Emergency Response Procedures (Detailed Guidelines)

The purpose of Church emergency response efforts is to relieve suffering following disasters by providing life-sustaining resources and support.

Area and stake priesthood leaders direct Church emergency preparation and response efforts. They coordinate closely with their assigned area welfare and self-reliance manager. Leaders are encouraged to review General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2020), 22.5.3, 22.6.11 and follow the steps outlined below.

1. Assemble Key Resources during Non-Disaster Times

Areas, coordinating councils, or stakes may call members with skills in emergency communication or disaster response as emergency response specialists. Those specialists with emergency communication expertise will help Church leaders find available means of communication following a disaster.
Relationships should be developed with civic authorities and local agencies (for example, the Red Cross, food banks, and other religious organizations) with whom the Church can coordinate community response efforts following a disaster. Stake communication directors may assist in this effort.
Where applicable, certain Church emergency response specialists may be assigned to act as representatives to their local chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). Under Area Seventy direction, VOAD representatives will help coordinate the Church’s emergency preparation and response efforts with community efforts.

2. Organize in Advance of Imminent Disasters

Prior to a known imminent disaster, the Area Presidency or a designated Area Seventy or stake president may assemble a committee to coordinate preparation and relief efforts. Plans for communicating before, during, and after the disaster and for carrying out assessment and response activities should be coordinated. Welfare and self-reliance managers (and, where applicable, VOAD representatives) can be included in this committee.
Stake leaders should review their stake emergency plans and counsel members to prepare themselves and follow the direction of civic authorities. Stakes and wards, particularly those in disaster-prone areas, may wish to perform an annual readiness assessment and make any needed adjustments to their emergency plans.

3. Coordinate Response Efforts

Following a disaster, the Area Presidency designates an Area Seventy or stake president to direct the Church’s local response efforts (which may entail the formation of an emergency committee, as described above). This includes coordination of the following tasks:

Assessment

Evaluate the status of missionaries and members (deaths, injuries, psychosocial needs), members’ property, Church facilities, and the community at large (giving extra attention to Church members with special needs, such as those who are elderly, homebound, disabled, or single parents).
Communicate this evaluation information as soon as possible to the Area Seventy, who in turn will inform the Area Presidency, the director for temporal affairs, and the welfare and self-reliance manager.

Response Plan

Communicate with leaders of affected Church units; Area Seventies, whose coordinating councils may provide volunteer assistance; and the welfare and self-reliance manager to review needs and formulate a response in coordination with civic authorities and relief agencies. This response may include:
- The use of Church buildings as temporary shelters, first aid stations, or operations centers.
- Requests for funding, supplies, or psychosocial services.
- The organization of volunteer assistance to members, first responders, and the community.
- Arrangements with Church VOAD representatives (where applicable) and Church communication personnel to assist in coordinating efforts with community and government entities.

Operations Center

Identify one or more accessible locations to serve as operations centers (called command centers in some locations) where relief efforts can be coordinated and where supplies can be received and distributed.
If volunteer teams from other locations need to stay overnight, identify locations where they may sleep or camp. This also includes toilet and shower facilities close to the operations center(s).
Organize members to carry out key functions at the operations center(s), including:
- Receiving, unloading, inventorying, and distributing supplies.
- Managing and training volunteer work teams.

Requests for Funding, Supplies, and Services

Assess needs, and submit funding requests through the area welfare and self-reliance manager.
- For immediate needs, bishops may provide fast-offering assistance.
- Church emergency response funds may be used to assist both Church and community members who may be in need following a disaster.
Determine the types and quantities of supplies required to respond to the needs of Church members and the community. These may include relief items for disaster survivors, cleanup tools, and Helping Hands shirts or vests for Church volunteers. Psychosocial services for those suffering from emotional distress could also be included.
- In the United States and Canada, area welfare and self-reliance managers request supplies from the bishops’ storehouse system through the Church headquarters emergency response team.
- Outside the United States and Canada, the area welfare and self-reliance manager works through the area purchasing team.
- The welfare and self-reliance manager can also arrange for psychosocial services, if needed.
Rather than accept unsolicited donations of cash, gift cards, or materials, encourage those who wish to donate to contribute to the Church’s Humanitarian Aid Fund. (All such donations are received into the general fund and are not earmarked for a specific disaster.)

4. Oversee Church Volunteer Efforts

In coordination with civic authorities, Area Seventies and stake presidents may recruit volunteers from local and neighboring stakes and wards. They can assist with cleanup, repairs, or other needs in the community.

Requests for Assistance

Affected households are informed that they can request repair or cleanup help from Church volunteers. (Notifications can be made through local government or relief agencies, social media, fliers, or other means.)
As requests are received, operations center personnel should create a record of requests (also known as work orders), map each location, assign a team of volunteers, and track completion of requests. The needs of Church members and first responders are generally given first priority.
In certain parts of the world, area welfare and self-reliance managers may have access to software or web-based tools that can help them manage volunteers and requests.

Volunteer Teams

Before beginning any project, team leaders must ensure that property owners have given full consent for Church volunteers to work on their property.
Team leaders receive safety training and provide safety instructions to team members.
Volunteer coordinators track the number of volunteer hours worked and report this to the ecclesiastical leader(s) directing the response and to the area welfare and self-reliance manager.
Under the direction of the ecclesiastical leader who is overseeing the response, volunteers are organized into small teams, with one volunteer designated as a team leader.
Teams are provided with tools, protective equipment (gloves, goggles, sunscreen, and so on), and Helping Hands shirts or vests.
Volunteers are asked to come with their own food, tents, bedding, fuel, and so on.
Proselyting by volunteers is not appropriate.

5. Report on Church Response Efforts

Stake presidents will provide regular status reports to the Area Seventy, who will share these with the Area Presidency and the area welfare and self-reliance manager.
Under the direction of the Area Seventy or stake president overseeing the response, Church public affairs directors or other leaders can provide information regarding Church community response efforts with the media.

Video: How the Church Organizes Before and After Disasters