Disasters happen! And when they do, they can take many forms, including natural disasters (including storms, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes) and emergency situations resulting from accidents (broken water pipes, fires, etc.)

Unfortunately, emergencies occur when we least expect it — while you can not always anticipate or fully prepare for an emergencies, there are steps that your institution can take to prevent and recover from disasters. Proper preparation will determine how effectively your institution responds to a disaster.

AMM strongly recommends that museums develop a disaster plan. The first step is to designate a staff member at your museum to coordinate your disaster planning. For your convenience, AMM has provided the following links to resources that will help your institution prepare for disasters, including a link to DPlan, a free online tool that will simplify the process of writing a disaster plan for your museum.

Disaster Planning Tool

Disaster Primer

Federal Emergency Management Agency