Disaster Action

No 4, 71 Upper Berkely Street
London
W1H 7DB

Web: www.disasteraction.org.uk

Disaster Action is a charity, founded in 1991 as a result of numerous disasters resulting in loss of life. Membership comprises survivors and/or bereaved from disasters such as Kings Cross, Lockerbie, Hillsborough, Zeebrugge, Marchioness, Piper Alpha, the Southall and Paddington rail crashes, 11th September attacks, the Bali bombing, the Tsunami and the July 2005 London and Sham El Sheikh bombings.

Disaster Action has three main objectives.

• To raise awareness of the needs of survivors and the bereaved.
• To offer support and guidance to those directly affected by trauma as a result of a disaster.
• To campaign for a safer climate in which disasters are less likely to occur.

Disaster Action is not a front-line responder to disaster, seeking instead to influence government and policy on the handling of the human aspects of major disaster.

In July 2007 the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act was passed, the culmination for Disaster Action of many years of work relating to corporate responsibility.

Members give talks on disaster response to the police, emergency planning officers, social services and others around the country. Disaster Action is funded from charitable trusts such as The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Disaster Action's collective expertise lies in their direct personal experience of sudden catastrophe in which members have suffered the loss of loved ones or been involved as survivors. Nine leaflets entitled When Disaster Strikes have been written by members for those affected by trauma. The information covers those things members feel it would have been helpful for them to have known at the time of each disaster. The leaflets can be accessed via the website.