Carissa Slawecki
News Writer

Natural disasters are always a possibility, as much of the east coast learned with Hurricane Sandy, and it is important to be prepared. Millersville University recognizes the importance of being prepared for disasters and encourages students to know the proper precautions to take in the event of an emergency.
To help educate students about emergency preparedness, a training session was held in Burrowes Hall on Wednesday, November 28. Members of the Center led the training for Disaster Research and Education (CDRE), students from the Masters of Science in Emergency Management program and members of Blue Rock Fire Rescue. Dr. Duane Hagelgans, Emergency Management professor and staff member of the CDRE, talked about the event,
“We explained to the students the benefits of emergency preparedness. We defined different types of emergencies. We handed out student action plans for disaster planning. We had the Blue Rock Fire rescue explain the types of events that have occurred on campus in the past. We also assisted students in putting together small preparedness kits.” Events like these help students to become educated and better prepared if a disaster strikes.

The CDRE gave a training session for emergency preparedness on November 28.

There are many programs at Millersville, which are through the CDRE, that strive to educate and prepare students in the case of a disaster. These programs include the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the Master of Science in Emergency Management degree, and the Environmental Hazards and Emergency Management minor. These programs teach not only weather preparedness, but the concept of “all hazards” preparedness, which gives students an opportunity to become better prepared for any possible hazards they may encounter in life.
Hagelgans gave some advice to students about weather preparedness, “Be calm, be smart, be prepared and stay alive in a disaster. Being properly prepared is always the key. The CDRE website and the programs that we are teaching are very beneficial to assisting you and assisting those in need.” To learn more about emergency preparedness, visit the Millersville website or the Center for Disaster Research and Development’s new blog, blogs@millersville.edu/CDRE.