EM Website Survey

Our office is working on a project to determine the effectiveness of the Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security website. Could you please take the following survey to help us better evaluate the usage and perception of it?

http://survey.jocogov.org/Surveys/TakeSurvey.aspx?surveyid=1177

The survey will be available until 5 pm on November 7th.

Spread the word!

Test of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

Johnson County in conjunction with Kansas City Power & Light (KCPL) and WaterOne as well as the cities of Olathe and Overland Park tested their Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) yesterday as part of our continuing effort to be more coordinated when responding to emergencies or disasters. For those who many not know, EOCs are the coordination center during emergencies where resource needs and requests can be quickly addressed and information can flow to both responders and the general public efficiently and accurately. We also would like to again thank KCPL for their generosity related to the exercise.

Things that Impact Emergency Preparedness

According to research released by the U.S. Citizen Corps, the following factors influence personal preparedness:

• The most prepared age group is 45-54. The least prepared age group is 18-24.
• 73% of African-Americans are concerned about the possibility of a natural disaster or emergency impacting their community as compared to 58% for Latinos and 50% of Whites
• Full-time employees report higher levels of personal preparedness, followed by part-time and self-employed workers
• The more educated a person is, the higher their reported level of preparedness

These considerations have and will continue to shape emergency preparedness in Johnson County.

Leaves with Autumn Color -- The Color of Preparedness!

Even though many trees in Johnson County still have many beautiful autumn-colored leaves, we should all take a moment and realize that those colors are Mother Nature's way of reminding us that it's time to prepare for Winter! Before we know it, bitter cold weather will bring Old Man Winter along with his friends -- snow, ice, and slippery roads. Consequently, it is critical to think about "winterizing" your preparedness. The following website given excellent information about this process:

Prepare MetroKC, http://www.preparemetrokc.org/Know_the_Risks/winterweather.asp
Johnson County Emergency Management, http://www.jocoem.org/PE/weather.htm

News from the Fun and Weird

Although earthquakes are not a significant threat to Johnson County, we are pinned in between the New Madrid fault (runs through the Eastern part of Missouri) and the Nemaha fault (runs through Manahattan, KS). However, for those of you who are interested, researchers at Stanford University have created the Quake-Catcher Network (QCN). The QCN is a collaborative initiative for developing the world's largest, low-cost strong-motion seismic network by utilizing sensors in and attached to internet-connected computers. Basically, motion-sensing capabilities that are built into most new laptops can be harnassed by a free software download which ultimately helps create the world's largest earthquake detector. For more information, visit the following websites:

http://qcn.stanford.edu/
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/04/your-laptop-may.html

A Changing of the Time

In a few days, when we all adjust our clocks by one hour due to Daylight Savings Time we should consider several things:

1) Change the batteries in smoke detectors.
2) See if your fire extinguishers are fully charged (should be a valve near the top).
3) Review and practice your family emergency plan.

For more tips visit Johnson County -- A Community Prepared(http://www.jocoprepared.org) or Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security (http://www.jocoem.org).

Ten Tips on How to Help Kids Cope with a Disaster

Save the Children has released a list of tips for parents and caregivers on how to help kids cope with disasters. The list was created by Mark Shriver who serves as the Chairperson of the National Commission on Children and Disasters, a commission recently created by Congress to ensure that the needs of children are not overlooked in a major emergency. Here is the list: http://www.savethechildren.org/countries/usa/us-emergency-programs/us-preparedness/ten-tips-katrina-3rd-anniv.html.

Historic Record of Outdoor Warning Siren System

Johnson County’s outdoor warning system consists of 167 sirens placed strategically throughout the county as an early warning device to alert citizens of potential danger. Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security maintains a webpage (http://siren.jocoem.org/) in an effort to educate the public on when and why the outdoor warning sirens have sounded.

This information is only provided as an historic record and should not be relied upon for life-safety information. If the outdoor warning system is heard at anytime other than regularly scheduled test days, seek shelter and tune in to local radio, television, or your NOAA weather radio for instructions and information.

Home Depot's Safety Fair -- Saturday, 10/18

The Overland Park Home Depot on 135th St will be having a Safety Fair on Saturday (October 18th) from 10 am to 2 pm. Personnel from Johnson County Emergency Management will be in attendance to share information about Community Preparedness. Come by and say hello. They will be handing out "Johnson County -- A Community Prepared" reusable canvas bags.

Come say hello!

Thanks to the Merriam Kiwanis Club!

The Merriam Kiwanis Club hosted Adam Crowe, Assistant Director of Community Preparedness for Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security, today at their weekly meeting. He spoke for about 15 minutes on what Johnson County is doing to be prepared and what citizens can do to be a part of that process.

2008 Senior Quest is Complete!

I want to thank Johnson County's department of Human Services & Aging for their excellent work in running the 2008 Senior Quest. It was held yesterday at the Overland Park Convention Center. Hundreds of elderly residents of Johnson County (or their caretakers) came by the Johnson County Preparedness booth to receive information on how to be prepared for disasters.

Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day (http://blogactionday.org/home). This year's theme is poverty. While poverty and emergency preparedness may not seem related, a persons economic well-being can greatly affect their individual preparedness efforts and often coorespond to additional needs during an emergency. This is truly a special issue that emergency managers throughout the United States are struggling to address. We have and will continue to actively and creatively look at the best ways to serve poverty-striken communities as well as other special needs groups.

The New and Improved jocoprepared.org!

The Johnson County -- A Community Prepared website (www.jocoprepared.org) has been updated! The website now contains more information about current and past Johnson County activities, personnel profiles, contact information, and up-to-date preparedness information on how to get ready for emergencies and disasters.

Check out the updates and tell us what you think!

In Honor of Columbus Day

Since today is Columbus Day and he is generally given credit for discoverying the new world and thus creating a global connection, I wanted to share a website with you that graphically shows various hazards and disasters that are currently impacting various parts of the world. Here is the website:

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index.php?lang=eng

Emergency Management Director Elected National Leader

Nick Crossley, Director of Johnson County Emergency Management and Homeland Security, was elected the Chairperson of the Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) Commission. The CEM Commission oversees the certification of emergency managers throughout the world. Let us all congratulate Nick on this great achievement.

Binational Health Fair

Johnson County emergency personnel will also been in attendance at the Binational Health Fair this Saturday from 10-2 at the VFW 6654 in DeSoto. Preparedness materials in multiple languages as well as promotional items will be available to all who attend.

Emergency Preparedness Fair -- THIS SATURDAY!

Johnson County emergency preparedness personnel will be at the Emergency Preparedness Fair this Saturday from 9-3 in support of the Church of the Resurrection's educational event. Informational tables will be available for the entire time and educational sessions will be held in the morning. Please click on the following link for more information and to register.

http://www.cor.org/calendar/church-calendars-service-opportunities/single-views/calendar-item/article/disaster-relief-emergency-preparedness-fair-1011/back/5063/

Public Health Preparedness in Johnson County

Johnson County Public Health conducted an annual exercise of its Emergency Preparedness program today. The exercise simulated an Anthrax attack on Johnson County. Various Johnson County agencies including Emergency Management & Homeland Security, Financial Management, Transit, Human Resources, Med-Act, Mental Health, County Manager's Office, and Information Technology participated and helped created a unified response. This exercise will help continue to make Johnson County -- A Community Prepared!

SeniorQuest 2008

SeniorQuest 2008 will be held next Tuesday (October 14) from 9:00 - 3:00 at the Overland Park Convention Center (6000 College, OP, KS). Senior Quest is Johnson County’s biggest, most comprehensive annual information fair for older adults and features informational exhibits, free health screenings, free one-on-one advice from local attorneys, entertainment, and food for sale. It’s a wonderful way to spend a festive day while gaining lots of useful information.

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security as well as many other Johnson County agencies will be present to provide older adults (and their caretakers) in the area information about how to be prepared for disasters and emergencies. This is a fantastic event sponsored by Johnson County's Department of Human Services & Aging. For more information, http://hsa.jocogov.org/information/quest.shtml.

JOCO Sheriff MySpace & YouTube

The Johnson County Sheriff's Department provides two unique ways to learn more about who they are and what they do. The following links may be of interest to our readers:

http://www.myspace.com/johnsoncountysheriff

http://www.youtube.com/jocosheriff

How Safe are Our Daycare Centers?

Save the Children released an Issue Brief (#4, 2008) entitled "Protecting Children During U.S. Emergencies". It outlines four recommendations for States to establish as part of childcare licensing. They are as follows:

1) maintain written disaster plans that are coordinated with local emergency responders
2) conduct evacuation drills in conjunction with local communities
3) designate relocation sites and routes to those sites
4) develop reunification plans for children and families
5) develop written procedures to provide for children with special needs

How does your child's daycare stack up to these recommendations? The full brief can be read here: http://www.savethechildren.org/publications/reports/Disaster-Preps-Issue-Brief-Final-1.pdf.

Med-Act's File of Life Program

Johnson County Med-Act supports an emergency preparedness program called "File of Life". This program is used by emergency medical services and law enforcement agencies to obtain vital medical and personal information in an emergency. It consists of: 1.) File-magnet with plastic sleeve on the front. 2.) Client data- a properly completed form. This system is particularly important for elderly citizens who may live alone, but can be a beneficial preparedness tool for all ages.

You can request a "File of Life" kit by emailing Med-Act at medact@jocoems.org or by calling 913-715-1950. For more information about the program, please visit http://www.jocoems.org/programs/life.htm.

The Conclusion to National Preparedness Month

Johnson County joined over 3,200 agencies who cooperated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in acknowledging National Preparedness Month. This is the most number of participates they have ever had!

Way to go!

Childcare Providers

Adam Crowe, Assistant Director of Emergency Management & Homeland Security, presented "Emergency Managemetn & Community Preparedness" to local professional Childcare providers last night as part of their continuing education process. They learned about a variety of topics including emergency management, personal preparedness, and the response of a child to disasters. Websites such as www.jocoprepared.org, www.preparemetrokc.org, and www.jocoem.org were used to provide a dynamic source of information. They were a great group!

Johnson County Preparedness Council

The Johnson County Preparedness Council met for the first time yesterday to discuss issues and share information about emergency preparedness issues in Johnson County. This informal group will meet on a regular basis and will be made up of departments, agencies, cities, and quasi-departments within Johnson County.