The Red Cross recommends the creation of a “Catakit” for each French person in the face of natural disasters

CLIMATE – Adapting to climate change starts with adopting new habits. This is the idea put forward by a study by the Red Cross on the resilience of French society in the face of extreme climatic events. And among the 10 recommendations of the humanitarian association, it notably proposes the idea of ​​a “ emergency bag » which would allow the population to be better armed.

Unveiled this Thursday, April 25, this study carried out in collaboration with the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (Crédoc) demonstrates the cruel lack of preparation of the French in the face of these increasingly concrete problems on a daily basis. .

The observation is also clear: “75% (of French people) do not feel prepared for floods, 73% for forest fires, 59% for heat waves”according to an OpinionWay survey for the French Red Cross.

To your “Catakit”

The French are therefore not ready to respond to the challenges of climate change. Faced with this worrying observation, the Red Cross is proposing to establish what it calls a “ Catakit », a personal emergency bag, ready to use in the event of an evacuation or risky situation.

This bag would contain non-perishable food, water, a first aid kit, clothing and a flashlight. The bare minimum to allow you to wait for help in the best possible conditions.

Behind this idea, the objective of the Red Cross is above all to make the population understand that “ crisis preparedness is everyone’s business “. And therefore not to rely solely on the action of public authorities or associative and private actors, as emphasized by Philippe Da Costa, president of the association.

And current figures tend to prove him right. “Only 11% of French people have an emergency bag ready, and less than half know the essential items to put in it”details the OpinionWay survey.

Gestures and reflexes that save

Among the other recommendations established by the French Red Cross, training in life-saving gestures and behaviors should be extended to a larger part of the French population. Especially since the comparison with some of our European neighbors is strikingly true. This report estimates that around 40% of French people have recently followed training in life-saving gestures, “ compared to 95% in Norway or 80% in Germany.”

“If individuals are informed and trained, the impact of extreme climatic events on populations will be less and material damage reduced », recalls the Red Cross in this regard.

For the association, an educational and pedagogical effort must also be implemented concerning the knowledge of vital reflexes. Beyond this formula, it especially recommends knowing how to identify sound alerts and adopting good behavior in the event of a disaster. And for this, underlines an important, and often neglected, fact: “ All French and Overseas territories are concerned “.

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