaster.
Further details about our organisation, its aims and where our members are drawn from are given in the organisation section.
Finally, our publications section provides details about a book by Disaster Action. In it we argue the case for reform of the laws governing involuntary manslaughter, setting out a number of proposals that form the case for corporate responsibility. We also outline details of a report based on a survey we conducted into the reporting of health and safety by the FTSE 100 companies in their annual reports.
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