Community Emergency
Response Team
(CERT)
Each year, many North Carolina communities suffer
extensive damage from severe weather such as hurricanes, floods,
tornadoes, winter storms, drought, extreme heat, wildfires, and "man-made" disasters such as hazardous materials spills. The damage
caused by such disasters can be localized, impacting neighborhoods or
communities; or it can be regional, affecting the entire state, or
portions of the state. In any case, debris-clogged or damaged roads,
hazardous materials plumes, flooding and other impacts can severely
curtail the ability of local first responders to arrive "on-scene". When neighborhoods and individuals are cut off from outside emergency
support, it is up to individual citizens to help each other until help
can arrive.
The purpose of CERT training is to provide
citizens with the basic skills required to handle virtually all of
their personal needs, and then be able to respond to their
communities' needs until professional emergency services can respond. New Hanover County CERT members will receive 20 hours of skills
training at an accredited community college (Cape Fear Community
College), and receive a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
certificate indicating they are CERT-qualified.
If you, your neighborhood, business or
organization want(s) to establish or sponsor a Community Emergency
Response Team, and learn basic skills to prepare for and respond to a
disaster, please contact Carol Thiel at 798-6900. To read more about
the federal CERT program,
click here.
New Hanover County's CERT brochure can be
viewed by double clicking on the link below.
CERT Brochure
Citizen Corp Council Volunteer Registration Form
(To fill out the Survey, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader©. If you
don't have it, you can download it for free by clicking here 
