Personal and Mutual Protection of Citizens in the Local Community

Abstract

Analyzing the data on extraordinary events that marked the past decade in Zadar County, the necessity of increased communication and strengthening of awareness of all the county residents about the risks with which we live and share the living space has been established. New challenges for the local community conditioned by extreme weather phenomena, as well as the increase in the consequences of known risks to human life, material and cultural assets, agriculture, plant and animal life, represent the necessity of intensifying the cooperation of the Civil Protection Directorate with all levels of those legally obliged to establish civil protection. In this context, we will briefly focus on emergency events in Zadar County in the period from 2014 to 2024 as a reference period of 10 years in which a significant number of emergency events occurred. Emergency events confirm the necessity of the continuous efforts of the Civil Protection Directorate to prepare the local community for potential risks and reduce the risk of disasters through preventive and preparatory activities. In most of the analyzed emergency events, the civil protection system was activated through the activities of the civil protection headquarters and its work contributed to a timely response and elimination of the consequences of the emergency event. It is necessary to think about the self-sufficiency of the local community in responding to the consequences caused by emergency situations. Can the local community, using exclusively the operational forces of the civil protection system, provide a quick and effective response in the area of its territorial jurisdiction? Are the available human capacities of the operational forces sufficient? Is there an interest among citizens in participating in activities in response to emergency events? This professional paper will provide answers to the previously raised questions by analyzing the state of the available operational forces and reactions to emergency events in the observed area. At the same time, it is intended to draw attention to the importance of knowing the risks and dangers and the procedures for citizens to behave in emergency situations. Ultimately, the aim of the paper is to explain the importance of implementing citizen education, which is continuously carried out by the Civil Protection Directorate, with the aim of raising awareness and reducing disaster risk, i.e. strengthening the resilience of the local community.