Emergency preparedness refers to the steps taken to be ready to respond to and survive during an emergency. Some examples of large scale emergencies that are typically thought of when discussing emergency preparedness include natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, flooding), wide spread disease outbreaks (avian flu), terrorist attacks and industrial disasters like major fire, explosion, Toxic release etc.

For individuals or employees, emergency preparedness might also include plans to respond to a building fire, an extended power outage or an evacuation.

Government agencies, communities, businesses, hospitals and emergency responders spend significant time, resources and monies preparing for these emergencies. These preparations include planning and mock drills.
The government advises corporate and Industries to have their own emergency plans including an emergency kit, an employee emergency plan and a employee communications plan.

It is very important to rehearse your company emergency plan on a regular basis as per statutory norms its once in every six months. It is also advisable to check your kit to be sure that the supplies are in working order and the basic amenities and tools food/water/fire extinguisher/first aid kit & medicine etc. has not expired.