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Disaster Management Courses

Disaster management is the effective mobilisation of resources to respond to crises. It aims to reduce the impacts of disasters, including saving lives and preventing injuries. Disaster management also focuses on how communities affected by crises can recover.

There is a range of online courses in disaster management. These courses are ideal for students and recent graduates looking to gain a strong understanding of disaster management, as well as for practitioners looking to review their practice or learn new technical skills.

Disaster Preparedness – University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh offers an online course in disaster preparedness. Aimed at anyone with an interest in disaster management, the course goes over the core competencies needed for disaster preparedness and survival. It is especially ideal for individuals who would like to know how to protect themselves, their families and property during a disaster.

The course will introduce students to many key tools used in disaster management, including the disaster cycle and personal preparedness plans. The University of Pittsburgh disaster preparedness course covers events such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, hurricanes, tornados, fires, earthquakes, and tsunamis. The course focuses on practical and easy to use advice for disaster scenario.

The online course in disaster preparedness from the University of Pittsburgh takes around 13 hours to complete. It has flexible deadlines and students can complete the course in their own time. Upon completion, students receive a shareable online certificate. The course is in English, and has subtitles in Arabic, French, Portuguese, Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, and Spanish.

When Disaster Meets Conflict – Erasmus University Rotterdam

The Erasmus University Rotterdam has a course on disaster risk reduction and humanitarian aid in conflict settings. The course is aimed at disaster management practitioners and aims to provide them with the skills needed to create high quality, accountable and ethical responses to disasters in contexts with conflict.

Focusing heavily on the specific skills needed to run effective disaster responses in conflict settings, the online course asks students to assess how humanitarian aid, disaster risk reduction and disaster response are affected when conflicts are ongoing. The Disaster Meets Conflict course by the Erasmus University Rotterdam explores the unique challenges disaster management professionals face in areas of conflict.

This online course takes around nine hours to complete. It has flexible starts and can be completed at the student’s own pace. Upon completion of the course students receive a shareable certificate attesting their new qualification. The course is in English and has subtitles in French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Disaster Risk Reduction: An Introduction – Coventry University

Coventry University offers an online course in disaster risk reduction. The short course acts as an introduction to disaster preparedness and offers students a broad understanding of the subject. It covers what a disaster is and how major risks can be minimised. Students also learn the key terminology of disaster risk reduction, as well as the phases of disaster management and disaster preparedness.

Students on the Coventry University disaster risk reduction online course learn about the historical evolution of disaster preparedness. The course also explores exactly how disaster risk reduction helps in crises contexts and how key stakeholders can be identified in disaster zones. Student also learn how to develop effective disaster risk reduction policy.

The Coventry University online course on disaster risk reduction is aimed at anyone wishing to gain a fuller understanding of disaster management.

Humanitarian Action, Response and Relief – Coventry University

The Humanitarian Action, Response and Relief online course offered by Coventry aims to introduce students to the principles of how humanitarian aid links to disaster management. Students gain knowledge of emergency preparedness and disaster management and how both saves lives and reduce the impacts of crises on people’s lives.

Students on the online course offered by Coventry University on humanitarian action, response and relief cover many key topics. These include the origins of humanitarianism and the Red Cross movement, the Geneva Convention, ethics of humanitarian work, key concepts and terminology related to humanitarian and disaster management, and main the actors in the humanitarian sector.

This course is aimed as those working in humanitarian aid who wish to gain further knowledge of disaster management, as well as students and recent graduates of humanitarian studies. The Coventry University online course on humanitarian action, response and relief takes around two weeks complete with three-hours study time a week.

Risk Reduction and Management – Humanitarian Learning Centre

The Humanitarian Learning Centre offers an online course in disaster risk reduction and management. The course covers how disaster risk reduction is used. It also explores how risks and vulnerabilities can be assessed, hazards prevented, and the impacts of disaster can be mitigated. The course focuses on how communities can become more resilient to disasters.

Students on the Humanitarian Learning Centre’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management course will gain a strong understanding of the key concepts, models, and frameworks of disaster risk reduction. They will also understand the importance of using a people-centred approach to disaster management. The course also covers the most recent learning on disaster risk reduction.

This online course is aimed at mid-level professionals working in disaster management. It is made up of eight modules and takes around five and a half hours to complete. Upon finishing the course, students receive a certificate.

Become Disaster Resilient

Become Disaster Resilient is an online course aimed at those wishing to better understand how to prepare for a disaster. The course focuses on the creation of Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). It explains what a CERT is and asks students to determine if a CERT is right for their community. The course also covers the link between CERT, first responders and wider stakeholders.

In the online course, students will cover how to establish a CERT, the correct management of CERTs and how to recruit potential team members. Students will also go over how CERTs should respond to different types of disasters – from smaller-scale fires to large earthquakes and floods.

The Become Disaster Resilient course can be taken entirely online and takes around four hours to complete. The course is aimed at beginners and is ideal for anyone wanting to get a better understanding of disaster management at community level.

Emergency and Disaster Training and Exercising: An Introduction – Coventry University

Coventry University has an online course in Emergency and Disaster Training and Exercising.  The introduction course teaches students the skills needed to prepare and respond to disasters. It especially focuses on the training and exercising disaster response organisations should undertake to ensure they can respond to disasters effectively when they occur.

Students on the Emergency and Disaster Training and Exercising course by Coventry University learn how to evaluate training roles within the risk management and emergency preparedness process. They gain an understanding of how to evaluate the skills and specific training needs that are required to ensure disaster management can be effectively implemented. The course also has key information of business continuity planning in disaster settings.

The Emergency and Disaster Training and Exercising course by Coventry University is made up of on-demand videos, articles, and downloadable resources. Students get full lifetimes access to the course so can return to it as needed. The course can be taken on a computer or mobile phone. Upon completion of the course students receive a certificate.