Water, Sanitation, Hygiene: Neighborhood Plan

Step 1. Leadership teams at your Disaster Hubs should meet with your community’s Emergency Manager and other officials to estimate the likely numbers of people and animals that might be relying on your Disaster Hubs services after an incident. One way to make this estimate is to add up the total population served by a Disaster Hub and estimate about 2 percent of that total. Increase the percentage if you have a higher percentage than the national average of children, senior citizens, daily visitors/workers, or disabled people. Then add in the number of volunteers you expect to be working at each Disaster Hub over the two week period post disaster. 

Step 2. Based on your estimate in Step 1, begin to store water at each hub. Base the size of your storage containers on the available storage space and need. 

Step 3. Also begin to amass water treatment and hygiene supplies at each Disaster Hub. You will need to consider hydration, patient treatment, food preparation (according to the types of food you have stored), hygiene, waste management, and cleaning (food prep, bathroom, and medical area disinfection).

Step 4. During Disaster Hub drills, include practice in setting up your Disaster Hub hygiene systems, including latrines, shower spaces, hand washing stations, and dish-washing stations. Also practice setting up a morgue.

Step 5. Be sure to include sanitation protocols in your Disaster Hubs’ Standard Operating Procedures.