Summary: People tend to forget wars, earthquakes, droughts, floods, fires and technological catastrophes and work for better life. It should not be forgotten that in the time of peace (not to mention the Serbian aggression on Croatia; killed and injured people, vast material damage), the daily damage amounts to more than 800 thousand USD or about 300 million USD per year. The majority of the damage is suffered by ordinary people – farmers. It is necessary to build up a system for decreasing the probability and mitigate the consequences of disasters for which preparatory actions should be undertaken – planning and timely reaction in case of a disaster and the recovery of the community. The paper deals with the need to continue the establishment of an emergency management system in Croatia, which was initiated during the war in Croatia following the USA practices (FEMA, EMI, NATO) but was regrettably interrupted in 1994. The time has come to resume this practice. According to the world practice, every country has an organisation for emergency management with educated and experienced professionals in high governmental positions. Establishing a comprehensive emergency management organisation aimed at protecting and rescuing inhabitants, goods and the environment is the primary goal of every organised community and country. The paper also discusses the steps to be undertaken in Croatia in the field of education, primarily for programming the part of the rescue and protection system, which has to be built anew in this country.
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