AVALON – Cape May County Office of Emergency Preparedness partnered with Atlantic City Electric to hold an Emergency Preparedness Conference just before the June 1 start of hurricane season. The conference, held May 28 at the Avalon Community Center, showcased a panel designed to give a number of different but complimentary perspectives on an issue of great importance to a county vulnerable to weather emergencies.
Speakers included Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton, Assemblyman Samuel Fiocchi (R-1st), Martin Pagliughi, head of the county’s Emergency Management Office, Vincent Maione, regional president for ACE, Tim Settles of the American Red Cross, and Dr. Sheri Silverman, president of the Garden State Animal Resource Team.
Presenters discussed the emergency roles of county, municipal and private organizations, outlined mitigation efforts the county is justly proud of, enumerated possible state legislative efforts that can improve response in emergencies, highlighted new capabilities to handle pets during evacuation periods, and noted infrastructure investments made by ACE to its southern New Jersey Region. The real message of the conference, however, was on the importance of individual preparedness.
One unifying theme throughout the presentations was that individuals and households need a disaster plan that is well thought out, practiced, and ready for implementation in a short time period. The warning, clearly given by all speakers, was, “Do not wait for a potential disaster to be imminent before considering how you are going to respond.” The time will be too short, the anxiety levels too high, and the likelihood that major items will be overlooked too great.
Busy lives and the natural tendency to avoid unpleasant tasks make it easy to procrastinate on a matter like a disaster plan. Photos of dogs on rooftops, of people trapped in flooded communities, and of devastated homes are enough to temporarily convince many of the wisdom of the conference’s message. Speakers made clear that real benefit comes when residents set aside the time to actually implement the message.
How to Plan?
Conference presenters urged that people start with the fundamental assumption that “all the familiar systems of support are broken.” Emergency personnel and relief organizations will be mobilizing and responding but the first critical period is one in which residents may have to depend on their own capabilities and resources.
General aspects of any plan include knowing about county and municipal resources like the location of shelters; having a communications link for emergency information when power is out, which one speaker suggested may involve the low tech solution of a small battery operated radio; knowing in advance the services available for pets; having a disaster kit packed and ready to go; and having an agreed communication mechanism with anxious family in other locations.
No one at the conference expects that residents have the experience to think of the many things that should be part of a disaster plan. A great deal of information has been assembled and made accessible online, information that can guide someone through the planning process. A list of some of those web sites is listed at the end of this article.
Make a Plan
One of the most important aspects of the conference message was that individuals and families need to use this body of information to make a plan that fits their individual circumstances. One example is the disaster kit. The websites will help with reminders of standard items that all kits should have but the individual element comes when residents think out their circumstances. What medications are involved? Do you have vaccination records for your pet?
If you are going to stay put, do you have access to food for a 72-hour period? If you need to evacuate, do you have an individual that requires special transport? Does your municipality have a database for individuals with special needs to be registered? The list goes on and that is the reason for utilizing the organized information and guidance available. It is also the reason for doing it now and not when panic begins to set in.
Another clear message from the conference was – heed the information from the experts. Have access to emergency warnings and updates and respond appropriately to required evacuations. Know if your municipality has a code red or reverse 911 notification systems. Most, but not all, municipalities in the county do.
Pet services, for example, were not just organized because of a desire to protect our furry friends, although that desire exists. They were set up because Sandy showed that individuals stayed in dangerous, and all often fatal, environments because they would not leave a pet. The reverse was also true; individuals left their pets creating added risks for limited animal rescue personnel.
The array of information from the conference cannot adequately be summarized in a brief story. The early stages of a disaster demand a high level of self-reliance despite all of the efforts of emergency personnel. That period of initial impact will be easier to navigate if a household has a disaster plan in place. No other message at the conference was more important than that one.
Here are some resources to begin the planning process:
www.ReadyPetsGo.com
http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/home-family/plan
www.capemaycountyemergency.net
www.ready.gov
Atlantic City Electric has a free self-service app for mobile devices to report dangerous situations and see status on outages with estimated restoration times.
Pagliughi looks at the emergency management officials of the county and the municipalities as the cavalry, an image he uses to underscore the seriousness with which officials take their role in responding to emergencies. Even the cavalry will not be everywhere at once in an emergency. A careful system of triage will use limited resources in the most effective ways. That initial period in an emergency is on us all as individuals and families. Being prepared may make all the difference.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
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