Emergency List of Items

Mr R Dhinakaran asked the Minister for Defence (a) whether our total defence plan can be strengthened by way of an "emergency list of items" being circulated to all residents during peace time so as to reduce the occurrence of anxious purchasing, shortage and profiteering during an emergency; and (b) if so, what is the Government's plan to ensure that all residents have this list of items ready.

As part of our on-going Total Defence efforts, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has been working to enhance the emergency preparedness of the civilian population. Since 1990, they have published the Civil Defence Emergency Handbook, which provides advice on dealing with various emergencies, such as fires and floods. The handbook is distributed to members of the public at various Emergency Preparedness Days

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and at Community Emergency Preparedness Programme sessions. It is also available for download from the SCDF website and there are plans to disseminate it through mobile applications.

The handbook advises all residents to prepare their own ready bag, which is a bag of essential items needed during an emergency. The list of essential items serves only as a guide and individuals will still need to customise it for their own specific needs, such as with personal medication that their families may require. Learning from the recent haze episode, Singaporeans may also wish to include N95 masks into their ready bags, to avoid having to buy the item at the last minute. I believe that many have already done so. A poll conducted by REACH from late July to early August 2013 showed that about seven out of 10 Singaporeans have N95 masks at home.

The Government will continue to help those who need special assistance to cope with emergency situations. For instance, in July, the People's Association distributed 30,000 WeCare Packs, which contained medical and food supplies, to the poor and elderly folk who live alone3.

While the Government takes the lead in the management of a national emergency, we need individuals to take responsibility for preparing themselves and their families adequately. Doing so augments the Government's contingency plans and ensures that, as a nation, we are resilient and prepared for emergencies.