EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN

The ______County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) suggests that this document be used in developing Y2K contingency plans. Following these guidelines should help each agency consider most facets of a possible Y2K related incident. Also, following this format will facilitate the review process by the OEM. The purpose of the review is to allow the OEM to be aware of each agency’s contingency plans in the event they are needed. The review also compares plans to ensure that there are no conflicts in the use of resources.

These guidelines are not intended to limit or exclude additional information that an agency may decide to include in their plans.

This form should be attached to the front of your contingency plan when submitted to the OEM and Audit & Management Services. Use it as a cross-reference to your plan by listing the page number where the criteria are located in your plan. This will facilitate an accurate review of your agency’s plan by the OEM.

Name of Agency: ______

  1. General Information: Provide basic information concerning the agency to include:
  1. Name of the agency, address, telephone number, emergency contact telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address.
  1. Name, address, telephone number, emergency contact telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of contact person and alternate contact person (see attached template).
  1. Organizational chart or hierarchy of authority identifying key management positions in place during emergencies (Attachment 1-A).
  1. State the procedures to ensure timely activation and staffing of the agency in emergency functions.
  1. Plan Introduction: Provide an introduction to the plan that describes its purpose and the desired outcome that will be achieved through the planning process. Also provide any other information concerning the agency that has bearing on the implementation of this plan.

III.Identify Threats: Please identify all threats that may be encountered as a result of Y2K related issues. This section suggests a number of threats that may cause difficulty in your agency’s ability to provide continual service. Indicated how each threat will be monitored. Please add any other threats that may affect your agency that are not listed here.

  1. Electricity

This plan should be able to provide alternate power for fourteen days.

  1. Indicate what your agency will do in the event there is a disruption in electricity.
  2. If generators will be used, indicate their capacity in terms of gallons of fuel and duration of power.
  3. Indicate what actions will be taken in the event electrical power is no longer available.
  1. Natural Gas This plan should account for fourteen days without natural gas (or propane) delivery.
  2. Indicate what your agency will do in the event there is a disruption in natural gas (or propane) delivery.
  3. Indicate what actions will be taken in the event natural gas is no longer available.
  1. Fuel (gasoline or diesel) for vehicles This plan should account for fourteen days without gasoline or diesel.
  2. Indicate any stocking plans you may have. Indicate what actions will be taken in the event fuel is no longer available.
  3. Indicate what your agency will do in the event there is a disruption in gasoline or diesel delivery.
  1. Critical Business Functions List functions necessary to maintain continuous service
  1. Supplies Required to Support Critical Business Functions
  1. Indicate any stocking plans you may have.
  2. Indicate what your agency will do in the event there is a disruption in supply delivery.
  3. Indicate what actions will be taken in the event supplies are no longer available.
  1. Water and Sewage
  1. Indicate what your agency will do in the event there is a disruption in water delivery and sewage disposal. This plan should be able to provide for these services for fourteen days.
  1. Staff Considerations
  1. Indicate what accommodations will be made to ensure that all staff will have sufficient food, water, and rest in the event standard means are no longer available.
  2. Indicate what plans are in place to address the needs of staff families.
  1. Communications (telephone, handheld radio, etc.
  1. Indicate what plans are in place In the event standard communications practices are no longer available.
  1. Transportation Indicate what plan are in place in the event that vehicles are unable to operate.
  1. Increased demand
  1. Indicate what plans are in place in the event there is increased demands for goods or services. Address the following issues:
  2. Safety of staff and consumers
  3. Accommodating demand
  4. Delivery of supplies
  1. Please list all other threats and corresponding contingency plans in the event the threats occurs.
  1. Information, Training, and Exercise: This section shall identify the procedures for increasing staff awareness of possible emergency situations and provide training on their emergency roles before, during, and after a Y2K related emergency.
  2. Identify how key workers will be instructed in their emergency roles during non-emergency times.
  3. Identify a training schedule for all employees and identify who provides the training.

IV. General Information

  1. Name, address, telephone #s, fax and e-mail for the Center.
  2. Contact Person: ______, Executive Director, personal address, contact information, telephone, fax, cell phone #s

Alternate Contact Person: ______, title, personal address, contact information, telephone, fax, cell phone #s

  1. Organizational Chart – see attached chart.
  1. Procedures to ensure timely activation and staffing of the agency in emergency functions are:
  1. At the time of hire, employees are provided with emergency procedures outlined in the Personnel Policy and Procedure Manual.
  2. Consumers are notified at the time of intake of the necessity of registering with the Office of Emergency Management before June 1 of each year if they live in an area that is designated for evacuation or if they reside in a trailer. Every effort is made to encourage consumers to register on the date of intake.
  3. Consumers who register are designated in our computerized tracking system for notification in the event of a disaster. A back-up hard copy is maintained in our files. The tracking system and hard copy are updated and revised in June of each year.
  4. A disaster preparedness workshop provided by the Red Cross is held annually for employees and consumers. This includes evacuation procedures, safety measures, brochures and pamphlets from the Office of Emergency Management.
  5. Upon notice of a threat of disaster, all staff is placed on a priority alert. The data entry operator prints out the list of consumers, both registered and unregistered, which is distributed to each staff. The first priority is for each staff to ensure that registered consumers assigned to him/her are notified as quickly as possible. The second priority is for each staff responsible for a caseload to call those individuals who have not registered but whom he or she believes is likely to be impacted by a particular disaster to provide information and referral. Staff who are not responsible for a particular group of consumers are assigned calling responsibilities by the associate director. All contacts are given the emergency cell phone umber or staff beeper numbers. The associate director holds daily meetings with staff to ensure that progress is being achieved, no one is slipping through the cracks and problems and concerns encountered by staff and reported by consumers are being resolved satisfactorily.
  6. Staff assists with identifying and locating supplies, medications and other appropriate resources prior to and after emergency situations.
  7. When an emergency warning is issued, staff secures the facility and records. The director makes a decision to close the organization so that staff can go home and take care of their personal needs.
  8. Because the organization has neither the staff, resources, nor mission to provide services during emergencies, the organization reopens immediately when authorities report that it is safe to do so.
  9. Staff then advocate for consumers and assist them to relocate, apply for emergency funds, supplies, equipment, furnishing, medications, and obtain any other appropriate services.

V.Plan Introduction: The purpose of this Emergency Preparedness Plan is ensure that the organization operates at peak performance and efficiency when time is of the essence and the safety of employees, consumers and the organization are at stake. Also, its purpose is to clarify the step-by-step procedures that are undertaken by the organization when the threat of an emergency situation such as a natural or other disaster occurs.

The ______Center for Independent Living is a relatively small not-for-profit with limited resources. It was not established with the intention that it would provide significant emergency services to its consumers. However, the Center recognizes its obligation to do everything within its power and resources to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities before and after emergences and to promote emergency preparedness action among its consumer population. These goals are in keeping with the mission of the organization, which is to promote and enhance consumer self-reliance and independence.

  1. Identify Threats
  1. Electricity
  2. The Center’s offices have emergency lights that are battery operated. A two-week supply of batteries will be maintained.
  3. Generators are not available.
  4. If electrical power is not available, the Center will rely on emergency lights.
  1. Natural Gas The Center does not use natural gas.
  1. Fuel for Vehicles
  1. The Center does not have any owned vehicles and therefore will not stock fuel.
  2. Upon notice of a threat of an emergency situation, the executive director will advise all staff with personal vehicles to maintain full fuel tanks. However, staff do not visit consumers’ homes unless they are physically unable to leave the home or cannot be contacted by telephone.
  1. Critical Business Functions
  2. Information and Referral – Our telephone system is Y2K compatible. We are not expecting to have any difficulty providing I&R services before and after emergences provided that there has been no disruption of telephone service.
  3. In the event of a disaster such as flood or hurricane. Switchboard of _____city ____, Office of Emergency Management will be notified of an emergency contact number to call in the event of failure of telephone service.
  4. All other services will be disrupted and scheduled events postponed until the threat of an emergency has ended, but will be resumed at the earliest possible moment.
  1. Supplies Required To Support Critical Business Functions
  2. The Center typically has office supplies on hand for two months in advance. No additional stocking is needed.
  3. See 1 above.
  4. See 1 above.
  1. Water and Sewage The Center maintains sufficient bottled water for 14 days. The Center will bag waste until such time as appropriate disposal can be made. However, should the office not be usable, staff will work from their homes.
  1. Staff Considerations
  1. The office will be closed during any disaster beginning when ______County issues a warning. In the event that offices are not usable following a disaster, staff will work from home using the list of names and phone numbers on the tracking system printout to maintain contact with consumers. Any workshops or activities that were scheduled to occur during a disaster period will be rescheduled at a later time.
  1. In the event the office is not usable following a disaster, staff will work from home and it will not be necessary to address the needs of staff families.
  1. Communications (telephone, hand-held radio, etc.)

In the event that standard communications are no longer available, a cell phone will be used: however, this battery is also limited without electricity.

  1. Transportation

The Center does not have company vehicles. Staff will use personal vehicles to visit consumers to the extent that fuel is available. Staff will visit emergency shelters designated for people with disabilities following a disaster to offer assistance. If fuel is not available, cell phones or telephones will be used to maintain contact with shelters following an emergency.

  1. Increased Demand
  2. Safety of staff and consumers is addressed in the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual and in a Red Cross Emergency Management workshop. This is an annual event held prior to June 1 of each year. Emergency safety and preparedness are addressed in the organizational newsletter which is mailed to present and past consumers as well as disability providers.
  3. Increased demand for services is accommodated on a first come, first served basis. A waiting list is established for established for services that are not available from any other provider such as a need for an accessible ramp to gain access to one’s home or apartment. If another provider is available, the individual will be referred. The Center also has a limited number of volunteers and a few board members who can be called in to accommodate an increased demand for services. However, note that because a majority of board and staff are individuals with disabilities, the skills may be limited. In addition, many do not have personal transportation and must depend on paratransit. They may be more likely to need help than provide it.
  4. The Center will network with other service providers to determine alternate ways of obtaining delivery of supplies and services.
  1. Other threats and corresponding contingency plans in the event that a threat of disaster occurs. No other threats are known at this time.
  1. Information, Training and Exercise
  2. Staff are provided with instructions from the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual at the time of hire. The associate director assigns duties to staff prior to June 1 of each year according to priorities identified in the Emergency Preparedness Plan. When ______County’s Mayor announces a threat of an emergency, the associate director immediately reviews assignments and priorities with staff.
  1. Staff training is provided at the time of hire by the immediate supervisor using the information contained in the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual. Training is also facilitated annually by the Red Cross prior to June 1 of each year.