LDS Church of Jackson, TN CERT Training

On October 16th and 17th, the CERT Team from the LDS Church located on Pipkin Rd in Jackson, TN started their CERT Training program.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

Our volunteer instructors for this class included:

Scott Mizen - Sardis CERT
Ray Lipford - Sardis CERT
Marty Clements - Director, Jackson-Madison Co EMA
Scott Parrish - LANA CERT
Sgt. Alan Castleman - Madison County Sheriff's Department
Billy Young - Union Universtity, Director of Security

Thanks to all volunteers and instructors. The CERT program could not function without you.






For more information on CERT and training opportunities, contact:

G. Michael Winslow, CERT Coordinator
Jackson-Madison Co EMA
TN Homeland Security District 10
gmwinslo@bellsouth.net
731-616-8599

Multi-Agency Emergency Drill Oct 10, 2009

On October 10th, 2009, the MSC CERT team lead by Scott Mizen participated in an emergency drill involving the Boy Scouts from several Troops in West Tennessee. This drill was held at the BSA annual Camporee on the Maubury family farm in Denmark, TN.

The drill scenario was a school bus accident / fire with multiple injuries that required emergency responders to suppress the fire, locate and extract the victims and transport them to a Triage area managed by the CERT Team.

The drill was very realistic complete with professional makeup (lacerations, abrasions, impalements) designed and applied by Leah Gray, CERT Coordinator for Jackson State Community College, Jackson, TN.

Emergency responder units participating the the drill, which was run twice that day, were:

Madison County Fire Department
City of Jackson Fire Department
Medical Center EMS
Madison County Sheriff's Department
Lifeforce Air Evac.
Jackson-Madison County Emergency Management Agency

Congratulations to all who participated in this important and valuable drill. As it happened, the same day of the drill, a real life bus accident occurred in Utah very similar to our scenario. It can happen and the skills learned and practiced here in Madison County could save a life someday.

G. Michael Winslow, CERT Coordinator
Jackson-Madison Co EMA
District 10 - TN Homeland Security

Escape and Rescue from Submerged Vehicles

By Gerald Dworkin

Each year, there are approximately 1,500 incidents and 600 deaths occur involving vehicles that have gone off the road and plummeted into the water. Therefore, the public needs to plan for these types of emergencies by (A) rehearsing the steps necessary for a successful self-rescue from a vehicle in the water, and (B) having the rescue/escape tools readily available for use during this type of emergency situation. In addition, First Responder agencies need to provide the training necessary to prepare their personnel to respond to these types of incidents, and should provide the Personal Protective Equipment and rescue tools necessary for a safe and effective response to vehicles in the water.

SAFETY

Public service campaigns should be increased in an effort to educate the public about the risks of driving through flooded highways; driving in close proximity to bodies of water during snow, rain or other slippery conditions; or driving over lakes, rivers or ponds that have frozen over. The following information should be included in these efforts:

It only takes 6” to 2' of water to float a vehicle off its wheels. Heed warnings about low water crossings and do not attempt to cross flooded highways.

8” to 12” of new, clear, hard ice is required to drive a small vehicle onto the ice. 12” to 15” of new, clear, hard ice is required to drive a medium-sized truck onto the ice.

Wearing seatbelts will increase your chances of surviving a crash into the water.

If a vehicle leaves the road and lands in deep water, the vehicle's float time at the surface of the water may be as little as 30 seconds, or as much as 4 minutes. Factors which effect the float time include closed, sealed, and intact windows and weather seals. Because of the location of the motor in the front of the vehicle, the vehicle will immediately assume an angled nose down position in the water.

ESCAPE

Because of the relatively limited time frame for self-rescue, the decision to escape the vehicle must be made immediately. However, because of the angled nose-down position in the water and the pressure exerted by the water against the doors, as well as structural damage to the vehicle as a result the crash, it may be extremely difficult or impossible to open the driver's side and passenger doors of the vehicle in order to effect an escape. Therefore, the only avenue of escape may be through the car door windows.

Studies have shown that the electric power may stay on for as much as 10 minutes. Or, the battery can short out immediately, making the electric window switches useless. Therefore, in order to escape through the car door windows, the occupants must be able to punch out the windows. Because the door windows, as well as the rear window, are constructed of tempered glass, they will easily shatter using an appropriate rescue/escape tool, such as a life hammer device, or a spring-loaded window punch. Many of the commercially available rescue/escape tools also have an integrated seat-belt cutter/blade that provides the ability to slice away a seat belt should its release mechanism fail or jam.

The decision to escape the vehicle must be made as soon as the vehicle leaves the road and enters the water. If the occupants delay their escape from the vehicle and the vehicle begins to sink, it may not be possible to effect an escape until the water pressure has equalized inside the vehicle. Also, should the vehicle land in deep water, if the water depth is less than 14', the vehicle will usually come to rest on the bottom on all four wheels, assuming there are no large rocks or other debris on the bottom. However, water depths greater than 14' usually results in the vehicle turning turtle and landing on its roof. Needless to say, being upside down in a dark environment with water rushing in will totally disorient the occupants of the vehicle.

We advocate the escape principles of SOS-GO.

S = Stay Calm
Assess the Situation
Slow your Breathing
O = Open your Window(s) or Door(s)
S = Disengage your Seatbelt
GO = Get Out

In order to accomplish this, these emergency procedures should be rehearsed before the emergency occurs. Use a body reference point to identify and locate the door latch, window crank or electric window switch. As an example, the driver should practice finding the location of these by touching his knee or hip with his/her left hand and then move the hand laterally to the door. A rescue/escape tool should be immediately available for punching out the window and cutting seatbelts. This tool should be mounted on the sidewall of the driver's side compartment, attached to the key ring, or located in some other conspicuous location that can be easily accessed during an emergency. Consideration should be given to additional tools for the passenger side and rear seat compartments as well.

If there are multiple occupants, once an escape route has been opened, each occupant should hold hands in a human chain and escape from the same route. If young children are secured in car seats, based on a limited study, we found that of those car seats we evaluated, they were sufficiently buoyant to float a child on the surface of the water. Therefore, the car seat can be cut loose from the seat belt and removed from the vehicle with the child still secured in the car seat.

There is no doubt that when a vehicle leaves the roadway and plunges into the water, this would be an extremely frightening experience, especially during the winter months with cold water posing additional risks and hazards to the occupants. But, by rehearsing the emergency escape and survival procedures and having the rescue/escape tools readily available, occupants can safely and rapidly self-extricate themselves from this situation before the vehicle begins to sink.

RESCUE

Public Safety and Rescue personnel should be appropriately trained, protected, and equipped to effectively and safely respond to vehicles in the water. Besides the availability of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs), Wetsuits, and/or Dry-Suits, rescue personnel should have the tools readily available to punch in the car door windows or the rear window in order to rapidly extricate a victim or multiple victims from a vehicle in the water. Spring-loaded window punches or life hammer type devices with seat-belt cutters provide the rescuer with the opportunity to gain immediate access to the victims and to cut away the victim's seat belt for their immediate extrication from the vehicle.

As standard protocol, whenever a rescue agency is dispatched to respond to a vehicle in the water, the dispatch of a wrecker should be automatic in every community and emergency response system. Upon arrival of the wrecker, it can be used to assist in the stabilization of the vehicle during and after the rescue of the vehicle occupants.

RESCUE/ESCAPE TOOLS

We evaluated a number of rescue/escape tools. These tools are either hammer-type devices or spring-loaded window punch devices. Although both types of tools were effective in breaking door windows and rear car windows, we found that the hammer-type devices were more dependable. Each of the spring-loaded window punch devices we tested were effective in breaking the windows when they were first removed from their packaging. However, after several practice drills, the points on these devices became dull which resulted in their failure to work and break the windows. Therefore, we caution against using the spring-loaded window punches for any purpose other than for breaking the windows. Furthermore, using a spring-loaded window punch, without appropriate hand protection, increased the chance of suffering cuts on the hand than the use of the hammer-type device. Regardless, rescue personnel should always wear an appropriate water rescue, neoprene, or fire glove when using any type of device to shatter door windows or vehicle rear windows.

About the Author

Gerald Dworkin is a professional aquatics safety and water rescue consultant for Lifesaving Resources Inc. (lifesaving.com) and is responsible for aquatics safety, lifeguard, water rescue, and ice rescue training curricula and programs. He also consults as an expert in drowning and aquatic injury litigation. He is a graduate from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, and has over 30 years professional experience in the fire, EMS, and water rescue sector. He is currently a firefighter/EMT for the Harrisville (NH) Fire and Rescue Department. For more information, visit www.lifesaving.com, or e-mail Gerry at admin@lifesaving.com.

Boy Scout Disaster Drill October 10th

Hello Everybody:

I have more details about this exercise on October 10th, 2009.

This exercise will be in conjunction with the West Tennessee Council of Boy Scouts of America Camporee to be held in Denmark on October 9-11. The exercise will be on Saturday October 10th from 9am - 12pm and repeated at 1pm - 3 pm.

This is shaping up very well and will be a multi-agency drill involving the Madison County Fire Department, The City of Jackson Fire Department, Medical Center Emergency Medical Service, Madison County Schools Transportation Department, CERT, and the Jackson-Madison County Emergency Management Agency.

We need to have as many CERT members/instructors as are available participate.

Here is the scenario:

The Madison Co School Bus Dept will have two buses staged at the scene. One bus will be "involved" in a major accident with a wide range of injuries. Boy Scouts will portray the victims to be treated and extracted by EMS and the Fire Departments.

Older Scouts will perform immediate first aid and help get "walking wounded" and un-injured off their respective buses before First Responders arrive. We need CERT members to assist with this and to mentor the Scouts. CERT will set up a Triage area and demonstrate to the Scouts how to do this.

This will be a great opportunity to brush up on your skills and perform a great service for the Scouts. Please make every effort to attend and bring your kits.

The exercise will be held at 550 Shady Grove Road in Denmark. From I40, take Exit 76; turn left on TN-223; Turn left at Britton Lane/TN-223 and continue on TN-223; Camporee at 550 Shady Grove in Denmark.
(Click on the map above to enlarge)

Thank you, in advance, for your participation.

G. Michael Winslow
CERT Coordinator
JMC-EM / TN Homeland Security District 10

CDC H1N1 Flu Situation Update, September 26, 2009

Key Flu Indicators

Each week CDC analyzes information about influenza disease activity in the United States and publishes findings of key flu indicators in a report called FluView. During the week of September 13-19, 2009, a review of the key indicators found that influenza activity continued to increase in the United States compared to the prior weeks. Below is a summary of the most recent key indicators:

Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness (ILI) are increasing nationally. Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness are higher than what is expected during this time of year and have increased for six consecutive weeks now. This is very unusual for this time of year.

Total influenza hospitalization rates for adults and children are similar to or lower than seasonal influenza hospitalization rates depending on age group, but are higher than expected for this time of year.

The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) based on the 122 Cities Report was low and within the bounds of what is expected at this time of year. However, 49 pediatric deaths related to 2009 H1N1 flu have been reported to CDC since April 2009, including three deaths reported this week.

Twenty-six states are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time. They are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington. Any reports of widespread influenza activity in September are very unusual.

Almost all of the influenza viruses identified so far are 2009 H1N1 influenza A viruses. These viruses remain similar to the viruses chosen for the 2009 H1N1 vaccine, and remain susceptible to the antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir with rare exception.

Boy Scout Emergency Drill

To All CERT Team Leaders and Members:

On October 10, 2009, the West Tennessee Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Jackson-Madison Emergency Management Agency will have a joint disaster exercise. This will coincide with the Boy Scout West Tennessee Camporee held on a farm (TBD) in the Britton Lane Battlefield area.

The scenario will involve a school bus incident with multiple injuries. The Jackson-Madison School Transportation Dept will also be involved in the drill.

We would like to have as many CERT members participate in the drill with the Boy Scouts. This would be an excellent opportunity to work as teams or individuals to practice you skills such as utilizing ‘spontaneous volunteers’ (the Scouts) at a disaster scene.

The drill will be run two or three times in order to involve as many Scouts as possible and this will give you an opportunity to practice different CERT duties. This will last most of the day, but you can leave if needed

I will send you more details as we have them. Please check the District 10 CERT web site for information on this drill. http://dist10cert.blogspot.com/

Please respond via email if you will be available to participate in this drill. This will be written up and sent to Citizen’s Corp for their CERT Newsletter.

Thank you, in advance, for your time and efforts.

G. Michael Winslow, CERT Coordinator

Jackson-Madison Co / TN Homeland Security District 10

Statement from FEMA Administrator Fugate on Preparedness as We Approach Independence Day Weekend

Release Date: July 2, 2009
Release Number: HQ-09-079

"As we take this opportunity to observe the July 4th holiday with loved ones and friends, we are reminded of all we have to be thankful for and why it is so critical that we do all we can to protect our families and communities. I encourage all Americans to take a few simple steps to ensure that if and when your community is impacted by an emergency or disaster, you are prepared.

"Most importantly, develop a family disaster plan - have the discussion now about what you will do if your community is impacted, where you will go, how you will communicate with your loved ones. I also encourage you to take a CPR or first aid course, transforming you from a survivor to an asset to your family and community in the case of emergencies. And, in the case of an emergency, after you have determined the safety of you and your family, check on a neighbor and make sure others are safe."

"We are all a part of our nation's emergency response team, and the small steps we can each take now will go a long way in shaping our successful response to the next disaster. For more information on how to make sure you and your family are prepared please visit http://www.ready.gov/."

Additionally, the July 4th celebration includes its own hazards, especially regarding the use of fireworks. Below are some simple guidelines from the U.S. Fire Administration:

• The best way to protect your family is not to use any fireworks at home - period. Attend public fireworks displays and leave the lighting to the professionals.
• Kids should never play with fireworks. Sparklers can reach 1,800° Fahrenheit (982° Celsius) - hot enough to melt gold.
• Steer clear of others - fireworks have been known to backfire or shoot off in the wrong direction. Never throw or point fireworks at someone, even in jest.
• Don't allow kids to pick up pieces of fireworks after an event. Some may still be ignited and can explode at any time.
• Think about your pet. Animals have sensitive ears and can be extremely frightened or stressed on the Fourth of July. Keep pets indoors to reduce the risk to them.

Learn more by visiting: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/focus/.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

This news story and other Community Preparedness news, including Citizen Corps Bulletins, can be found on our website at http://www.citizencorps.gov/.

Sincerely,

The National Office of Citizen Corps
FEMA Community Preparedness Division

CERT Helps in Hazardous Materials Drill

On June 18th, 2009, members of the Henderson County CERT Team participated in a joint drill simulating a hazardous materials incident with the Madison County Health Department and first responders from Madison and Henderson counties.

The drill was held at the old Tennessee Department of Transportation facility located in Jackson, TN and a second drill the same day at the Henderson County Farm Coop.

CERT members assisted in the drill by supporting the Incident Commander with documentation and the Madison County Health Department providing water and relief to first responders and volunteers during the extreme heat the day of the drills.

CERT participants included Ray Lipford, Alex Lipford, Shawn Mizen, Wesley Rushing and Scott Mizen.

EMP: An Old Threat With New Urgency

By Jack Spencer, The Heritage Foundation

A nuclear-generated electromagnetic pulse "is one of a small number of threats that has the potential to hold our society seriously at risk and might result in defeat of our military forces." The Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack announced this startling conclusion in a July 22 report to Congress. This alarming report clears the way for Congress to debate more seriously the most effective measures to meet the threat of an EMP attack.

What Is Electromagnetic Pulse?

In addition to the ability to kill thousands of people instantly, nuclear weapons have another, equally crippling capability to destroy or disrupt power grids, electronic systems, and communications in an entire country, while sparing the lives of its people--at least initially. Specifically, a nuclear bomb detonated above the earth's atmosphere would create a split-second electromagnetic pulse, similar to an extremely high-energy radio wave. For example, a single nuclear weapon detonated at an altitude of 500 kilometers could produce an EMP that would blanket the entire continental United States, potentially damaging or destroying military forces and civilian communications, power, transportation, water, food, and other infrastructure essential to modern society. Although recent changes in homeland security policy would decrease the severity of such an attack, recovery could still take years. In a congressional hearing on the EMP threat, chaired by Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), Dr. Lowell Wood of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory described the effect of an EMP attack as instantly regressing a country dependent on 21st century technology by more than 100 years.

Although the EMP threat has been the focus of significant government-funded research and testing over the past 30 years, most of those efforts were conducted during the Cold War and focused on hardening strategic systems against a massive nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. Far fewer resources have been dedicated to examining the potential vulnerability of the U.S. civilian and industrial infrastructure to an EMP attack. Moreover, since the end of the Cold War, U.S. military and civilian systems have become increasingly dependent on advanced electronics that are potentially more vulnerable than older electronics to EMP attack--a trend that will likely continue.

America's Vulnerability to EMP Attack

Little has been done to safeguard U.S. electrical systems from the EMP threat beyond simply protecting the nation's nuclear war-fighting infrastructure--and even that is not as secure as it once was. During the Cold War, only the Soviet Union--and to a lesser extent China--had the ability to mount an EMP attack against the United States. If one of those countries had launched an EMP attack, it would most likely have been the initial salvo of a larger nuclear attack. Therefore, it made little sense to separate an EMP attack from general nuclear war. Because most civilian and non-strategic military equipment would be destroyed or of no use during a full-scale nuclear exchange, there was no requirement to protect civil infrastructure from an EMP.

Today, the proliferation of nuclear technology and ballistic missiles has changed the nature of the EMP threat. A high-altitude EMP explosion over the continental United States or a battle space must be understood as a separate and unique threat that requires a unique response. Understanding both the effects of EMP, as well as America's vulnerability, is the first step in addressing the threat.

The scientific principles behind generating a high-altitude EMP are relatively simple. If a nuclear weapon is detonated between 25 miles and 300 miles above the earth's surface, the radiation from the explosion interacts with air molecules to produce high-energy electrons that speed across the earth's magnetic field as an instantaneous, invisible electromagnetic pulse.

An EMP can have devastating consequences for developed countries because any metallic conductor in the affected area becomes a "receiver" for the powerful energy burst released by the blast. Such receivers include anything with electronic wiring--from airplanes and automobiles to computers, railroad tracks, and communication lines. If systems connected to these "receivers" are not protected, they will likely be damaged or disrupted by the intense energy pulse. Indeed, depending on the strength of the pulse and the vulnerability of the equipment, the effects could range from a passing interference to completely melting the electrical components.

An EMP attack damages all unprotected electronic equipment within the blast's "line of sight" (the EMP's "footprint" on the earth's surface). The size of the footprint is determined by the altitude of the explosion. The higher the altitude, the greater the land area affected. A Scud-type ballistic missile launched from a vessel in U.S. coastal waters and detonated at an altitude of 95 miles could degrade electronic systems across one-quarter of the United States. A more powerful missile launched from North Korea could probably deliver a warhead 300 miles above America--enough to degrade the electronic systems across the entire continental United States.

Furthermore, a nuclear weapon with only a low explosive yield could be designed to generate a strong EMP. In fact, crude weapons with low yields, such as those used against Japan in World War II, would have ample power to generate an EMP over the entire continental United States.

Likely EMP Scenarios

Under what circumstance would the United States be attacked with an EMP? Possible scenarios include a rogue state interested in demonstrating its ability to strike U.S. territory or a country that wants to give itself an advantage in a regional conflict by crippling U.S. military and other allied forces that are more dependent on advanced electronics.

Although the threat of a high-altitude EMP attack against America existed during the Cold War, the likelihood may be much greater today. During the Cold War, an EMP attack was viewed as the first step in launching a nuclear war. However, it was never tried because the threat of massive nuclear retaliation, the central tenet of the mutual assured destruction doctrine, provided an effective deterrent. Although China and Russia both maintain the ability to launch major nuclear strikes against the United States, the Cold War dynamic that made the doctrine of mutual assured destruction relevant is largely gone from today's strategic calculations.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), the rise of powerful non-state actors, and the evolving strategic relationships with countries like China and Russia have made the threat more difficult to assess. In reality, the U.S. simply cannot rely on the old tools of deterrence to compel threatening regimes not to attack the United States or its interests. As demonstrated on September 11, 2001, the Cold War deterrent of massive retaliation does not work.

The emergence of nuclear rogue states results in a completely new strategic calculation. Since no rogue nation has the capacity to fight a general nuclear war, an EMP blast would not be a precursor of full-scale nuclear war. Furthermore, since an EMP blast is unlikely to kill anyone directly or to be followed by a nuclear strike that would annihilate U.S. cities, the United States is less likely to retaliate and destroy an entire nation of innocent people as punishment for the decisions of a rogue leader. It is simply unclear how the U.S. would respond to such an attack.

The difficulty of developing a clear response to EMP is due primarily to the unique nature of the threat. It is unclear, for example, what would constitute a "proportional response" to an explosion that takes place in space without being seen or heard, yet instantaneously devastates society or a military force while resulting in no initial loss of life or physical destruction. Furthermore, there is a dearth of academic or legal analysis by which to guide such policies because, until very recently, few took the threat seriously. This is especially so in the context of rogue states or transnational groups.

The simple motivation for a rogue state to use its limited nuclear arsenal in an EMP strike against the United States is that an EMP attack maximizes the impact of a few warheads while minimizing the risk of retaliation. This profound decrease in risk for rogue leaders could impel them to use EMP to offset overwhelming U.S. conventional power on the battlefield. While EMP may not precede general nuclear war, it could be used as an opening salvo in a conventional war. Nations with small numbers of nuclear missiles, such as North Korea or Iran, may consider an EMP attack against U.S. forces in a region, to degrade the U.S. military's technological advantage, or against the United States' national electronic infrastructure.

Furthermore, an EMP attack using a few nuclear weapons could theoretically damage the entire continental United States, far exceeding the impact of using those same warheads against specific U.S. cities or installations. Likewise, an EMP attack could degrade the U.S. armed forces throughout an entire region. Because America's response to an EMP attack by a rogue state is unclear and because EMP attacks are less risky for rogue states, such attacks are far more likely in this era of nuclear weapons proliferation than during the Cold War.

Protecting America Against EMP

Unfortunately, hardening systems is difficult and expensive. To protect electronics infrastructure, entire systems must be encased in a metallic shield to prevent any external electromagnetic pulse from entering. Moreover, antennas and power connections must be equipped with surge protectors, windows must be coated with wire mesh or conductive coating, and doors must be sealed with conductive gaskets. Fiber optic cable is not vulnerable to EMP, but the switches and controls that use microelectronics in conjunction with the fiber optic cable need to be protected. Continuing efforts to replace copper communications cable with fiber optic cable will significantly reduce overall EMP vulnerability. To ensure that the protection lasts for the lifetime of the equipment, system maintenance and testing should be performed regularly. If a system is modified, repaired, or serviced, its EMP vulnerability should be reassessed.

All of these steps can be affordable. Assuming these protections are engineered into a product or structure from the outset, these protections would add as little as 1 percent to 5 percent to overall costs. (Retrofitting systems, however, could add substantial costs.) EMP surge protectors have become very inexpensive. According to George Ullrich, former Deputy Director of the now abolished Defense Special Weapons Agency, such hardening is needed:

Systems, such as commercial power grids [and] telecommunications networks re-main vulnerable to widespread outages and upsets due to high altitude EMP. While DOD hardens assets it deems vital, no comparable civil program exists.

Conclusion

As the EMP Commission reported, an EMP attack on America is a serious possibility and one for which the United States is unprepared. While the world focuses on WMDs and ballistic missiles, it is imperative that an EMP attack be considered with equal weight. The profound impact that an EMP attack would have on a developed, modern, electronically oriented country forces nations in similar positions to reassess their own protection against such attack.

Looking toward the future, America should consider its options for protecting its infrastructure against such a debilitating attack. Those options are limited, but include deploying an effective missile defense system and hardening electronic systems against EMP. As the commission indicated, the implications of an EMP attack need to be assessed further with greater severity and inevitability as America considers possible protective actions against this threat.

Jack Spencer is Senior Policy Analyst for Defense and National Security in the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

Tornado strikes small Arkansas town, killing 3

This could have happened here. Review your safety plans and check you 72-hour kits and CERT Kits. Be ready - Be Prepared!
_______________________________________________

MENA, Ark. (AP) — A tornado struck a small Arkansas town Thursday night, killing three people, injuring at least 24 and seriously damaging about 100 homes.

Mena, near the Oklahoma state line, suffered a direct hit that destroyed at least 10 businesses, including city hall and two churches, Polk County emergency coordinator James Reeves said.

"One manufacturing plant is gone," he said. "It took a direct hit. It's no longer there."

The National Weather Service said a woman was injured at Shreveport, La., when a tree fell onto her car during a tornado. Twisters also damaged homes east of Vinita and near Muse in Oklahoma and at Crossett in far southern Arkansas, near the Louisiana line.

At Mena, one of the victims killed in the storm was found in a collapsed house, one in a Masonic lodge, and another was found in her front yard, he said. The identities of the two women and a man have not been released.

The 24 injured people were being treated at Mena Medical Center. The devastated downtown area was being protected by National Guard troops dispatched by Gov. Mike Beebe.

A curfew was in effect as emergency crews dealt with ruptured gas lines, downed power lines, fallen trees and heavily damaged buildings.

Reeves said he had never seen a storm like this hit the tornado-prone region.

"Not in my life time," he said. "The last tornado we had to hit the city of Mena was in November 1993. This time we had significant structures (hit)."

Officials described a chaotic scene Thursday night as the tornado struck, part of a line of severe storms that strafed parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.

A state trooper in Mena called for assistance after his patrol car got stuck in the storm, pelted with debris and covered with power lines, state police spokesman Bill Sadler said.

"I'm in the middle of a tornado," Sadler said the trooper reported.

The National Weather Service reported that 3-inch diameter hail — forecasters described it as apple-sized — fell south of Mena just before the tornado hit downtown. Tornado damage was also reported at Ink, 5 miles east of Mena.

A twister damaged chicken houses in Howard County and another storm damaged an oil rig in Miller County, near the Louisiana and Texas state lines. At DeQueen, a number of mobile homes were damaged, according to Renee Preslar, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Emergency Management.

Violent thunderstorms moved quickly across southern Missouri, carrying large hail, winds up to 60 and 70 mph and reports of funnel clouds and tornadoes. There were no immediate reports of heavy damage. Scattered power outages were reported in several counties.

As the storms moved east, hail and high winds were reported in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. Power was out in many parts of the region.

Why Some People Don't Heed Weather Warnings

NOAA’s National Weather Service has issued a report that analyzes forecasting performance and public response during the second deadliest February tornado outbreak in U.S. history. The report, Service Assessment of the Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak of February 5-6, 2008, also addresses a key area of concern: why some people take cover while others ride out severe weather.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

Dubbed the “Super Tuesday” tornado outbreak due to the presidential primary elections held that day, 82 tornadoes raked nine states throughout the South, killing 57 people, injuring 350 others and causing $400 million in property damage.

Jack Hayes, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service, included a researcher from the National Center for Atmospheric Research Societal Impacts Program on the assessment team to examine why many people did not take action to protect themselves.

In reviewing the public response, the team found that two-thirds of the victims were in mobile homes, and 60 percent did not have access to safe shelter (i.e., a basement or storm cellar). The majority of the survivors interviewed for the assessment sought shelter in the best location available to them, but most of them also did not have access to a safe shelter. Some indicated they thought the threat was minimal because February is not within traditional tornado season. Several of those interviewed said they spent time seeking confirmation and went to a safe location only after they saw a tornado. Many people minimized the threat of personal risk through “optimism bias,” the belief that such bad things only happen to other people.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

“Protecting life and property is not as simple as issuing a forecast,” Hayes said. “A number of barriers often deter people from making risk-averse decisions, and we want to learn all we can to determine if there is more the National Weather Service can do to change this.”

On forecasting performance, the assessment team found that the National Weather Service issued warnings 17 minutes, on average, in advance of all the deadly tornadoes. The agency’s Storm Prediction Center had been monitoring the tornado threat for several days. Local forecast offices forewarned communities by issuing hazardous weather outlooks days in advance.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

After interviewing local media and citizens in the stricken areas, the assessment team determined that local communities had received the warnings and were aware of the dangerous weather threat. People reported receiving tornado warning information through multiple sources, such as television news stations, sirens, NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards or by word of mouth. People indicated overall satisfaction with National Weather Service performance in forecasting the tornadoes and communicating the danger.

According to the assessment team’s recommendation, the National Weather Service will improve wording and call-to-action statements to more effectively convey the urgency and danger of the message. The agency also will continue using social science research in future service assessments to further understand people’s interpretation of and response to severe weather situations, and to improve public response to severe weather communication.

Use of societal impact studies is useful for weather phenomena other than tornadoes. In September 2008 dozens of people died when Hurricane Ike struck Galveston, Texas, even after the weather forecast office in Houston issued a dire warning to residents to heed evacuation orders.

The National Weather Service routinely conducts assessments of agency performance during severe weather events in an effort to improve operations and determine best practices. Within days after the weather event, the agency sends a team into the field to interview citizens, emergency managers, the media, and others in affected areas. The team then compiles all findings and develops an assessment report, which contains analyses of the local Weather Service forecast office’s performance in forecasting the weather and communicating the public safety threat. Best practices and recommendations are shared throughout the agency to improve performance during future severe weather events.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.

This training is not part of the CERT program, but may be of interest to some of you.

The purpose of this program is to demonstrate how to create and maintain a collaborative partnership between the community leaders / members and public safety personnel. The course will be an active participant program.

The program is scheduled for Saturday, April 25th, 2009 from 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM.

Location: First United Methodist Church; 200 S. Church Street

Seating is limited to 45 participants - RSVP to 731-423-6000

Breakfast, Lunch and afternoon snack provided at no cost to participants.

Emergency Response Teams: Why Businesses and Schools Need Them

By Wayne Bennett, President of Survival Skills Company

In a large scale disaster, Emergency Services will be delayed or unavailable. The employees at your site will become "spontaneous responders". When the employees are confronted with the realities of a disaster such as an earthquake, they will be forced to make any decisions very quickly. Emergency Response training will give them the knowledge and the skills to make the right decisions.

The Emergency Response Teams in businesses and schools should receive training in the areas of Light Search and Rescue, Triage, Disaster First Aid, Fire and Utility Control. The early intervention of trained employees will not only save lives but reduce property losses in both large and small scale emergencies.

Light Search and Rescue training will enable the Response Team member to perform an organized search effort to safely remove untrapped and trapped victims without causing harm to themselves or the victim.

Triage and Disaster First Aid techniques will allow the rescuers to manage an overwhelming number of injured victims by evaluating and prioritizing their treatment as the professionals do in mass casualty incidents.

All team members should learn to use a fire extinguisher. All fires start small. With extinguishers already in place a trained employee could be a real solution to a serious problem.The failure to control utilities quickly following a disaster could have a tragic effect on the outcome of your emergency.

The key to success will be having a cross section of your organization equipped and trained to handle and manage the chaos that awaits them. They will be the backbone of the initial rescue effort and begin the process of recovery.

Jackson State Community College CERT Team II

Jackson State Community College in Jackson, TN is fielding their second CERT team. This CERT Team is a continuation of the JSCC CERT program to train as many faculty and staff as possible to repond to an emergency or disaster on campus.

The first CERT Team was trained in August of 2008. With this new Team, Jackson State Community College will have 30+ trained faculty and staff CERT members.

JSCC CERT Program Director, Leah Gray, has done an outstanding job of recruiting and traing these CERT Teams. Instructors for this class included:

Leah Gray - JSCC; James Woulfe - Madsion Co. Health Department; Alan Pitmann - JSCC; Gina Pearson - JSCC; George Conner - Jackson Fire Department; Alan Castleman - Madison Co. Sherrif's Department and Thomas Reeves - Jackson Fire Department.

This Team will complete their training sometime in mid-April.

Congratualtions to all participants of the CERT program. Your dedication and efforts make your workplace and community a much safer place.

G. Michael Winslow, CERT Coordinator
Jackson-Madison Co. EMA
TN Homeland Security - District 10

Check Your Emergency Preparedness Kits

Currently the United States is in the midst of one of the largest food recalls in American history. As Americans dig through their cabinets and refrigerators to remove potentially contaminated food associated with the recent peanut recall, we would like to also remind citizens to open and check their Emergency Preparedness Kits to remove any potentially harmful items from these also.

Because peanut products are often recommended as staples in Emergency Preparedness Kits due to their long shell life and because they are a good source of protein, we encourage all kit owners to look at their kits to ensure food products are not on the peanut recall list. Please keep in mind that the peanut product recall extends beyond peanut-flavored products. The following are some examples of foods also included in the recall that may contain peanuts:

Granola
Snack bars
Crackers
Cereal
Trail Mix
Cookies
Noodles
Dog treats

A full list of recalled peanut products and what individuals should do with recalled items can be found on the Food and Drug Administration’s Web site, http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm.

In addition to checking for peanut-related items, please be sure to check for other items in your kit that may have expired, including medications, food and pet food, water, and other recalled items. The U.S. government provides information on unsafe, hazardous, or defective products ranging from consumer products, food, medicine, and cosmetics at www.recalls.gov.

Ensuring family and neighbors are prepared is an essential step in helping communities during and after an emergency. Families should have an Emergency Preparedness Kit in all locations that are frequented often, including homes, offices, schools, cars and day care facilities. These kits should hold a variety of essential items that are needed during a disaster, such as a flashlight, radio, cash, clothing, protective equipment, medicines, and of course food and water. For a complete list of Emergency Preparedness Kit recommended items, please visit http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/supplykit.shtm.

Citizen Corps Councils and Partners: Councils and partners should remind their communities about the importance of maintaining and constructing an Emergency Preparedness Kit and consider hosting public preparedness training sessions to ensure that information about kits is reaching the community. In addition, Councils and partners should consider adding a link to the FDA Web sites along with information on the recall on peanut products to any Web pages or documents that refer to community preparedness or Emergency Preparedness Kit preparation.

Northside Assembly CERT Exercise

On Saturday February 28th, 2009 the Northside Assembly Church CERT Team conducted the final exercise of their initial CERT training. The exercise took place and the Jackson Fire Department Training Center in Jackson, TN.

Fifteen CERT members from Northside Assembly of God Church of Jackson, TN and four CERT members from the Medical Support Command participated in the exercise and completed their basic CERT Training. Two MSC Cadets participated as 'victims' during the Search and Rescue portion of the training.

Congratulations to all participants on their accomplishment.

A special thank you is deserved by the dedicated volunteer instructor cadre for the Tennessee Homeland Security District 10 CERT Program. Instructors who assisted in the training of this team included:

James Woulfe (Madison Co Health Dept); Thomas Reeves (Jackson Fire Department); Leah Gray (Jackson State Community College); Marty Clements (Jackson-Madison Co EMA); Alan Castleman (Madison Co Sherrif Department); Bobby Smith (Jackson State Community College); Greg Flanagan; Scott Mizen and Ray Lipford (Medical Support Command).

Without our dedicated and expert instructors, the CERT Program would not be possible.

TEMA Emergency Communications Drill

On Thursday February 26th from 8 am to 10 am, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and Tennessee Homeland Security conducted an emergency communications exercise. The purpose of this exercise was to make contact with every county Emergency Operations Center in West Tennessee.The Tennessee Homeland Security District 10 CERT Teams participated in this drill. Each team leader attempted contact, by any mode of communication available, with as many of their team members possible. The CERT Team Leader then passed the number of contacts made to the Jackson-Madison Co. / District 10 CERT Coordinator. The CERT Coordinator then passed the information to the Jackson-Madison Co EMA via amateur radio which then passed the information to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency via amateur radio.

There were a total of four CERT Teams reporting in relaying 47 individual CERT Team member contacts:

Lambuth Area Neighborhood Association (LANA) - 7 check-ins
Northside Assembly CERT Team - 15 check-ins
Jackson State Community College CERT Team - 13 check-ins
Medical Support Command CERT Team - 12 check-ins

Congratulations on a job well done!

G. Michael Winslow, CERT Coordinator
Jackson-Madison County EMA
TN Homeland Security District 10
731-616-8599
gmwinslo@bellsouth.net