Museums care for their resources in trust for the public. It is therefore incumbent upon them to ensure the safety of their staff, visitors and neighbors, maintain their buildings and grounds, and minimize risk to the collections that they preserve for future generations. A current, comprehensive disaster preparedness and emergency response plan helps a museum to assess and manage risk, protect human life, and recover from natural and manmade disasters. Creating a plan and training museum staff, governing authority members, and volunteers on their roles within it ensures that a museum will be equipped to handle even the worst-case scenarios.