Abstract
Marie-Thérese Varlamoff
Prevent to better respond
The floods of August 2002 that affected Central Europe had such tragic consequences that it led many cultural institutions to draw lessons from the situation and envisage the implementation of more preventing measures in the event of further disasters.
Pointing out possible risks and measures to be taken in order to prevent them and better respond we shall explain how to draw a disaster plan. Then we shall study what happens when disaster strikes : how to assess damages and what is to be done in priority, what kind of response strategy is best, together with advice concerning rescue operations. Finally we shall try and draw some lessons from what has happened, pointing out the most frequent difficulties that rescuers usually encounter, even when a disaster plan exists.
A brief survey of the measures taken in case of a foreseen major flood in Paris will illustrate the paper. Lastly a presentation of the International Committee of the Blue Shield and its long-term objectives will hopefully advocate the importance of co-operative actions in the future.