Counties and cities must practice their emergency preparedness plans, just like individuals and families. The outcome of doing drills can be startling when exposing weaknesses, but it’s better to spot those ahead of time and make corrections where needed. County leaders in Atascadero, California benefited from a recent drill, where residents tested out their emergency plans. The Tribune reports:
A simulated catastrophic storm, based on a 1969 flood that caused significant damage in Atascadero, was used to test the skills of more than 60 local emergency responders and community stakeholders.
Participants used the city’s emergency plan to test its strength in the event of widespread flooding, breach of the city’s wastewater treatment plan, collapse of local buildings and citywide power failure.
“We noticed some weaknesses in our current plan but that is what we wanted to gain from this training — we wanted to find the flaws,” Stone said. “The training validated that we do well at what we do every day — it is the things that you don’t have to rely on very often that need refreshed.”
What are things that you don’t do often that needs refreshed when it comes to your emergency plans? When was the last time you walked to the location you plan to evacuate to? If the roads are blocked or driving is not an option, you’ll need to get there by walking. This is just one example of the many things you have to practice to see how to improve your existing plans.
Source:
http://www.waterworld.com/index/display/news_display/138834317.html