By Robert Lawrence, Senior Regional Emergency Management Planner
 
Virginia’s Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax-Free Holiday Shopping week is May 25-31. Virginians are provided an opportunity to purchase hurricane and flood preparedness equipment tax-free. No sales tax is charged on the purchase of many items that can be used to prepare homes and businesses and to fill emergency supply kits during Virginia’s Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday.   All retailers participate, according to Virginia law.

A sample of items exempt from sales tax includes:
•    Batteries, including cell phone batteries
•    Battery-powered light sources, such as flashlights and lanterns
•    Bottled water of all types and sizes, including flavored, carbonated and vitamin waters
•    Battery-powered and/or hand-crank radios, including those with electrical power option
•    Weather band radios and NOAA Weather Radios
•    First aid kits
•    Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors
•    Fire extinguishers
•    Tarps, plastic sheeting, plastic drop cloths, duct tape
•    Water storage containers, including coolers, buckets, barrels, canteens
•    Storm shutter devices
•    Portable generators
For a complete list, go to http://www.tax.virginia.gov/Documents/2011%20List%20of%20Exempt%20Items%20(2).pdf.
 
"Ensuring your home, vehicle, and business has an emergency kit is a vital part of preparing for hurricanes and other disasters," said Curtis Brown, Emergency Management Administrator for the HRPDC.  "As demonstrated by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee last year, Hampton Roads is vulnerable to severe weather.  Please take the time to prepare your families, communities, and businesses by participating in this year’s Tax Holiday. It is a cost-effective approach to preparedness."

Hurricane season starts June 1.  Additional information about preparing for hurricane and flooding season is available at www.ReadyVirginia.gov

By Natalie Easterday
Regional Emergency Management Planner

The New Year is a perfect time to Resolve to be Ready and the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) is proud to be promoting emergency preparedness for 2012. Sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Ready Campaign, Resolve to be Ready is a nationwide effort designed to increase awareness as well as encourage individuals, families, businesses, and communities to take action and prepare for emergencies in the New Year. The HRPDC and the Ready Campaign would like to encourage you to make an emergency preparedness resolution to take three important steps.

-    Be informed. Know the hazards and risks in your area.
-    Make a family emergency plan, so you know how you would communicate with and find your loved ones if a disaster hit.
-    Build an emergency supply kit – both at home and in the car – that includes water, food and first aid supplies to help you survive if you lose power or get stranded in your car. This is especially important for dealing with icy roads and snowstorms this winter.

For more information about emergency preparedness, visit ReadyVirginia.gov or Ready.gov.

By Tiffany Smith, Water Resources Planner

Press coverage and federal investigations of two alleged cyber-attacks on water systems in Illinois and Texas underscore the need to reduce potential risks of hackers seizing control of specialized computer equipment that controls and monitors water, wastewater and power infrastructure, as well as industrial facilities such as oil refineries and chemical plants. Water and wastewater utilities in Hampton Roads have already implemented measures to reduce risks to water sector infrastructure and, in June 2011, kicked off an effort to further enhance overall system resiliency and security. The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission is managing this regional planning effort which is funded by the Department of Homeland Security, Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) program, through grants from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Awareness of the potential for cyber-attacks on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems and Industrial Control Systems (ICS), has increased since the widely publicized 2009 Stuxnet malware attack on an Iranian uranium enrichment plant. The “Water Supply Assessment and Emergency Response Training” project will provide a regional assessment of potential water and wastewater system vulnerabilities. Potential risk scenarios that could disrupt water systems in Hampton Roads, including SCADA system failure, were identified during phase I of the project. To help understand the critical infrastructure interdependencies in Hampton Roads and the potential partnerships and jurisdictional overlaps in the region, water and wastewater utilities will conduct a table-top training exercise in spring 2012. The project will result in a regional plan, to be completed in fall 2012, to serve as a roadmap for future improvement.

By Natalie Easterday
Regional Emergency Management Planner

The HRPDC is joining the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) in support of Winter Preparedness in Virginia Week, December 4-10, 2011. VDEM offers of the following tips on how you and your family can get ready for winter.

•    Get a kit. You’ll need emergency supplies on hand at home, in the car and at work.

o    For home, start with these basics: three days’ food and water; a battery-powered and/or hand-crank radio with extra batteries; and a family emergency plan. After getting these supplies, add a first aid kit, medications if needed, blankets and warm clothing, supplies for special members of your household, and pet items.
o    For your car, start with some bottles of water and food bars; bag of sand or kitty litter to provide traction under tires; hats, gloves and blankets; and cell phone charger.
o    For your office, have some bottles of water and food bars and a radio to hear local information about whether or not it is safe to travel.  Officials may advise staying in place until it is safe to travel.

•    Make a plan. Choose an out-of-town relative or friend to be your family’s point of contact for emergency communications. Decide on a meeting place if your family cannot return home because of closed roads. Discuss with your family what you would do in case of severe winter weather in your area.

•    Stay informed. Before, during and after a winter storm, listen for up-to-date information from your local media and emergency officials. Local media will give instructions from local, state and federal agencies that cover road conditions, winter storm watches and warnings, power outages and health information. Make sure your battery-powered radio is working and you have extra batteries in case the electricity goes out.

For information about what you should do to prepare this winter season visit ReadyVirginia.gov.

Taken from the Pensiulas EMS Council's News Release

The nation’s 124 Metropolitan Medical Response Systems (MMRS) believe local medical responders’ ability to deal with mass casualty events will degrade in the face of pending federal budget cuts. In a recent national survey, an overwhelming majority of MMRS jurisdictions reported they had increased their capacity to care for their citizen’s emergency healthcare needs during disasters, including terrorism events.

Of all the lessons learned about how to respond to man-made and natural disasters, one of the most important is that medical treatment of mass casualty victims must be addressed quickly and efficiently – prior to the arrival of federal resources. However, preliminary Congressional actions for Fiscal Year 2012 have put in jeopardy a program that allows local jurisdictions the ability to take care of victims in the critical first 24-48 hours after a disaster.

In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in 1995, Congress created the Metropolitan Medical Response System to address the lack of coordinated local medical help during disasters when significant numbers of victims were involved. MMRS is a federal program that gives local jurisdictions the ability to plan for and respond to the medical side of man-made and natural disasters – specifically assisting the victims – prior to federal assets arriving on scene.

Local first responders and emergency managers say that without MMRS there could be many more fatalities, untreated injuries and a possible shut-down of EMS and hospital functions during disaster situations. There are no other programs – from any federal agency – that are specifically designed and equipped to manage mass casualties in any hazardous situation.

Congressional appropriators have recommended that MMRS be eliminated as a stand-alone federal program despite numerous examples of the successful utilization of the program during recent national disasters. Both the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee’s Department of Homeland Security Authorization bills include language to continue the MMRS program.

“All disasters are local. However, it can take days for federal assets to arrive and those first hours are critical for ensuring that victims are treated and that the hospital and emergency services agencies aren't overwhelmed." says Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA), a long-time supporter and Congressional champion of the MMRS program. “MMRS is the only program out there to fill this gap and has proven for 15 years that it can do the job in an incredibly cost-effective manner. MMRS is the program to save, not to slash.”

MMRS is a small program for the value the country receives. 124 jurisdictions in 43 states receive MMRS grants, and through voluntary grantee initiative the program now covers approximately 75% of the country’s population – all for a total of $30 million a year. The MMRS systems provide not only equipment to first responders, but also provides for an ongoing capability comprised of planning, focused medical coordination, pharmaceutical caches for bio-terrorism events and perhaps most importantly, well trained local personnel.

“Congress is in the unenviable position of trying to manage the federal budget and in doing so they are looking to eliminate programs in order to streamline government. Unfortunately, MMRS is caught in the larger discussion about FEMA grant programs and may be eliminated because of issues unrelated to its value or effectiveness” says Jim Trimberger, Director Environmental Health & Safety for Oklahoma’s INTEGRIS Health System. “I have personally witnessed what medical coordination was like during the Murrah building bombing before we had MMRS and what it is like now. The difference is significant. Though our hospitals are not grantees of MMRS funds, it is because of the MMRS program that we work closely with other agencies to assure better coordination of mass casualties during a disaster.”

The Hampton Roads Metropolitan Medical Response System (HRMMRS) was developed under the direction of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) in 1999 and covers all 16 jurisdictions of the HRPDC. The HRMMRS supports, equips and trains a 39-member (207 member call group) Hampton Roads Metropolitan Medical Strike Team; maintains a pharmaceutical cache of nerve antidotes and antibiotics; purchased personnel protective, disaster response, mass transport, detection, decontamination and sheltering equipment for public safety agencies, hospitals, and public health and medical examiner districts; provides funding assistance to the 7 Medical Reserve Corps programs; and coordinates training and exercises in mass casualty incident and disaster response.

About Peninsulas EMS Council, Inc.
Peninsulas EMS Council, Inc. is a 501(c)(3)non-profit organization and is authorized by state statute. By statute, it is an integral part of Virginia's comprehensive EMS system. It serves to assess, identify, coordinate, plan, and implement efficient and effective regional EMS delivery systems in partnership with the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services and State EMS Advisory Board. In essence, the council integrates and coordinates resources to ensure rapid response and expert patient care, as well as coordination between more than 50 local EMS agencies and 7 hospitals.