10 EMERGENCY MANAGER FALL 1998 GEMA BRINGS ITS MESSAGE OF EMERGENCY PLANNING TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS GEORGIA Rise in Violent Incidents on School Grounds Need for Effective Planning By Candy Waylock Contributing Writer The sanctity and safety ofthe school playground has been shattered in recent years by the rising number ofviolent incidents at schools. Since 1993, in-school shootings have left 25 dead and 30 wounded in 11 separate attacks around the country. The average age ofthe shooter: 15 years old. In an effort to stem the rising tide ofviolence, many school districts are looking to the Georgia Emergency Management Funded by a grant from the Victim's of Crime Act (VOCA) program, Franklin is working to bring the message ofemergency planning to schools around the state. Through training sessions, conferences, and tabletop exercises, GEMA seeks to structure the assistance to the needs ofthe individual school districts. Agency (GEMA) for assistance in developing emergency , plans. Bomb Threats Prompt Schools to Action "The Emergency Management in Schools program is a very important part of what we do at GEMA, because we're dealing with the nation's most valuable resources, our young people," said GEMA Director Gary W. McConnell. "Violence in schools affects every aspect of our society, and we are committed to making it as much a part ofour planning focus as natural disasters." Coweta County, a school system of 15,000 students located about 30 miles southwest ofAtlanta, has taken the 1 ' lead in school emergency planning, becoming one ofthe most active districts in the state. Eddie Ball, the Coweta County Emergency Management Director, has worked closely with GEMA, the Georgia Bureau ofInvestigation, and school administrators to develop a effective emergency plan for the school district. The program has been well received around the state, drawing in school administrators who recognize the need to take a proactive planning stance to keep their schools and students safe. "Having the need for an emergency plan is a relatively new concept which has developed over the last five or six years in our district," said Superintendent Richard Brooks ofthe Coweta County School District. "We realized we needed to plan in case ofemergencies, and there has been a real awareness ofsafety issues based on the events that have occurred recently." GEMA Shifts Focus for School Safety "Over the past couple ofyears we've had a good number ofbomb threats in the schools, although we've never had an actual incident," explainedBall onhow the countybecame involved with the school district. "But with the [shooting] incidents inArkansas and other places we decided it was appropriate to look at training school officials on how to ,! put an emergency plan in place." Earlier this year Coweta County sponsored a seminar, along with GEMA and the GBI, for school administrators to discuss emergency planning in their local schools. Ball said over 100 people attended the seminar, including school administrators, board members and teachers. "For years people have looked at emergency planning from a natural disaster standpoint, and, as a result, there are very effective elements already in place which can be applied to safe school planning," said Karen Franklin, Victim's Awareness Coordinator for GEMA. Franklin said GEMA is now looking at safe schools as part of its all hazards approach to emergency planning, and identifying "all the players who play a role in the public safety picture." "We discussed mass casualty incidents, bomb incidents, and the response that should take place internally before the arrival ofemergency responders," said Ball, who said the county is preparing for an actual bomb detonation ' exercise for school administrators later this year to illustrate the damage that can occur with bombs. 11 I 11 EMERGENCY MANAGER FALL 1998 "Ifyou look at school safety in general, you have to consider all threats, including those that happen off-campus and during extracurricular events such as football games," said Franklin. "GEMA is looking at broad-based crisis response and recovery in dealing with everything from preparation, training and even working with the media after an event." lMl!JJRTANT J\'QTJCE_S , 1'htt O<>venwr's Taskf'orce on Jf'aruing \ (Utd Om1mu11ieatio11 Reci>1tu11dations: '\ weh site: WlVJt1.sfate.ga.usl(;EA.JA/ \ Ball echoed that point, noting administrators are moving away from the "it can't happen to me" stance to "it could LJil_:;v;;_~1~!~_~:;y~_~ta:_~'~):_;:,:=_::'tt~:::itJfr : happen to me, I betterbe prepared," and are welcoming emergency planning experts with open arms. 11!\ "They'rejust pleased as they could be that we've taken an interest in planning at the school level," said Ball. "Disaster planning is new to the schools, and with all these incidents ofbomb threats and mass casualties in schools, it's on everyone's minds." 8 .~. .~ \k' . . Tlte lVtttionatllurri"'-''am! Center~. ~ . web site: ifj + www.11l1c.m1aa.com .if Formore information on Emergency Planning in Schools, contact Karen Franklin, Victim's Awareness Coordinator at GEMA, 404-635-7244 or 1-800-TRY-GEMA. + 911 SIMULATOR TO HELP TRAIN FIREFIGHTERS The National Fire Academy (NFA) has accepted a 911 Developed by a State Farm employee from Frederick, simulator from the State Farm Insurance Company. NFA, Maryland, this small unit is designed to teach children how 1 which is part of the Federal Emergency Management to make a call for emergency services. Consisting of a Agency's U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), will use this telephone, computer, and voice chip installed in a portable new equipment to help train the 4,000 firefighters that attend case, the firefighter-instructor can prompt the simulator to courses at their Emmitsburg, Maryland, campus each year. ask important questions so that children can practice providing critical information to an emergency operator in a ''Our instructors will show firefighters how the simulator controlled situation. can be used to raise public awareness and teach the proper _ way to make an emergency call for help," said USFA Located on the grounds ofthe former St. Joseph's College 1 Administrator Carrye Brown. "Local fire departments in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the first NFA classes on the across the country are turning more attention to public Emmitsburg campus were delivered in January 1980, and education and fire prevention efforts like the 911 simulator the program has grown steadily since that time. Through its to help reduce fire losses intheir communities. The simulator courses and programs, the NFA works to enhance the ability will also be used in our national public education programs offire and emergency services and allied professionals to and partnerships, like the Make the Right Call project." deal more effectively with fire and related emergencies. -- ------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------~~-- 12 EMERGENCY MANAGER FALL 1998 FEMA INVITES THREE GEORGIA COUNTIES FOR PROJECT IMPACT By Chuck Gregg Hurricane Planner/Exercise Coordinator In June, the Federal Emergency Agency (FEMA) The three counties were selected based on their announced the launching ofProject Impact - Building a vulnerability to various hazards including floods and the Disaster Resistant Community, a new disaster prevention common threat ofa majorhurricane. The otherthree coastal initiative which involves communities in all fifty states. At counties will be added soon. The program is new and the recommendation ofGEMA, FEMA invited the three unconventional, but that allows more flexibility and coastal counties of Camden, Glynn, and Mcintosh to opportunity to address problems at the local level with the participate in the first phase ofthe program. community assuming more leadership. Communities will make decisions and coordinate activities ranging from Project Impact is a nontraditional federal initiative in the retrofitting ofcritical facilities to education and direction on sense that much of its success will be predicated on proper residential construction. GEMA Director Gary involvement and support from the private sector. Project McConnell notes that Georgia is one ofthe first states to Impact communities are expected to form steering implement Project Impact with a regional or multi-county committees with at least halfofthe membership from the approach. "FEMA is very interested to leamhowthis works private sector, especially from business and industry. The in Georiga," states McConnell. + steering committees will work with federal, state, and local government agencies along with the other sectors ofthe community to address hazard assessments and develop ------- ..... --------------------------- mitigationstrategies. - - .......... . - - - - - - - -------------------~---- --------------------------~----------------------------- FAYETTE COUNTY EMA HONORED Fayette County EMA Coordinator Pete Nelms was recently honored by FEMA for the development and implementation ofThe Fayette County Resource Council, Inc. This program has been selected for inclusion in FEMA's Compendium of Exemplary Practices in Emergency Management which showcases superlative endeavors in order to leverage creative initiatives within the emergency management community. The Fayette County Resource Council, Inc. program was initiated in May, 1996, as a hazardous materials resource networking program targeted for supporting , Fayette County as a whole. The Fayette County Resource Council, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation that was formed to promote partnership between government and industry. Through this partnership, resources that may be useful before, during, and after a hazardous materials incident are made available ' upon request, to all member companies and emergency responders. Council membership reduces exposure to liability. Resources are coordinated through a resource l;L manual that is distributed to all members. The manual 11' includes 24-hour contact information as well as available resources. The Council is governed by a board ofdirectors that consists of representatives from both industry and government. The Council collects membership fees from all members to fund the operating expenses of the Council and to purchase equipment for the hazardous materials response team. Remaining funds are put into contingency so that they canbe used for the immediate replacement ofequipment used during an incident. The Council is a major source of funding for the team and provides resource management during hazardous material incidents. Participation by industry and businesses continues to grow. :. The program has promoted cooperation and coordination among industry and government in the areas ofmitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. + 13 EMERGENCY MANAGER FALL 1998 SBA DISASTER APPLICATION DEADLINES By Buzz Weiss Public Information Coordinator Certain federal disaster loans remain available from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for small businesses and small agriculture cooperatives which have been economically affected by instances ofsevere weather this year. While the deadline for physical loss loans has passed, applications for economic injury disaster loans are still being accepted. Economic injury disaster loans (EIDLs) provide working capital to small businesses so they can pay bills and meet normal operating expenses. Maximum loans ofup to $1.5 million are available at low interest with loan terms ofup to 30 years. The SBA determines eligibilty for the program based on the size and type ofbusiness, and its financial resources. The loans affect counties contiguous to those which have been declared as disaster areas. Clayton, Clinch, Cobb, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Crawford, Crisp, Dade, Dawson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Douglas, Early, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Floyd, Forsyth, Fulton, Glynn, Gordon, Grady, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Houston, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Lanier, Laurens, Lee, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Macon, Mcintosh, Miller, Mitchell, Monroe, Montgomery, Murray, Muscogee, Newton, Paulding, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Pulaski, Quitman, Rabun, Randolph, Richmond, Rockdale, Screven, Seminole, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Tattnall, Telfair, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Towns, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Union, Walker, Ware, Wayne, Webster, Wheler, White, Wilcox, Wilkinson, and Worth Counties for severe storms and flooding which occurred February 14-May 11, 1998. Deadline: December 12, 1998. The eligible areas and the application deadlines are as Grady and Thomas Counties for heavy rains and flooding follows: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, thatoccurredJuly 13 in Florida. Deadline: April20, 1999. Barrow, Bartow, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Calhoun, If you have any questions, contact the Small Business ----------------------------------------- Candler, Carroll, Charlton, Chatham, Cherokee, Clay, Administration at 404-347-3771. --------------------------------------~---------------------- ------ -- -------- -------------- ---- ------- ------- + ---- -- -- FEDERAL INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM Twenty-six insurance companies in Georgia have been approved by FEMA to sell FEMA Flood Insurance. Allstate Insurance Company American Bankers Insurance Company ofFlorida American Modem Home Insurance Company American National Property and Casualty American Reliable Insurance Company Auto-Owners Insurance Company Bankers Insurance company Fidelity and Deposit Companies First Community Insurance Company Great Pacific Insurance Company Hartford Fire insurance Company IGF Insurance Company Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company Omaha Property and Casualty Insurance Company Prudential Property and Casualty Insurance Company 1. Selective Insurance Company ofAmerica South Carolina Insurance Company Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company State Capital Insurance Company State Farm Fire and Casualty Company The Hartford The Philadelphia Contributionship The Seibels Bruce Group, Inc. Travelers Insurance Unisun Insurance Company Vesta Insurance Corporation 14 EMERGENCY MANAGER FALL 1998 NEW ACTUAL OCCURRENCE EXERCISE CRITERIA ANNOUNCED By Ralph Reichert Exercise Officer Exercise credit for response to actual occurrences has been a long established practice in emergency management. In the past, actual events which included specific elements : such as evacuations, sheltering, injuries or fatalities, and the activation ofthe Emergency Operations Center, could be submitted for exercise credit. But as a result ofa shift in control ofexercise programs from FEMA to the states, a change in these criteria was announced at the GEMA Contemporary Issues in Emergency Management Seminar conducted in June. Recognizing that Emergency Management Agencies (EMAs) routinely respond to emergency incidents to assume a coordinating role between various departments, i agencies, and mutual aid providers, GEMA has established f new exercise guidelines which allow credit for a broader range of emergency activities, with an emphasis on operations. To receive credit, EMAs must report the incidentby submitting an Emergency Management Exercise Reporting System (EMERS) form 95-44 to GEMA. An addendum must also be attached to this form which outlines the nature ofthe incident, provides a description ofthe response (including a list ofthe responding agencies and departments), and documents compliance to any three (3) 1 ofthe following six (6) criteria: i + A local, state, or federal declaration of emergency ,1 (copy attached to EMERS). + Activation of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), a Forward Emergency Operations Center (FEOC) or Mobile Command Post (MCP), or ii implementation of Incident or Unified Command iI Systems. itii + Incident response by four (4) or more agencies or :1 Ci departments. i + Response through mutual aid from another i\'1i governmental jurisdiction or private industry. !l1 1 + Warning issued to the public. :I1! + Evacuations and/or sheltering conducted. ; : ifij An addendum format is currently under development, and i! ri a supplemental form for attachment to the 95-44 will be ti mailed to all EMAs prior to October 1, 1998 for use in the new Federal FiscalYear (FFY). It is hoped that information ~j on the newly developed, windows based EMERS software, [:! which will be available for download from the FEMA web ll page, will be included in that mailing. From that web page, [J the 95-44 form will be available for download and printing, rj and possibly for electronic transmittal to the GEMA ~~t,'\',: i; database. Call the Exercise Training Officer with any , questions at 1-800-TRY-GEMA. + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~---------- ----------~------------------------~---------------- Continued from Page 7 Continued from Page 9 Now that the smoke is literally clearing, states that Georgia Public Television; the Georgia Departments of participated in EMAC are planning a debriefing soon to Administrative Services and Defense; the Hall County discuss these and other issues. Lee Smith, who served as Emergency ManagementAgency; the National Weather EMAC Liaison from Georgia is satisfied: "In this first trial Service; the Georgia House ofRepresentatives; the offices run, EMAC has shown it will be a viable emergency ofU.S. Senators Paul Coverdell and Max Cleland, and response asset in the future .. .It did an outstandingjob." CongressmanNathan Deal; and meteorologists fromAtlanta area television stations. + ' For more information contact Mike Sherberger, EMAC Operations Subcommittee Chair, at (404) 635-7002. + i i I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i i 15 EMERGENCY MANAGER FALL 1998 HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM (HMGP) FUNDS TO ADDRESS TORNADO SAFETY By Amy Zeller grant applications are requesting additional sirens to either Hazard Mitigation Specialist upgrade or complete existing warning systems, while some aspire to create and launch a new public warning system. A high incidence oftornadic activity associated with 1997I Some of the larger scale projects related to this initiative 1998 El Nino weather patterns has led to unusual loss of inlcude the Severe Storms Research Center project with the life and property damage. The disasters resulting from this Georgia Tech Research Institute and the installation of 12 weather phenomenon have made it apparent that there is a NOAA radio repeater towers across Georgia. There are also definite need for additional funding for warning systems projects demonstrating innovative ideas such as Carroll that cannot be accommodated by existing programs. County's mobile Disaster Safety and Education House, which will be used throughout the county and in surrounding This summer, GEMA received information describing a counties for education programs on all disasters. new FEMA policy concerning the use ofHazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds for measures to address GEMA is currently working with the FEJV;IA regional tornado safety. Through this policy, those States that have office on meeting the requirements to qualify for this new 1 received a Presidential Disaster Declaration will be allowed initiative. These requirements include developing a to use up to 10% of the total available HMGP funding in order to address the unique hazards posed by tornadoes. This means that $3,561,267 can be reprogrammed for comprehensive plan to address the issues ofwarning citizens (at least 90% coverage), furthering the "safe room" concept in the construction or rehabilitation of residences or projects to address tornado safety. This also provides a commercial structures, and sheltering in mobile home parks. funding source for recommendations identified in the Governor's Task Force Report on warning and communications. The plan must also have a component describing how the State will implement an ongoing public education program so that citizens are made aware ofthe meaning ofwarning systems. These issues will be addressed in the State of GEMA has reviewed nearly 50 projects that support the Georgia Comprehensive Mitigation Plan, which is currently recommendations identified in this report, and halfofthese being developed and updated by the GEMA Hazard have already been approved by FEMA. A majority ofthe Mitigation Division. + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------- ----------------- -------------------- - - - ~------------ ----------~----~-------- ------~--------------~-------------------------- Continued from Page 19 Membership Corporations, individual tower owners, local Emergency Management Directors, and local public safety officials statewide to assure that this project moves forward. The impact of such an expansion on the population is immense, and an undertaking ofthis magnitude requires the cooperation ofall parties involved. Completion ofthe statewide project is subject to funding and the finalization ofsite surveys, which are currentlybeing conducted. It is not known at this time when the transmitters will be installed. Updates on this project will be provided in GEMA publications as often as possible, and press releases and information will be provided to the areas impacted when installation plans are finalized. Progress is also continuing on other recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on Warning and Communication including the establishment ofa Severe Storms Research Center and the acquisition of a state-of-the-art Mobile Communications Vehicle. Updates on these and other recommendations ofthe Governor's Task Force will be provided in future editions ofthe Emergency Manager. For information concerning the recommendations ofthe Governor's Task Force on Warning and Communication, or any aspects ofthe projects discussed in this article, please contact Jonna Wheeler, Project Coordinator, at (404) 635-7243. 16 By Kenneth Miller Contributing Writer EMERGENCY MANAGER EL NINO & LA NINA (Excerpt from Life Magazine, August, 1998 edition) FALL 1998 Everyone is talking about the weather -- or cursing it, or ofwildfires in history, with more than 2,000 outbreaks. A trembling before it, or theorizing as to cause and effect -- halfmillion acres were incinerated and property losses ran and you needn't be paranoid to conclude that climatic to a quarter billion dollars. conditions have gone batty in recent months. Not since the Dust Bowl days ofthe '30s has meteorological mayhem so To sum up: Since the beginning of 1997, more than 1 <'l dominated headlines -- and minds. In the U.S. it started 16,000 have been killed worldwide by the weather and early last year when the Truckee River invaded Reno, NY, nearly $50 billion in damage has been done. In the U.S. silencing Harrah's slots. A few months later, more than 30 the figures are 456 dead and $13 billion lost. While there died as rivers in the Ohio Valley burst their banks. The Red have been cataclysms ofgreater immensity and intensity in River swallowed Grand Forks, ND, displacing 50,000. Not our century, the distribution, variety and frequency ofthe long after that, the rogue Pacific current known as El Nino recent rotten weather has been extraordinary. The new began wreaking havoc around the world. Indonesia's movie, TheAvengers, has a villain who specializes in climate : jungles burned while Chile'sAtacama Desert got a foot of manipulation. You peer from the window and wonder: Is rain. Snow fell in Guadalajara for the first time since 1881. he out there? > Canada suffered its worst-ever ice storm. Floods killed thousands inAfrica. In Peru endless downpours created a 2,300-square-mile lake on which PresidentAlberto Fujimori jet skied to promote tourism. Back in the States, daffodils popped up in midwinter Chicago, and Washington, D.C.'s cherry blossoms were three months early. Winter storms that usually hit Alaska veered toward California, pitching mudslides onto mansions. Throughout the west, this spring was the soggiest on record. The tornado season was the deadliest since '74, with a body count of 124, as the worst twisters skipped the Great Plains' Tornado Alley for the more densely populated Southeast. All that was prelude to the wild sumer of '98. Thunderstorms with hurricane-force winds trashed Moscow. The rain-swollenYangtze River killed more than 400 as it cut a swath through central China. One week-end, six rafters were killed on California rivers that were running at least 50 percent higher and faster than normal; the next weekend two dozen people were killed by storms that rampaged through the Midwest and East, dumping a foot ofrain in parts of Ohio and West Virginia. In Frame, WV, a fourmonth-old baby was seized from his mother's arms by the rising current and swept away. Florida, cleaning up after its twisters, was plagued again, this time by fire caused by aberrant weather patterns. The state suffered its worst rash rast :01sa~ters <<<.<<<<<< > I : 1t~11ara tBt~tc ca~ac1ys~~l)ut~m1e eventsstan, \y~U~tt1'#.RP~tlies.~~~n