DisasterAWARE® Training and Preparedness Exercises
Using our extensive hazard data and unique DisasterAWARE platform, we can help you simulate realistic hazard scenarios to help gain a deeper understanding of hazard impacts on communities. We also can assist with exercising preparedness plans in advance of real-world events. Our exercise program can help test complex networks of organizations and response activities—making sure stakeholders respond effectively under high-pressure and ever-changing circumstances. Our experts can support any type of exercise and hazard scenario. We also provide online training and instructor-led training on our DisasterAWARE platform.
Your DisasterAWARE training starts here
Watch our self-paced DisasterAWARE training videos to master the basics or request an instructor-led DisasterAWARE training on-site, at your location or ours. We can help you accomplish nearly any training objective.
Disaster Preparedness Exercises
Exercise Options
Exercises help decision makers identify as much about what goes right with disaster preparedness plans as what goes wrong. We’ve helped organizations around the world design and conduct exercises and incorporate lessons learned into planning and preparedness activities.
Scenario-based Training
- Often focused on policy or strategic issues
- Smaller scope, less complex
Tabletop Exercises
- Provides facilitated analysis of an emergency situation
- Examines policies, procedures, and operations to validate and refine plans as needed.
- Informal, stress-free environment
Functional Exercises
- Fully simulated exercise
- Realistic event, testing response capabilities in time-pressured environment
- Involves multiple functions, agencies, and organizations
Full-scale Exercises
- Tests regional, national, subnational disaster management systems
- Simulates real event as closely as possible.
- Mobilizes emergency personnel and victims (actors), equipment, and resources
Benefits of our exercise
support program
- Leverage the best information to solve problems and make life-saving decisions using DisasterAWARE
- Accurately simulate real-world hazards and impacts based on DisasterAWARE historical hazard data
- Identify planning weaknesses and time-saving measures
- Reveal gaps in resources and information
- Improve organizational coordination and communications
- Clarify roles and responsibilities
- Enhance individual and team performance
Learn more about our customized exercises and training solutions
Recent Training Events and Exercises
PDC supported the 12th annual Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) Course at the request of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). PDC hosted more than 30 participants at its Maui headquarters for hands-on DisasterAWARE training, 02–03 March.
As part of a disaster response and medical capabilities Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) in Thimphu, Bhutan, from 12–14 November, PDC conducted a table-top exercise simulating a M5.5 earthquake in the southeast of the country with data it gathered on Bhutan. The Bhutan Department of Disaster Management used the exercise to test its new incident command system standard operating procedure.
PDC traveled to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, to facilitate the Field Training Exercise for the Pacific Endeavor Multinational Communications Interoperability Program (MCIP) 2019 on 06-16 August. DisasterAWARE was used to reach out across the 19 participating countries with data for a three-day scenario.
The 2019 ADMM–Plus Exercise was the most robust evaluation of civil-military HA/DR procedures in the history of ADMM–Plus. The tsunami scenario—modeled by PDC—involved more than twenty countries and organizations participating from their home locations, collaborating digitally using PDC's DisasterAWARE from July 30 to August 1.
The Hawaii National Guard received a full day of training from PDC that merged DisasterAWARE user training with selected modules from PDC's Hazard Resiliency Network ("R-NET") course on 04 May, 2019. Participants were given tools and knowledge regarding all phases of the disaster management cycle.
PDC delivered a series of training sessions at the ASEAN Coordination Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre) in Jakarta to support operational use of the DMRS system, powered by DisasterAWARE, February 25–27, 2019. Training included 16 operational staff from the AHA Centre, who demonstrated their DMRS-user skills in a series of disaster-related exercises.
2020 – 2021 EXERCISE SUPPORT DURING COVID-19
PDC continues to support training and exercises throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Most activities have been transitioned to a virtual platform to ensure the health and safety of all participants.
Have questions or want to request exercise support?
