Like the critical\climatic scene in the film 'Gladiator', coming together as on.
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International delegates to the
National Level Exercise are briefed in May 2018. (Rich Cooper/HSToday)
InsideHS: Creating Local Partners to Bridge
Post-Hurricane Islands
May 11, 2018 Rich Cooper
Day
5 coverage of NLE18 — don’t miss Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 coverage of the FEMA
National Level Exercise
You could not ask for a more beautiful
spring day on the Chesapeake Bay. Gorgeous blue skies, no clouds, low
humidity and a gentle enough breeze to cool you while you took in the
pleasant scents from the bay. I’m in Perry Point, Md., a small piece of land that
is literally a peninsula situated at one of the northernmost parts of the
Chesapeake Bay.
Standing on the grounds of the Perry Point VA Medical Center, part of the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the VA Maryland Health Care System,
it is at first glance a pristine view of what “Bay Life” is all about. But as
beautiful as the weather and surrounding 400 acres are, there is a real-world
exercise underway that is anything but attractive. It’s another day in NLE18
and the assembled players are playing out another tragic scenario that no one
ever wants to see happen.
Still reeling from the
after-effects of fictional Hurricane Cora that struck the greater Washington,
D.C., area as a Category 4 hurricane (which is nearly 100 miles away), Cora
hit Perry Point and the surrounding areas of Cecil County, Md., as a Category
2 storm. In its aftermath, this area of the Chesapeake found itself with lots
of debris and power problems, but also more than its share of transportation
challenges.
Railroad lines that pass through the area are silent because
portions of rail lines have been severed by Cora’s wrath. Even many of the
surrounding roads, including Interstate 95, are clogged with debris and
emergency vehicles doing whatever they can to get roads open so recovery
operations and commerce can begin again. On top of that, the tunnels in and
out of Baltimore that could bring any number of supplies and resources into
the area remain closed as they are still flooded. And that’s just for
starters.
Today’s exercise is “two days”
after the Cora strike. A fictional severe thunderstorm fueled by the warm air
and waters of the bay has spawned a tornado that has struck the Perry Point
VA Medical Center campus. Patients and staff are trapped in several collapsed
buildings and members of the Cecil County Fire Department, the Maryland
National Guard and other regional first responders are assembling to execute
their life-saving attack on the structures.
Lights are flashing from
stationed fire trucks, radios are squawking updates and directions to
deployed units are given. Joining me as fellow observers of what is happening
are nearly two dozen fatigue-wearing military personnel from Albania,
Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Taiwan. They are all part of a
National Guard exchange program that shares emergency response practices with
one another.
DISASTER “VICTIMS” IN THE NATIONAL
LEVEL EXERCISE. (RICH COOPER/HSTODAY)
As a small group of National
Guard officers explain what is happening around us, three first responders
step out from the “collapsed” building, pulling a “victim” out on tarp
litter. As they drag the weighted mannequin across the lawn to the medical
triage tent for evaluation and treatment, the radio chatter announces that
more victims have been found.
What follows are more units of
first responders – all in different types of service uniforms, all working
together, probably for the first time, to render aid however they can.
Collectively they all work to familiarize themselves with the building
structure and layout, while trying to ascertain where other victims might be
found and what other resources they may need.
As this is happening, another
group of responders are pulling another canvas litter out of the building –
this time holding a real person, not a weighted mannequin. Trying to maintain
her composure as four men carry her out (and not smile at the
exercise-watchers as they look at her being dragged on the ground), she
raises her head high enough so she doesn’t get her head banged on the ground.
Taking all of this in alongside
the international observers is Brig. Gen. Sean Casey of the Maryland
National Guard. In describing today’s exercise, on top of the events and
aftermath that the fictional Cora strike has brought upon his home state, he
says, “This is the absolute worst scenario for us. It’s bad enough what the
storm [Cora] would do, but the storm surge that follows it would make what is
a bad situation even worse.”
Adding another emergency like the
fictional tornado strike, with supply lines already being stretched thin,
limited highways in use, flooded tunnels preventing additional resources
getting in, and battling physical exhaustion and fatigue of personnel who
have been going nonstop for days, “this is what we have to be ready for.”
Pointing to response crews that
are bringing more victims out of the building, Casey adds, “All of these
people need to meet their counterparts and be ready to do their part.” He
then described how just over 2,000 players – Maryland National Guard,
civilians, public safety, emergency management, private sector and more –
were playing in Maryland as part of the NLE18 exercise.
In speaking with him, Casey
relayed a deep sense of pride at the efforts that were being showcased in the
exercise. But coupled with that pride you also detect a sense of concern that
any leader would have for the unknown time, event and location when they will
be called upon and really tested.
VA MARYLAND HEALTH CARE SYSTEM EMERGENCY MANAGER DAWN IVANCIK (RICH COOPER/HSTODAY)
That readiness aspect, along with
meeting people in practice, rather than actual game time was echoed by Dawn
Ivancik, the emergency manager for the VA Maryland Health Care
System. Projecting readiness as well as resolve, she is the only emergency
manager for what is a major regional healthcare facility in the state of
Maryland (and mid-Atlantic). But at no time does she ever give a sense that
she is alone in her job.
Like other emergency managers,
she knows that lives are dependent upon her, her decisions as well as the
resources and relationships she possesses. “You can’t do this job alone. I
may be the only emergency manager for this facility, but I regularly train
and exercise the staff here on what we need to do for any number of
scenarios.”
She then described doing monthly
tabletop exercises with Medical Center staff as well as regular engagements
with her Veterans Administration counterparts, the Cecil County Sheriff’s
Office, and Cecil County Fire, as well as other surrounding jurisdictions.
In identifying the tools at her
disposal, she shared, “We have dual-use vehicles here that if we need to move
people in a conventional way or in a hospital ambulatory fashion, we can do
that, and the staff here know how to do those things. Evacuating them is the
last resort and last thing we want to do, but we have to be ready to do it.”
As we discuss the exercise,
Ivancik eludes to the fact that the facility she has emergency stewardship
over is in fact a peninsula – a stretch of land that is almost entirely
surrounded by water. In taking in that geographic condition, I remark to her
that the Cora/NLE18 exercise has probably literally created a number of new
remote islands in the surrounding area as the conventional supply lines and
resources that have always been there are now cut off and inaccessible.
“Exactly!” she replied. “That’s
why doing an exercise like this with search and rescue, the National Guard,
Cecil County Fire, as well as the people here [Perry Point VA Medical Center]
are essential for us.”
Motioning toward the window as
National Guardsmen and local fire and rescue personnel continue to move
equipment and people in the exercise, she noted that her job is “to help look
after our veterans who have already given us so much.”
“I want to make sure we are ready
to give them even more when we are called upon to do so. That’s why I have to
make sure we’re ready because none of us can afford to be alone on any
island. We need to have practice and relationships.”
As she relays her response, two
of her VA colleagues chime in from the side of the room and share that the
Perry Point VA Medical Center team is indeed ready for whatever may come
their way. And they credit Dawn for what she’s done to make sure they
all know what to do when they are called upon to do “more.”
That ability to know what to do
and be ready to take on “more” at a moment’s notice is something Brig. Gen.
Casey also relayed during the exercise. As we watched the Guardsmen work with
the other exercise participants, he shared that his retirement from the
National Guard was on the horizon in a year or so.
“He doesn’t know it yet, but
tomorrow my second-in-command is going to take over for the rest of the
exercise as I’m going to be ‘hit by a bus,’ which then puts him in charge,”
Casey said.
He smiled as he said this,
knowing it would be a helluva curve ball tossed at his team. But in sharing
that detail with me, Casey relayed confidence as to how his team would react
to the sudden (and fictionally dramatic) change in his exercise “status.”
(And this is a fictional “hit by a bus” scenario. No one is going to put the
brigadier general in front of a bus to be struck; at least I hope not. It’s
just his intent to switch from being a “player” to an “observer” for the
remainder of the NLE18 exercise.)
In hearing him describe the
exercise surprise that was yet to be sprung, I asked if he thinks his second
in command knows what might be coming.
Replying with a smile, Casey
said, “I think he knows something’s coming but he doesn’t know what it is
yet.”
“But that’s the point of
exercises like this. Everyone must be ready to step up and do the next job.
That’s how you succeed in tough conditions.”
Which explains why practice and
relationships make all the difference in the world and how you can survive on
unexpected islands or when leadership and conditions unexpectedly change.
It’s about possessing confidence,
skill and collaboration, and when those three ingredients are added to any
mix things always get better. And Maryland has a lot already in its mix, and
showed today that they’re ready to go.
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Monday, May 14, 2018
EM Exercises:, One important aspect of Emergency Management Planning. May 14, 2018
Webinar: Supporting the Emotional Wellbeing of First Responders, Emergency Managers & Disaster Relief Personnel (5/15/2018)
DHS
Center for Faith & Opportunity Initiatives
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Webinar: Supporting the Emotional Wellbeing of
First Responders, Emergency Managers & Disaster Relief Personnel
(5/15/2018)
Please register to receive a recording of this
webinar.
The DHS Center
for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives (DHS Center), U.S. Department of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, are co-hosting a webinar on Supporting the Emotional
Wellbeing of First Responders, Emergency Managers & Disaster Relief
Personnel on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, from 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. EDT. In
support of Mental Health Month, this webinar will provide information and
resources on how to respond to the emotional wellbeing of first responders,
emergency managers and disaster relief personnel who support communities
impacted by disasters. Although this webinar should not be taken as medical
advice, it will provide information, resources and considerations to support
mental health and emotional well-being during the response and recovery phase
of a disaster. The webinar will also provide preparedness trainings and
resources on this topic.
Date: Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Time: 1:00 – 2:00p.m. (ET)
Presenter
Organizations include:
How to Join
the Webinar:
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UNISDR Public Comments Open. You have a voice, and at the table. Locally, Nationally, and Globally. May 14, 2018
Each of you have a voice.
As a member of the United National Global Compact (UNGC)
you have a voice on local disaster risk reduction and resiliency
strategies.
Step 1: Get actively involved
locally,
Step 2: Get involved nationally,
Step 3: Get involved globally
-Share your
comments globally with the UNISDR listed below
Get
involved to make the change and giant leap into the 21st
Century for our next generation leaders.
Charles
D. Sharp
CEO.
Black
Emergency Managers Association International
We stand as one
Eric Lives, In Me.
United Nations Office
for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) - Public Review
Subject: [resilient-cities] Open for Public Review: Words into Action Guidelines on “Implementation guide for local
disaster risk reduction and resilience strategies”
Dear colleagues,
Many of you may already be aware
that the Words into Action Guidelines on “Implementation guide for local
disaster risk reduction and resilience strategies” (2018 – public
consultation version) is now available on PreventionWeb for public review. As an effort from the international
DRR community brokered by UNISDR, this official public consultation version
is a product of a long and detailed process of drafting, consultation and
review. The public review normally runs for three months to ensure that
important aspects have not been overseen. The publication will remain available
for public review until mid-June.
To download the
publication (public consultation version), please visit: https://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/publications/57399
About
the publication:
The guide
focuses on tackling underlying disaster risk drivers and strengthening good
governance in disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies, at all levels and
across sectors and actors. The document advises local governments
(authorities, planners and managers at city or other sub-national
levels) on the mechanisms for developing and implementing a holistic and
integrated DRR strategy that contributes to building resilience at the local
level. It outlines what a local DRR and resilience strategy should look like,
and what is needed to create and implement one.
The
guide is divided into seven chapters:
1.
The introduction
2.
Chapter two highlights the role of subnational levels in
developing local disaster risk reduction and resilience strategies and the
importance of localizing DRR
3.
Chapter three delineates the main characteristics of a
local disaster risk reduction and resilience strategy
4.
Chapter four introduces the enabling factors that
generate the conditions for its development throughout an inclusive and
participatory process
5.
Chapter five elaborates on the three core elements that
aid in implementing a local disaster risk reduction and resilience strategy
6.
Chapter six includes a selection of case studies
exemplifying some of the main themes covered in the guide
7.
Finally, chapter seven draws some conclusions.
Warm regards,
Mai/Mutarika
*******
Mutarika (Mai) Pruksapong
Programme Officer
Office for Northeast Asia (ONEA) and
Global Education and Training Institute (GETI)
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
Incheon, Republic of Korea
email: mutarika.pruksapong@un.org T: +82-32-458-6552 | F: +82-32-458-6598/9 | Skype: mutarika_1 www.unisdr.org │ www.preventionweb.net
You are receiving this message because you are a member of the
community Making Cities Resilient-UNISDR.
View
this contribution on the web siteA reply to this message will be sent to all members of Making Cities Resilient-UNISDR. |
Sunday, May 13, 2018
FREE* Adult Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) certification training for the community. May 19, 2018
BEMA International
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LOCATION: Innovative Transforming Neighborhood Center (ITNC), 4710
Auth Way, Suitland, MD 20746
REGISTRATION: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-mental-health-first-aid-certification-class-tickets-44600258574
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, CTS Consulting
and Breathe Non-Profit are offering FREE* Adult Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)
certification training for the community.
Similar to traditional First Aid and CPR, Mental Health First Aid
(certified by The
National Council for Behavioral Health) is help provided to a person developing a mental health problem
or experiencing a crisis until professional treatment is obtained or the crisis
resolves. Mental health challenges – such as depression, anxiety,
psychosis and substance use – are shockingly common in the United States. In
fact, more than one in five American adults will have a mental health problem in
any given year.
Upon completion of this
certification course, Mental Health First Aiders will be able to:
·
better recognize signs and
symptoms shown and expressed by people experiencing a mental health disorder
and or crisis;
·
provide appropriate support
until treatment or further assistance is available;
·
help remove the stigma of
mental illness and demystify the topic of mental health.
Upon successful completion of the class, participants will receive a 3-year certification from the National Council for Behavioral Health. Lunch and light refreshments will be provided.
For more information about Mental Health First Aid, visit www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org.
To learn more about Breathe, visit www.breathenonprofit.org.
*Refundable deposit due at registration in order to reserve your spot.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Information\Communication Flow. Time of Disasters a 24/7 activity. BEMA International, RelifWeb, YOU, and others.
BEMA International
Local
website reviews
Review of emergency management
agency\offices within the U.S. at State, County, City, and township
levels. Review of notification &
communication plans, published plans, exercise schedules, and one of the MOST
IMPORTANT issues: community engagement of
‘whole community’ in awareness, education & training for all members of
the community. Transparency, employment
opportunities, community outreach,
grants (previous and currently received. A financial audit
trail will determine the
priorities of EM offices).
Many problems that communities
encounter: from San Francisco, Los
Angeles, to Boston, from Puerto Rico
to the U.S. Virgin Islands one
question to ask
1.
“Is or was the community activity
engaged in the emergency management program?”,
2.
“Who are their leaders in these
organizations, and do they actively reach out to the community?”.
These are just a few area of local
website and questions we ask during our review.
Membership
We continuously monitor and relay
messages within the BEMA International network of not only impending crisis
and disasters, but ongoing issues within our communities globally.
Ongoing issues of environmental
contamination in the U.S. (San Francisco 10-year toxic soil radioactive and
dust contamination, water security issues, etc.), global issues (water &
food security issues, recycling, health security, etc.)
|
ReliefWeb
How we inform on humanitarian crisis
24/7
By Véronique Durroux-Malpartida
© ReliefWeb
Because
humanitarian response isn’t only active from 9 to 5, neither is ReliefWeb. We actually monitor crisis
situations non-stop. In reply to the
question: “How do you make it work?”, here’s the answer to why and how we
transitioned to the 24/7 operating model to ensure the timely delivery of
crucial information.
Team
members strategically located
For
many years our editorial work was divvied up between three teams working from
UN headquarter locations. Time gaps existed here and there and weekends were
not fully covered, except during acute sudden-onset emergencies. A couple of
months after a devastating earthquake struck
Nepal in 2015, we extended our time coverage and moved on to a consistently
seamless workflow, implementing the 24/7 operation model.
Currently,
the editorial teams are run from three strategic places - Bangkok, Nairobi,
New York - and closely follow the activities of the humanitarian sector,
paying particular attention to the evolution of acute and emerging crises.
Our team members can handle ReliefWeb’s content around the clock because they
are based all over the globe. They are not only selected for their knowledge
and skills, but also for their capacity to work remotely.
Using
key tools for remote work
Over
the years, web-based tools have enabled us to rethink the way we monitor key
information and work as a virtual team. Services and applications such
as Inoreader and Desk now
support information monitoring and interactions with partners, while Trello and Flowdock provide cloud-based
collaboration tools for online discussions between team members, editorial
decision-making, and overall project management.
For
Melissa Elliott, a contractor based in Canada, "The key to being able to
feel confident in providing consistent coverage is having tools that help
filter the firehose of information found on hundreds of channels. Our
editorial team is constantly fine-tuning our filters to ensure we are
receiving relevant content immediately, allowing us to stay on top of daily
events in real-time."
Thanks
to this working model, ReliefWeb can filter thousands of content sources
throughout the day and provide crucial and reliable information around the
clock via the website and mobile apps,
and simultaneously power the content of sister platforms such as unocha.org and RedHum.
|
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Food Security. Farm Bill. SNAP Matters in Every Community--Metros, Small Towns, and Rural Communities INTERACTIVE DATA TOOL
SNAP Matters in Every
Community—Metros, Small Towns, and Rural Communities
INTERACTIVE DATA TOOL
This interactive map provides household SNAP participation rates
at the county level in each state, based on American Community Survey 5-Year
data (2012-2016). Counties are grouped into three categories: Metro, Small
Town, and Rural. Use the buttons at the top to select or deselect the different
categories. Scroll over a county to view household SNAP participation rates.
Click on a county to zoom in, and click on that county again to zoom out to
national scope.
National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association
1029 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 601
Washington, DC 20005
Office: (202) 628-8833
Fax No.: (202) 393-1816
Email: latinofarmers@live.com
Twitter: @NLFRTA
Website: www.NLFRTA.org