CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Teams. Here is an article from Governing on the value of such teams: Volunteer Emergency Responders.

Disclosure: The Diva is a member of CERT in Arlington County, VA and recommends the program highly.

A few months ago, I posted an article about applying CERT characteristics in a business setting.  Here is an interesting example of the secondary benefits of training for disaster response: Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians jointly train to provide emergency aid during earthquakes.

Working together is the name of the game in a project now underway in Israeli, Palestinian Authority and Jordanian communities. The joint project, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), aims to train local residents as first responders in case of an earthquake.