With Hurricane Irene approaching, local governments up and down the east coast are getting ready to test their emergency preparedness. During National Hurricane Preparedness Week last May, many organizations and government bodies worked to raise awareness of this important issue. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration created a week’s worth of informative videos about the history and dangers of hurricanes and how to best prepare for one. States like Virginia also participated in the week by lifting sales taxes on emergency preparedness items. Collecting items like these in a disaster supply kit is a very important way everyone in the community can prepare for hurricanes. FEMA offers many disaster preparedness resources, including tips on everything from preparing for disasters in a way that will mitigate damage and taking care of family pets during natural disasters.
While individuals are encouraged to prepare their own households, local governments have major responsibilities in preparing the community natural disasters. Since local leaders know their communities best and can usually respond the fastest, it’s especially crucial that municipalities have a plan in place for emergencies rather than waiting for outside help. FEMA offers a 10 hour hurricane preparedness course for community leaders who handle emergency responses. At ICMA University’s recent webconference “Managing the Unthinkable Disaster: 11 Critical Keys to Responding to Your Worst-Case Scenario”, the city managers who responded to the 1991 Oakland firestorm and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing shared their tips on disaster recovery. Local leaders need to juggle everything from communications challenges to expense accounting for federal or state reimbursement.
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Sandbags being used to help reduce water levels.
While Hurricane Irene is in the news now, hurricanes are certainly not the only natural disaster that plagues the United States. See what other local governments are doing to educate and prepare their communities for the natural disasters that may strike their region:
In addition to preparing the general public, it is especially important for local governments to make special provisions for those in the community who may have more difficulty preparing or evacuating. In Broward County, Fla. the community adopted a Vulnerable Population Registry after Hurricane Wilma in 2005. First responders use the registry after a disaster to help help locate those who may need extra assistance. The City of Fargo, N.D. has a similar program used in case of emergencies. One great community resource that has been expanding nationwide is the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). CERT is a sort of grassroots effort sponsored by FEMA to help develop and promote more emergency preparedness education programs. Supporting CERT groups in your community can help assure that when disaster strikes, every citizen knows what to do.
The best way to recover from a disaster is to be prepared in the first place. But no matter how prepared you are, hurricanes and other disasters will likely cause serious damage that requires a response and may stretch local resource. Several Knowledge Network resources can help guide your community’s emergency preparedness and disaster recovery plans:
Two recent Knowledge Network questions discussed dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster: Disaster Debris Removal Contract and Disaster Recovery - Towing Response.
Articles from ICMA’s Integrating 311 into Disaster Response & Recovery toolkit are another helpful resource. For more 311 articles see the links below:
The Knowledge Network also has number of articles and documents to help guide your future emergency preparedness plans: