April. 08, 2009

New study focuses on transportation and evacuation
The Transportation Research Board has published a new study, “Transportation’s Role in Emergency Evacuations and Reentry.” The study covers aspects of transportation planning, control and research, as well as highlighting effective and innovative practices. The study compiles a review of existing literature, a survey of practices, field visits and discussions with practitioners. TRB focused on many evacuation-related topics, including the use of contraflow lanes, phased evacuations, “carless” evacuees and reentry management restrictions.

The study is available at http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=10106. Readers should note that the study includes inaccurate information about Virginia’s Hurricane Evacuation Plan and outreach. The current plan is available online at http://www.vaemergency.com/library/plans/index.cfm; an updated version will be available by June 1.

April is National Volunteer Week
National Volunteer Week, April 19-25, honors volunteers who are dedicated to taking action and solving problems in their communities. National Citizen Corps affiliates, the Points of Light Institute and the HandsOn Network offer ways for Virginia volunteer organizations to recognize outstanding individuals at http://www.pointsoflight.org/programs/seasons/nvw/. The Points of Light Institute also provides a variety of resources on volunteer management and engagement that can benefit Citizen Corps Councils and partners at http://www.pointsoflight.org/resources/.

2009 hurricane season forecast updated
Colorado State University has decreased its 2009 Atlantic Seasonal Hurricane Forecast in the April update. CSU is now calling for a total of 12 named storms for the season, six hurricanes and two intense hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5). The reduction is based El Nino conditions bringing increased vertical wind shear and decreased Atlantic hurricane activity; also, sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic have cooled.

The tropical meteorology research group from CSU’s Department of Atmospheric Science will update its forecast in June, August, September and October. Read the full text of CSU’s forecast: http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/Forecasts.

LLIS launches Exercise Support System
The Lessons Learned Information Sharing system (LLIS.gov) has released the National Exercise Division Exercise Support System, an online tool that helps with planning and conducting exercises by providing a secure, collaborative workspace for exercise planners and controllers. The NED Exercise Support System offers new LLIS features, including chat rooms and a public library of key reference documents. To request the creation of an Exercise Support Channel, contact NEP@dhs.gov.

I-95 Corridor Coalition Quick Clearance Responder Workshop
The Interstate 95 Corridor Coalition is offering a workshop to upper and middle managers who supervise responders directly or indirectly and who are directly responsible for implementing laws, policies and procedures. The workshop will present best practices and lessons learned from Traffic Incident Management and Quick Clearance studies and will cover the newly developed TIM/QC Toolkit, which addresses responder roles and suggested responsibilities.

The workshop will be on May 5, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at the Henrico County Training Center. Space is limited. To register, send your name, title, organization, telephone number and e-mail address to Patty Reich at Patty.Reich@telvent.com no later than April 22.

Training...

New EMI courses and group materials
The Emergency Management Institute’s Independent Study Program has launched new courses, available online at http://training.fema.gov.

• IS-100.HE - Introduction to the Incident Command System for Higher Education describes the history, features and principles, and organizational structure of ICS. It also explains the relationship between ICS and the National Incident Management System.
• IS-197.EM: Special Needs Planning Considerations for Emergency Management helps emergency managers and first responders better understand the special needs population and how to partner with persons with special needs as well as their support providers and organizations.
• IS-26: Guide to Points of Distribution supports the Points of Distribution overview video and provides an in-depth look into the planning, operations and demobilization stages of a POD mission.
• IS-836: Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex describe the concept of operations to address specific contingency or hazard situations or an element of an incident requiring specialized application of the NRF. This course provides an introduction to the NRF Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex.

EMI also offers downloadable group-training materials for IS-100.HE and others listed below.

• IS-100.a – Introduction to the Incident Command System
• IS-100.SCa – Introduction to the Incident Command System for Schools
• IS-200.a – ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
• IS-700.a - National Incident Management System, An Introduction
• IS-800.b – National Response Framework, An Introduction

Instructors wishing to use OpScan sheets must call the Independent Study Office at (301) 447-1200 to have a copy of the final exam mailed U.S. Postal Service.

EM Update is the best way to communicate best practices and to get a heads up on issues that might affect you. Articles include case studies, cost/resource-saving local programs, examples of partnerships and regional cooperation and recognition of emergency managers who receive awards and honors in the field.

Please don't hesitate to contact the editor whenever you have a project that might benefit localities or want to highlight an important issue concerning Virginia's emergency response community. Contact Jolie Shank at (804) 897-6510 or by e-mail at pio@vdem.virginia.gov.

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