You have a disaster plan but are you really prepared?

T hroughout history disasters have caused destruction and injury and exacted a heavy toll of death and suffering. In just the past 20 years they have claimed the lives of over 20 million humans worldwide and caused property damage easily exceeding $500 billion. To date, the United States has not experienced a truly massive disaster with tens of thousands of human deaths, but hurricanes, fl oods, wildfi res, and other disasters have killed millions of poultry, swine, and fi sh and many thousands of research animals in holding facilities. The extent of a disaster's impact varies according to the amount of warning, institutional and community ability to prepare, animal density, type of housing, availability of trained response personnel, and resources. Regardless of the cause, whether natural or technological, the repercussions of most disasters are often similar (Heath 2000), including impacts from power outages, failure of heating and cooling systems, chemical spills, insuffi cient personnel, security breaches, and animal escapes. In all cases, the institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC 1) should never lose sight of maintaining the well-being of the animals. A disaster plan must involve not only clearly delineated staff responsibilities but also the availability and use of resources and individuals trained, credentialed, and ready to assist. But the individuals involved must fi rst consider their personal welfare and safety, and then attend to the health, safety, and well-being of their family. Only then should they begin to concern themselves with employment responsibilities. Too often heroic action is expected from disaster victims. Undoubtedly each disaster responder will feel an absolute commitment to " save their animals " but if there are deaths in the family, the house has been blown away, or there is no food to feed the children, it is diffi cult to expect the employee to focus on their occupation until they have addressed personal priorities. Animal care facilities have done an admirable job of preparing disaster plans, but, as the authors in this issue learned, these plans may not be truly functional during the actual event. In fi rst-hand accounts of their experiences, these contributors describe the existence of a plan and the need for changes to meet specifi c problems as well as longer-term solutions associated with disaster planning, response, and management. Animal restraint and/or transport, shelter, communication, personnel issues with caretakers and security , and veterinary care are challenges in all disasters, …