Are We Prepared to Protect What Matters Most?

Public buildings are much more than walls and roofs. They are hospitals that save lives, schools that create opportunity, offices that deliver services to citizens, and museums that safeguard our history and cultural heritage. They ensure the continuity of essential services and the well-being of communities. But when an emergency strikes, everything they represent can be compromised: healthcare delivery, social services, public administration, and the preservation of cultural assets.

To address this challenge, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has published the Guide for the Development of Emergency Plans for Public Buildings, aimed at strengthening the resilience of essential services across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

In our region, the question are we truly prepared? is not rhetorical. Since 2000, more than 1,500 disasters have affected over 190 million people, making LAC the second most disaster-prone region in the world, after Asia and the Pacific. Global estimates place direct disaster losses at around $200 billion annually. When indirect losses are considered, the real cost rises above $2.3 trillion, reinforcing the urgency of investing in resilience today to avoid paying far more tomorrow.

LAC faces high exposure to natural hazards combined with chronic physical and social vulnerabilities: aging infrastructure, maintenance backlogs, unplanned urban growth, environmental degradation, poverty, and inequality. When a public building is unprepared for emergencies, the impact is measured not only in physical damage but also in the loss of essential services for the population.

The IDB supports countries in strengthening resilience through practical tools that integrate disaster risk management into social infrastructure projects. This approach reduces vulnerabilities, anticipates risks, adapts infrastructure to extreme climate events, and safeguards the continuity of essential services.

We often assume that a structurally sound building guarantees continuity during a crisis. Not always. A public building’s ability to remain operational depends on multiple layers: risk-informed design decisions, non-structural protection measures, effective operational actions, and continuous learning supported by adaptable emergency plans. When these layers are aligned, the building maintains both structural integrity and service continuity when it is needed most.

Risk-Informed Design (and Continuity). Emergency preparedness begins at the architectural and functional design stage. This includes selecting appropriate location and orientation, ensuring accessible evacuation routes, incorporating redundancy in critical systems (power, water, telecommunications), protecting sensitive equipment rooms, and allowing flexibility for space conversion (e.g., temporary shelters). International evidence shows that in hospitals, non-structural damage — such as collapsed ceilings, disconnected ducts, or unsecured shelves — accounts for a significant share of operational failures after disasters. In other words, even buildings that withstand an earthquake may stop functioning due to preventable damage.

Non-Structural Measures: The “Internal Order” That Prevents Damage. These relatively low-cost, high-impact actions include anchoring furniture and equipment, clear and accessible signage, backup lighting and alarms, redundant communication systems, hazardous material management, and internal zoning within buildings. All measures must consider people with reduced mobility and disabilities. Regular drills and maintenance verify the effectiveness of these actions. They form the foundation for safe evacuation, when necessary, and for rapid restoration of operations.

Operational Actions: Living Protocols, Defined Roles, Frequent Drills. An effective emergency plan outlines what to do before, during, and after scenarios such as fires, earthquakes, floods, or health emergencies. It clarifies decision-making authority, alarm activation, communication protocols, evacuation or shelter procedures, assembly points, medical response, and restoration of critical services.

Continuous Learning: Resilience as an Ongoing Practice. Resilience requires strong institutional practices: documenting lessons learned, correcting weaknesses identified during drills, updating procedures as conditions change, and ensuring regular staff training. An emergency plan is a living document, updated after drills or disasters to improve communication and adjust procedures. Organizations that learn and continuously improve transform emergency plans into reliable, adaptive systems capable of responding effectively to evolving risks.

Any institution, regardless of size, can take initial steps:

• Appoint a person responsible for the emergency plan with the authority to coordinate key areas.
• Conduct a rapid assessment: risks, routes, critical systems, and building occupants.
• Develop concise protocols by type of emergency, with clear actions and defined resources.
• Conduct an initial drill, measure response times, and adjust accordingly.
• Establish an annual review cycle linked to budgeting and leadership decisions.

These steps turn intention into action.

Emergencies do not wait. When a public building fails, citizens feel the consequences immediately. Ensuring an effective emergency response and service continuity is an institutional responsibility requiring clear governance, defined resources, regular maintenance, and updated protocols.

That is why the IDB supports the region with tools to integrate disaster risk management into social infrastructure projects, adapt critical infrastructure to extreme climate conditions (in Spanish), and build resilient schools and hospitals. Most recently, through its Social Infrastructure Group and Disaster Risk Management Unit, the IDB published the Guide for the Development of Emergency Plans for Public Buildings. This practical tool provides a comprehensive step-by-step methodology to prepare, update, and implement effective emergency and contingency plans.

The Guide offers:

• A clear methodology to assess hazards, vulnerabilities, and capacities.
• Institutional governance and coordination criteria with local authorities.
• Guidance on allocating financial, human, and technical resources.
• Operation and maintenance recommendations to prevent minor issues from becoming critical failures.
• Ready-to-use checklists and terms of reference to contract the preparation or updating of emergency plans.

In essence, it bridges regulation and action.

Ultimately, building resilience is a commitment to people, to the protection of public assets, and to our collective memory. It is not only technical — it is about governance, organizational culture, and public trust. Every protocol, inventory, and drill is an investment in well-being and sustainability.

Building resilience means building the future — and that future is built today, through planning, coordination, and shared responsibility.