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W5: Day 5 of Disaster Simulation PART A

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Scenario

 – The fire and police department personnel are beginning their assessment of the damage done by the tornado. Based upon their observations and limited communications capabilities the following reports start to flow into the EOC. 

Go through the 

exercise
 before you begin your post.

1.
What do you do? (Role Specific)

2.
What role did you play?

3.
What actions did you initiate (provide a minimum of 3)?

4.
Were there any obstacles presented?

5.
What was the outcome of your actions?

6.
How does this contribute to the overall preparedness/response effort?

Examples Below

1.
What do you do? Process information and requests and send it to the correct agency or responder for action.

2.
What role did you play? Emergency Manager

3.
What actions did you initiate (provide a minimum of 3)? My first action would be to check why the generator has not powered on and get that fixed immediately. Without power in the EOC, then operations can and will be dead in the water.
 While first responders will be doing what they need to do, they will be doing it without the direction needed from those in the 
EOC. Next, I would have neighboring first responder assets begin making their way to the homes on fire in the outskirts part of the city and begin operations there to gain control f the fire and get it out, as well as assist residents in that area.
 Then, I would seek out different ways of having communications established with not only my first responders, with other agencies and NGO’s that are responding to this area for assistance. Once I have a secondary way of communications, then I can get back to the business of making sure that the affected area is taken care of by responders. Without communications nothing can really move forward from there.

4.
Were there any obstacles presented? Communications is going to be the biggest obstacle. With them being virtually wiped out, a secondary way of communications will be a necessity for search and rescue and cleanup operations to begin. You have very little direction from the higher ups if you have no communications and without comms you will not get very far.

5.
What was the outcome of your actions? The generator issue was investigated and taken care of, so power was bel to be restored at the EOC. With power being restored, we also where able to get communications going again by setting up an antenna very near the EOC and that has allowed for better communication with units in the area.

6.
How does this contribute to the overall preparedness/response effort? With the return of communications, units in affected areas can now advise what they the situation is in their area of operations and what they need and do not need in that specific area.

-___________________________________________________

For this simulation I will be continuing with my role of Emergency Manager.

The first action will be to get power to the EOC. If basic trouble shooting steps are unable to restore power to the EOC, personnel with experience in the electrical field will be identified and dispatched to work on the problem. If the generator is unable to be fixed, then a new generator will need to be acquired from another location. Calls for a generator can be sent out over the radio or one may be reallocated from a different location.

The second action would be to prioritize finding potential survivors before dark. Locations such as the hospital and subdivision, where it is known that missing people were at the time of the tornado, will be the first to be searched. Fire crews and most police will disperse to these locations and begin search and rescue operations with the assistance of people already on scene in these locations. Most rescues happen in the first 24 hours after a disaster, but rescue efforts after sundown with no alternate lighting will be exceedingly more difficult and require more personnel.

Although the power is out, the golf course may have a landline phone that can be used to communicate with state officials, so the third action would be to call state authorities and request immediate assistance. The National Guard is controlled by the governor, so they would be the one to initiate mobilization and authorize assistance, although both will take time, so it is important to initiate the request as soon as possible. It would also be important to gather any information available regarding the status of the county EOC.

A major obstacle is going to be the allocation of available resources. Restoring electrical power to key sites and search and rescue operations are going to have to take precedence over other issues like the housefires that don’t pose a threat to the rest of the city, the loose livestock, and the damage to the university. Getting the roads into and out of the city cleared will be important, but that can also be done with volunteers that have no other specialty training, such as fire and medical.

Taking these three steps first will help ensure that existing response efforts are capable of operating as effectively as possible. Launching SAR operations will also limit casualties and could potentially increase personnel available of survivors are found to be in good condition. Most importantly, getting the word out about the condition of Bobsville and requests for help as soon as possible means that additional resources can be received quickly.

Exercise-Exercise-Exercise

Based on the proposed scenario, I would assign specific roles to the fire department to put out fires and to search for people under the rubble, the police to search for missing people, and the medical team to initiate triage for the injured. I will play an interagency coordinative role, ensuring that all professionals are appraised of their roles (FEMA, 2022). The main actions include creating a search party comprising police and uninjured community members to search for the missing community members. It will also include requesting access to local hotels to serve as alternate care facilities. I will also call for a replacement generator and a technician to fix the working generator. The most significant obstacle in the response process is poor communication due to unavailable cell service, inadequate radio signals, and a lack of electricity, hampering the coordination of response efforts between professionals and agencies. However, my actions will help address immediate concerns such as fires, medical intervention, and power restoration. These efforts will help improve the response effort by enhancing agency coordination and community resilience. For instance, initiating triage will ensure that people injured in the ruble can obtain immediate care. Radio stations will help bridge gaps in communication through public messages.

Reference

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2022, October). Emergency operations center how-to quick reference guide. FEMA. 
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_eoc-quick-reference-guide.pdf

W5: Day 6 of Disaster Simulation
PART B

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Scenario – Now that the initial damage has come in from the emergency response personnel the IMT in the EOC has significant decisions to make regarding the response. 

Read through the exercise 
details before getting started.

1. What role did you play?

2. What actions did you initiate (provide a minimum of 3)?

3.
 Were there any obstacles presented?

4.
 What was the outcome of your actions?

5.
 How does this contribute to the overall preparedness/response effort?

EXAMPLE BELOW

·
What role did you play? Emergency Manager

·
What actions did you initiate (provide a minimum of 3)?  My actions were to get power back to the EOC, reestablish communication with not only first responders but other agencies as well both in and out of the city and county, begin SAR operations as well as cleanup operations.

·
Were there any obstacles presented? The obstacles presented where, no communications with first responders or other agencies due to power outages and cell tower losses, delay in treatment and transport of injured persons due to debris and building material all over the place, delay in response times for first responders because of them having to clear paths for them to use through debris.

·
What was the outcome of your actions? The outcome of the actions was that even though treatment and transport and response times were delayed, citizens got the response needed for them, the loss of property was greater then expected but the FD was able to save 2 houses from lightning strike fires, Communication, although not great, where reestablished and responders were able to get assignments from the EOC, since power had been restored. 

·
How does this contribute to the overall preparedness/response effort? So, knowing what the issue was with the generator, and finding secondary ways to communicate with first responders and other agencies, this incident was a great training tool for those involved. They were able to adapt to the situation and overcome the issue presented and get the tasks accomplished.

Tweet for the IC:

@bobsvillecarolemergman_M1_600p_city of Bobsville/carol county tornado confirmed  _catastrophic damage _ imp IAP’s__trap_nert_reqs_ #bobsvilletorando

-__________________________________________________________________________

My role involved coordinating and facilitating an improvement of CIKR facilities. It involved communicating with the responsible agencies and organizations to fix the cell towers or offer alternative communication methods (FEMA, 2008). Secondly, I reached out to FEMA and the DHS to provide alternative shelter and basic medical and survival supplies for displaced people. I also ensured effective communication across the region by utilizing the operational radio stations to provide the public with necessary information concerning response efforts. Communication presented a significant challenge, particularly due to the inability to transmit confidential information to other government agencies. A lack of electricity also impeded communication and coordination efforts. The outcome of my actions included the involvement of government agencies such as FEMA, the National Guard, and the DHS to provide necessary services to the affected communities. My efforts also enabled a return to operation for the EOC, which was crucial in enhancing response efforts. These actions facilitated faster responses among relevant agencies, and they also ensured that the public was well-informed concerning the disaster and the response efforts. For instance, the public was aware of newly developed triage stations, and FEMA and DHS were aware of the temporary response centers that required assistance and resources. 

Reference

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2008, January). Critical infrastructure and key resources support annex. FEMA. 
https://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-support-cikr.pdf

W5: Hot Wash

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Hello everyone,

During week 4 and 5 you completed the disaster simulation. Evaluate your responses to the simulation and share three areas that you feel went well and what and three areas that you need to improve.  

Utilize the 
table for your initial post supported by supporting narrative discussion.

** REPLY TO A MINIMUM OF TWO CLASSMATES’ POSTS **

W5: Hot Wash Part C

Contains unread posts

Hello everyone,

During week 4 and 5 you completed the disaster simulation. Evaluate your responses to the simulation and share three areas that you feel went well and what and three areas that you need to improve.  

Utilize the 
table for your initial post supported by supporting narrative discussion.

** REPLY TO A MINIMUM OF TWO CLASSMATES’ POSTS **

Example Below

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