Severe Weather Seminar Series -- Spread the Word!

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security in conjunction with the Johnson County -- A Community Prepared public awareness campaign will be holding a free Severe Weather Awareness Seminar Series to help aid business and community organizations who are particularly vulnerable to severe weather events. Specifically, the following session dates are available:

Indoor Entertainment Facilities, March 9, 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Outdoor Recreation & Entertainment Facilities, March 10, 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Nursing & Assisted Living Facilities, March 11, 8:30 - 11:00 AM
Religious & Faith Centers, March 12, 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM

All sessions will be held at the Johnson County Conference Center at the Johnson County Administration Building at 111 S. Cherry St., Olathe, KS 66061. All attendees will also get a free tour of the Johnson County Emergency Operations Center.

If you are interested, please register by visiting the training site and clicking on EMM. Then select the course you are interested in. Please share this with anyone who might benefit.

KPR 91.5 Interview on Severe Weather Awareness Week

I would like to thank Laura Lorson with Kansas Public Radio (FM 91.5) for interviewing me today regarding Johnson County's efforts related to Severe Weather Awareness Week. Interview snippets will run March 9-12 during the morning and the full interview will run at the end of the week.

KPR (FM 91.5) covers the entire region including all of Johnson County. They focus on providing news and information to small cities and communities not always served by major media markets in the Kansas City Metro area.

Upcoming KCTV5 Severe Weather Special

Tom Wachs of KCTV5 visited with Nick Crossley (Director of Emergency Management & Homeland Security) about severe weather operations including the activation of the outdoor siren system. The interview is schedule to air March 6th. In the meantime, you can watch a behind the scenes video of the interview on our YouTube channel or by clicking here.

Public Input Needed (Final Opportunity)

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security has completed the final draft of the multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan which is now available for public review and comment. The purpose of this plan was to guide hazard mitigation planning to better protect the people and property of Johnson County from the effects of natural hazard events and to be eligible for federal mitigation funds. Incorporated cities and special districts located in Johnson County actively participated in this cooperative effort. The full plan can be reviewed at http://www.jocoem.org/hmp-comment.asp.

As with all plans that impact the public, Johnson County and the participating jurisdictions and organizations value the input of the citizens that the plan may impact. Local citizens are encouraged to review the final draft of the plan and complete the form below. You may e-mail Emergency Management Director Nick Crossley at ncrossley@jocogov.org any comments or complete the online submission form at http://www.jocoem.org/hmp-comment.asp.

Public comments will be accepted through March 1, 2009.

For more information about these mitigation efforts in Johnson County, visit www.jocoem.org.

Thanks to the Clockwinder Optimist Club in Olathe

I would like to thank the Clockwinder Optimist Club in Olathe for allowing me to speak to their membership at their weekly breakfast this morning. We discussed a variety of emergency management and preparedness topics including the Johnson County -- A Community Prepared public awareness camapign. It was great to see many of our local residents face-to-face.

The True Impact of Mitigation

Johnson County has nearly completed a comprehensive mitigation plan that will establish the hazards in the community and what risk they are to people and property. Ultimatley, this will provide a framework for local jurisdictions to spend money on mitigation projects in their community to reduce these risks.

Research has show that for every $1 spent on mitigation it saves $4 during emergency response activities because of the reduced impact to the community. That is significant. Hopefully, that type of figure makes mitigation a little easier to understand.

In the next few weeks, we will mention more about the mitigation planning process.

Johnson County Infrastructure Preparedness Workshop

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security in association with the Johnson County -- A Community Prepared public awareness campaign hosted the first Infrastructure Preparedness Workshop today. The session focused on the preparedness of the water utility providers in Johnson County with a specific emphasis on what they do to prepare, respond, and recovery from emergencies and hazards in the area. The session was well attended from various public and private response partners in Johnson County.

The next session will be in April and will focus on Power & Light issues in Johnson County.

To Sound or Not to Sound...

...that is the question we ask ourselves about the Outdoor Warning System any time there is significant severe weather in Johnson County. For clarity, the Outdoor Warning System in Johnson County consists of 167 sirens that have been placed strategically throughout the county as an early warning device to alert citizens of potential danger. The sirens are owned by the incorporated cities of Johnson County, but are primarily activated by Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security.

The outdoor warning system is set up to alert the public of a tornado warning. There are three basic criteria to activate the sirens for tornadoes:

• The National Weather Service issues a Tornado Warning for Johnson County,
• A county trained and certified weather spotter reports a tornado; or
• A tornado is reported by a local public safety official

The only other time you should hear the sirens is during the regularly scheduled testing. The activation of the outdoor sirens should never be taken lightly.

Severe Weather Awareness Week -- March 9-13

Severe Weather Awareness Week is March 9-13. This is a Statewide week of emphasis related to the improvement of the public's awareness fo severe weather in our area. We routinely try to provide educational seminars and outreach through traditional media outlets. Specifically, this year we will be providing the first ever Severe Weather Awareness Seminar Series and will be profiled on Kansas Public Radio during the week. We also hope to create original video material that will provide specific information related to this topic.

However, we are always looking for new and interesting ways to educate the public regarding the threat of severe weather. Does anyone have any ideas they'd like to share? If so, post them to this blog so we can all benefit!

Virtual Tour of Johnson County EOC

Have you ever wondered what the Johnson County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) looked like? What the setup might look like during a severe weather event or during a county emergency?

A new video has been created and is viewable at the Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security Youtube Channel or by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Earthquakes in the Midwest -- Townhall Meeting for Metro KC

An earthquake occurs just about every day somewhere in the Midwest, yet many people in the Kansas City area may not know anything about them. Even though the chance of a damaging earthquake affecting this area (including Johnson County) is low, there is a need to be aware of the earthquake hazard that exists in Kansas and Missouri.

Representatives from FEMA, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, University of Kansas, and local Emergency Management offices will provide a program designed to inform local citizens about the local earthquake threat, planning which is taking place to help coordinate the response after a major earthquake in the Midwest, and steps citizens can take to better prepare for such an event.

The "Earthquakes in the Midwest" townhall meeting will be held Thursday, February 19, 2009, from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM at the Platte County Resource Center (11724 NW Plaza Circle, KCMO 64153).

Thanks to the DeSoto Rotary Club

I would like to thank the DeSoto Rotary Club for allowing me to speak to their members this morning on Emergency Management & Community Preparedness. They heard information on what Johnson County is doing to be prepared for emergencies and disasters as well as what they can do as individuals to be prepared for disasters. This information can be read at www.jocoem.org.

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security is always willing to send staff to talk to any public group interested in learning more about this topic.

Social Networking for Johnson Co. Emergency Management

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security is now present in several social networking systems. Specifically, we have profiles on Facebook (JoCO EmergencyMgmt), MySpace, Twitter (JoCo_Emergency), and YouTube (JoCoEmergencyMgmt). Feel free if you are active on these sites to look us up to "friend" or "follow" us. Much like this blog, these sites will provide more information about what Johnson County is doing to be prepared in disasters as well as what individuals can do to be prepared.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Stormwater Management in Olathe

Johnson County Stormwater Management Advisory Council (SMAC) is working with the City of Olathe and other local cities to update FEMA floodplain maps countywide as required by the federal government. Olathe residents who live along Cedar Creek and its significant tributaries are invited to a public meeting on Thursday, February 26, to learn how draft Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain maps may impact their properties. The meeting will be an open house format at the Olathe Holiday Inn, 101 W. 151st St., Olathe 66061, enabling residents to come and go anytime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Severe Weather & Tornados in February

Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security would like to pass along its condolences to those families in Central Oklahoma that were impacted by severe weather and tornados. The impact to their community is a reminder that severe weather such as heavy rainfall, high winds, hail, and tornados can happen at any time during the year.

Local citizens are encouraged to maintain a severe weather preparedness plan for themselves, their families and businesses year round. A part of their plan should be to maintain constant awareness of the threat of severe weather by staying informed of any severe weather in the area. This can be done by monitoring your NOAA All-Hazard Weather Radio or other trusted information source. Johnson County encourages citizens to own and maintain these radios and their preparedness plans as part of their comprehensive emergency warning system. For more information about NOAA all hazard radios and creating a personal or business preparedness plan visit www.jocoem.org.

Severe Weather Event in February

As we are always stressing, severe weather can happen any time of year and any time of day. Today, a Severe Weather situation occured in the morning which lead to the activation of the Johnson County Emergency Operations Center.

We took a quick video blog of the event and have shared it on our YouTube site and here.

Safety City, Day 3

As promised, for those of you who were unable to visit us at Safety City this year, we've created an inside look video for you to enjoy. You can view the video blog at our YouTube site or by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Safety City 2009, Day 2

Several Johnson County Emergency Management staff participated in the second day of Safety City 2009 down at the KC Remodeling Show.  The show is at the American Royal and will still be open on Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM.  Feel free to stop by the MEMC Booth in Safety City and say hello!  Lots of local residents stopped by to see the various displays and equipment including a Fire Extinguisher Training station, Ident-A-Kid program, LEPC, and public health preparedness activities.

A video will be posted from the third and final day at Safety City!  Come back and enjoy!

Safety City 2009, Day 1

Emergency preparedness representatives from Johnson County and many other communities in the Kansas City Metro are participating at Safety City 2009 which is occuring this weekend as part of the Kansas City Remodeling Show. You can click here for more information.

Safety City contains lots of interesting emergency preparedness things to see including a MAST ambulance, Police motorcycle, classic civil defense items, public health trailers, CERT trailers, and many other things. Many of the items you can come and see were supported by regional homeland security funds. Come see what supports Kansas City (and Johnson County's) preparedness efforts!

Information on Emergency Planning Blog

Emergency Management planning staff have created a new blog to highlight and discuss the progress of the County's Local Emergency Operations Plan (LEOP). The LEOP is the guidance document that provides Johnson County the overall framework within which all entities of local government, volunteer agencies and the private sector can operate in an integrated and coordinated fashion before, during and after an emergency/disaster event. Obviously it is a very important and will take the involvement of dedicated staff and critical partners to ensure its accuracy and success.

This new blog can be read at www.jocoplanning.blogspot.com!

FINAL REMINDER: Free Severe Weather Awareness Training -- February 4th

This training is open to the public and will occur on February 4, 2009, from 7 PM to 9 PM at the Santa Fe Trail Middle School at 1100 Ridgeview, Olathe, KS. Anyone from the public is welcomed and encouraged to attend to learn more about severe weather events. The presentation will by approximately two (2) hours long and is provided by a highly trained meteorologist from the National Weather Service. The presenter will discuss various aspects of severe weather including physical characteristics, storm spotting, and personal safety.

See you there!

General Preparedness Survey Results, Part 2

The general preparedness survey that was presented through this blog asked several questions related to individual and family preparedness.

The second question on the survey asked whether or not the respondent owned a NOAA All-Hazard (Weather) Radio. According to the survey, 73% stated they owned one while the remaining 27% stated either disasters were uncommon in this area or couldn't afford one.

If you are unfamiliar with NOAA All-Hazard Radios you can read more about them here or watch this video that stresses the importance of having them in your homes as part of your individual and family preparedness.

General Preparedness Survey, Part 1

I would like to thank those of you who responded to the general preparedness survey that was posted to the blog. I will spend the next few days sharing those results with you. Of the respondents 46% were male and 54% were women.

This figure shows how the respondents answered the question of "Do you have an individual or family emergency supply kit that will last for 72 hours?".
For those of you who don't have an emergency supplies kit, you can learn more about what items go into these kits here.