The Joint Commission requires hospitals to develop plans to manage potential mass casualty incidents. Mass casualty incidents can be caused by natural events such as floods, earthquakes, or hurricanes, or human-related events such as building collapses, chemical spills, or radiation incidents.

There are 4 essential steps in disaster preparedness:

1. Mitigation: Evaluate the locale to determine the facility's vulnerability to various hazards and its ability to provide care and treatment in those circumstances.
2. Preparedness: Develop plans to deal with incidents; train personnel to respond; and test the plan.
3. Response: Implement the protocols developed in the plan. Efficient organization with clearly defined authority, written guidelines, effective triage, and clear communication is essential.
4. Recovery: Plan activities to normalize facility operations quickly after the incident is resolved.