A Letter from Emergency Management

So, given that the 72>96 hour post generated a lot of heat and ideas, I've been pondering how to approach our community. One thing that comes out clear from the thread is that expectations are high, and preparation is low. So I've decided to start a draft letter to our community - and I'd like your input. Instead of telling the community what we are PREPARED to do in an emergency, I am going to send a letter telling them what we're NOT going to do.

Something like this (and again, your input is sought)

Dear [Resident Name],

We are in the process of revamping the Emergency Management plans for the Township. As you know, some of the most common threats we face in our area are:

- Severe Weather Events
- River Flooding
- Hazardous Materials Release (from passing trucks)
- Wildfires

In addition, over the next few years, we face a long process of road and bridge construction, all of which affect emergency preparedness.

As a result, we are totally revamping our emergency operations plan and we would like to make sure you understand what the Township and other agencies can can't do in an emergency situation, and with this understanding, we hope that you create a good emergency plan and have the necessary supplies.

We will attempt to notify the community of a large-scale emergency or pending flood and if there is an evacuation needed, we will advise as to where to go if you don't have anywhere else to stay. We can't help you with your personal evacuation transportation and we can't provide you with any supplies, including medical supplies, that you might need after you evacuate.

During an emergency, we will address situations from most critical to least critical - just like patients in an emergency room. If the telecommunications infrastructure is damaged or overloaded, you may not be able to reach 9-1-1. During emergencies, we can provide you with information and recommended action plans, but during an emergency we won't be able to immediately provide the public with drinking water, food or sanitation facilities and we do not have the capacity to provide shelter within the township. We will not be able to provide fuels of any kind. It is critical that you are always ready and supplied as needed in case the power goes out, the roads are blocked, bridges are out or if you have to leave your home unexpectedly, as during the initial phases of an emergency, the most critical emergency resource is YOU.

After an emergency, we will work with multiple agencies to facilitate whatever work is needed to stabilize and/or repair public infrastructure such as roads, telecommunications and electricity. We will assess damage to private property and as conditions warrant, we will dispatch emergency personnel where and immediate danger to life exists. Other damage to private property that does not affect public safety or mobility will be given a lower priority and may not warrant an emergency response at all.

We will provide you with information about available county, state and federal programs that may be available to you as needed.

If you need help developing a personal emergency plan, please let us know. We are ready willing and able to help you with your needs and we look forward to assisting you.

Hmmm, I like the idea of forcing people to confront the fact that emergency services can't swoop down from heaven and fly them off to safety and comfort. However, I suspect such a letter would cause people just to get angry rather than take any additional responsiblity for their safety. I can just imagine them yelling, "For what reason have I paid taxes?!" (in my head everyone speaks proper English).

Maybe you could add a blurb about budget cuts or that not as many people are volunteering anymore. You might also say something about attending CERT classes to help the community.

I'd also rewrite this sentence as it kind of negates everything you said earlier, at least the the chronically dependent:

Maybe something like "We are ready and willing to help you determine your and your family's needs to prepare for likely emergencies."

-Blast

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Probably an angry reaction when you list what you guys can't do, but potentially a good opportunity to use the economic situation to raise the fact that there isn't money to do everything. I think people will be more receptive to that idea now than during more normal times.

I love the idea of telling them how it is. You have mentioned before that your township has a handful of people. The only thing that stuck out to me is your use of the word "we". I'm assuming it's "we" as in the township government. But, maybe it's "we" as in everyone in the township.

I think given that you have a small township, that maybe using the word "I" along with specific titles, instead of the word "we" might give the letter a more personable feel. I realize that EM is a team effort, but using words like "we" and "township" seem to give a citizen-vs-government feel. Not the "we're all in the same boat" feel. Mention that everyone in the town is a de facto member of your emergency management team, everyone needs to be on the same page and work together. You're only good as your weakest link. Ah, cliches.

Change:
we won't be able to immediately provide the public with drinking water

To:
I won't be able to immediately provide you with drinking water


BTW, I like the idea of putting what you can do at the end.

Are you going to do workshops? I think a collaborative leadership approach may work extremely well in your small community.

Blast: "However, I suspect such a letter would cause people just to get angry rather than take any additional responsiblity for their safety."

Yes, the knee-jerk-reaction reaction.

What about this:

Day One News Article: Property Taxes Increasing 50% to Cover Emergency Management Costs.

That's to get their attention.

Day Four News Article: Alternative to 50% Property Tax Hike

Explain how there just isn't enough money to be every citizen's mommy and daddy, and that if they don't want to pay up the nose, people need to make some attempt to take care of themselves.

Maybe have a Get Ready Fair (lots of advertising -- NOT on a weekend competing with something else) with examples of things to to do and to acquire.

Feed each section to them in bites, not a body slam that will make them do a 180 in the entrance. I would suggest having it categorized as to need, adult/teen, children, elderly, handicapped, pets, etc. Each section should be spaced apart from the rest, maybe having displays showing how to store it. Ask some stores to donate some freestanding storage units (with acknowledgments for some free advertising).

Example: Show two totes for Rover, one for his bag of dry kibble and the other for his tie-out chain (if the fence is knocked down or washes away), leash, brush, flea/tick preps, bowls, extra water, etc. And one for Miss Kitty, carrier, folding wire dog crate, tote for food, dishes, litter box and litter, etc. Emphasize the importance of identification.

Have tables with people showing how some of the useful things like vacuum sealers work (ask for free donations from the source for demonstration), homemade emergency stoves, regular easy-use stoves for the non-handy, and similar stuff.

Set up a demo display of an out-of-house emergency camp made from a large tarp, folding chairs,

Have some cheap printed booklets (3 big staples is a fine binding) with suggestion lists of what to stock, a list of good books for info, etc.

Bring in some sample water, gas and electric meters to demonstrate how to turn them off, and any warnings on turning them back on.

Make it cool, make it appeal to the gear junkies, make it easy to understand, make it do-able to the fearful.

Sue

Thanks - keep them coming.

also

1. the situation isn't a matter of whining or taxes - we don't get a lot of whiners and there's no budget at all for ANYTHING in the township - they have hardly any money for the roads much less emergency services, so we're not talking about a tax increase or anything.

2. I need to keep it all about "we" and "us"

3. I'll shorten it, but after more comments.

Be harsh, I can take it. But be aware that this community has been through three major river floods in 2 years. We're familiar with emergencies.

an editing - for clarity and succinctness.

Dear [Resident Name],

We are in the process of revamping the Emergency Management plans for the Township. As you know, some of the most common threats we face in our area are:

- Severe Weather Events
- River Flooding
- Hazardous Materials Release (from passing trucks)
- Wildfires

In addition, over the next few years, we face a long process of road and bridge construction, all of which affect emergency preparedness.

As a result, we are totally revamping our emergency operations plan. We want to make sure you understand what the Township and other agencies can and cannot do for you in an emergency situation. With this understanding, we hope that you will create an emergency plan and have the necessary supplies on hand before an emergency.

It is critical that you are always ready and supplied in case the power goes out, the roads are blocked, bridges are out or if you have to leave your home unexpectedly. During the initial phases of an emergency the most critical emergency resource is YOU.

In the face of an emergency,
We will:
· attempt to notify the community of a large-scale emergency or pending flood.

If there is an evacuation needed,
We will:
· advise you where the nearest evacuation center is located.
. advise you how to reach the nearest evacuation center.

We cannot:
· help you with your personal evacuation transportation
· provide you with any supplies, including medical supplies, that you might need after you evacuate.

During an emergency,
We will:
· evaluate situations from most critical to least critical – just like patients in an emergency room.
· provide you with information and recommended action plans.

We cannot:
· immediately provide drinking water, food or sanitation facilities.
· provide shelter within the township.
· provide fuels of any kind.

After an emergency,
We will:
· work with multiple agencies to facilitate whatever work is needed to stabilize and/or repair public infrastructure such as roads, telecommunications and electricity.
· assess damage to private property.
· when possible, dispatch emergency personnel where immediate danger to life exists. Other damage to private property that does not affect public safety or mobility will be given a lower priority and may not warrant an emergency response at all.
· provide you with information about available county, state and federal programs that may be available to you as needed.

Please let us know if you need help developing a personal emergency plan. We are ready, willing, and able to help you with your needs and we look forward to assisting you.

Agree in part and disagree in part. People may well be upset that their taxes don't provide instant service in response to any contingency. Your suggestion will leave them thinking that it would be possible to provide instant service if only the budget were bigger/taxes were higher/the economy was better, etc. They are still going to be angry.

It might be better to preempt that whole line of reasoning, with something like:

"No emergency service agency, regardless of size or budget, can plan and prepare to instantly respond to every possible disaster or large-scale emergency. We will provide the quickest and most professional response humanly possible . . . . . "

That's just off the top of my head. Martin can probably word it better, but hopefully you understand what I am getting at.

Great start. This is a good idea - a preamble.

I don’t know you’re exact position, but don't forget to let the letter check by the management/boss/commander/mayor. It can be political sensitive. For smooth and effective operation, we need the politicians to trust and like us (“we” don’t need politicians to tell us what to do in an emergency) . So keep them happy to a certain extend is vital.

When signing the letters, let a person sign who is in a political neutral position, by the public conceived as knowledgeable and reliable. It helps with the “trust” issues for citizens.

As for the letter. I’m not sure how much work you are planning to invest. Be aware that it is a relative ineffective tool to change human behavior. I do expect it to be more effective than campaigns by the government, because it’s more local and it’s address to people personally.

You might consider a separate letter or extra attention for citizens who have had a lot of luck during previous emergency’s. “Unrealistic optimism” is a common issue with people who where unaffected by previous emergency

Here's another angle. I was only thinking about it because I ran across a reference to some survey done after Katrina. Obviously, the psychology of why people do what they do, or don't do, in the face of emergencies is very complicated.

This is similar to what I think Art was trying to generalize in his post about Katrina--that people will fear what they fear.

Some researchers surveyed folks who didn't evacuate before Katrina. Although the stereotype is that it was the poor with no cars and resources who stayed, they weren't the only ones who stayed. A significant number of folks with the ability to leave did not. There were multiple reasons, but fear of looting was apparently high on the list, regardless of high nice or not so nice their neighborhood was.

The past few fire seasons here in Southern Cal, with all the fire activity we've been getting, whenever there's a briefing live on local TV, there's always a representative from law enforcement there to reassure residents that there are officers ready to prevent looting, so residents feel comfortable about leaving when asked to evacuate.

Anyway, a part of me wonders if mentioning so many things that the authorities can't do might have some unintended consequences, like making people less likely to leave their flooded homes because of fear of looting. Or lead to more gun purchases but not really more general preparedness. So, whatever people around there fear the most could have the opposite effect of what you wanted--that is, more personal preparedness. Just a thought.

I applaud your effort to "tell it like it is" ... my opinion may sound harsh, but I think that only a fool would not appreciate a "straight up" notification of what assistance will, or will not, be available to them.

Others (responding to this thread) that were concerned that some folks might be angered with that type of letter are probably correct.
But, I don't think you can worry about that.
For those that would be angry... if they get a more steady diet of truth, instead of political promises and sugar-coated crap, they might eventually see the need for some level of personal preparedness.

Budget cut hell!!!!

I know what Martin's budget allocation is, he told me. It is spelled $INSULT.ING!

I believe I likened it to my average monthly Diesel Fuel bill for my pick-up, except I budget $600.00 more per month. EDIT: Meaning my monthly fuel budget for ONE vehicle is $600.00 more than his YEARLY budget!

Martin,

Just let them see the budget, it will save a lot of letter writing. Example:

[i]Dear citizen,

We have exactly $0.00025 available to rescue each person within our jurisdiction. As such, we decided to buy beer for the county commissioners to drink as a last meal before you lynch them after the next disaster. Sorry we couldn't help you more, and you wouldn't even have wanted one of the beers... it was discounted Pearl and Lone Star.

Better luck next time
County OEM

[/i]

See, a simple solution!

Seriously though, I will work on this with a few folks I know and get back to ya'

Martin, I love this letter. I have only one problem: I don't think you can eat on what you are paid to be a mod at ETS.

I don't think people will be angry. I imagine about a quarter to a third of the population will completely freak out, which will lead to the elected whatevers asking for your head on a platter.

If you do it, I would make one suggestion:
"as during the initial phases of an emergency, the most critical emergency resource is YOU."

I'd rewrite it thusly:
"as during the initial phases of an emergency, your most critical emergency resource is YOU."

But I like Lone Star!
-Blast, unrefined

You are assuming he is paid from the OEM gig, I know better.

To make it regional I guess you could substitute Steel City in place of Lone Star.

Blast,

Lone Star...Really????

Martin,

I think that the approach needs to be positive; anything that says that you can't do something will never see the light of day. IMO, you need to turn it around into positive suggestions for what the public can/should do for themselves.

I liked bsmith's revised letter except for the "We cannot." Let me try something from his letter in a slightly different way, that may make the same point and illustrate what I mean:

Bsmith's original:
During an emergency,
We will:
· evaluate situations from most critical to least critical – just like patients in an emergency room.
· provide you with information and recommended action plans.

We cannot:
· immediately provide drinking water, food or sanitation facilities.
· provide shelter within the township.
· provide fuels of any kind.


My alternative:

During an emergency,
We will:
· evaluate situations from most critical to least critical – just like patients in an emergency room.
· provide you with information and recommended action plans.

You can Help us help you by:
· Having a supply of drinking water, food, and sanitation supplies on-hand and available for your use during the emergency; we suggest a 72 (96?)hour supply should be kept on hand.
· Make plans for an alternate shelter for you and your family should you be forced to leave your home.
· Have a supply of fuels you may require, or plan to make use of alternate fuels. Your normal supply may be disrupted.

So, turn the 'cannots' into positive suggestions.
I think it may actually be more effective that way. I've seen enough situations where people want to help, but simply don't know what to do, but are willing to do something. All they need is someone to point them in the right direction.

Good luck

I'm actually now eagerly looking forward to that CNN video news story. Best to do the interview with Anderson Cooper in bare feet though and refer him to the British Protect and Survive videos on Youtube such as this .

Remember the news media and politicians like hyperbole and telling folks some uncomfortable facts could be a problem for you no matter how sensible they seem to folks on this particular forum.

I like the edits done by bsmith and bws48. I like the idea you cannot save everyone. Need to push the distributed emergency management approach! More classes and workshops!

Regarding the "we" and "us", I think I understand what you mean. Definitely need the "us" part!

Please do post what you finally come up with, I'm looking forward to see what it's going to be.

Edited to Add:
What about suggesting volunteering in the letter to? People can do things like getting more medical training, etc.

Yep, people will freak, demand immediate forums to kick out the elected government etc...

Not because you're telling it like it is....

But because, suddenly, you're telling them that you can't do the things that (they think) you WERE PREVIOUSLY CAPABLE OF.




They've led a life of "911 will save me" instead of dealing with the truth from the beginning. Finally breaking it to them isn't information, it's a complete reversal in their psychological preparedness. I don't think many of them will acknowledge that you're just putting in plain language that which has always been. Instead, they'll think they're being sold out, decieved, having services removed, impeding their rights, and all the other BS that they can come up with.

Ok everyone, really great stuff.

A few more clarifications and updates.

1. The position of Emergency Management Coordinator is by appointment, not election. I am recommended to the governor by the members of the Board of Supervisors and the position is held until someone else is appointed or I'm dismissed by the board of supervisors.

2. The position of Emergency Management Coordinator is unpaid.

3. It's a small township - very small, and as was pointed out here, my annual budget is vanishingly small. How small? Well, let's just say that if I bought a mid-range laptop and a tank of gas, I'd blow through my budget.

4. I have a major advantage in that I'm known in the community and I have a good network of people who are willing to help both with the planning and operation of emergency services. I have a strangely high number of ex-military folks (one of whom I think just joined us here - he was in the Navy and commanded a sub, another was an MP Sergeant in the Air Force in Iraq, the and next was a combat helicopter pilot in the Marines). I have high confidence in their ability to help out.

This letter - and you have to understand that this is a first for the community - will have more impact that you might think, because it represents the first time Emergency Management as a concept will be clearly tied back to the Township. Until now, it's been ad-hoc and reactive via the Fire Company.

In addition, I'm operating and planning in the context of my (much) larger neighboring townships - although we're not an actual regional emergency management entity, I am working so closely with them that we're acting as a regional entity.

I think it's important to understand that Bucks County is almost at large at the state of Rhode Island, and it's got three distinct "zones" if you would. The southern zone is a crowded suburb of philadelphia, very dense. The middle zone is a blend of open space and broad suburban tracts of housing. It's very nice, very "Norman Rockwell" in many ways.
Then there's the North section - where I live. Up here, it's still rural. There are hunting grounds, people have rifle ranges in their back yards, you'll find wide open spaces and huge forested areas. There are plenty of places up here with no cell service. We have no police department, just a state police barracks. Townships are the government entity and they are small and provide very limited services. For example, the township we're talking about with this letter has no full-time administrative staff. The board of Supervisors consists of three people, all part time. There's one person on the road crew. They own a small dump truck (a Ford F550) with a plow and a front loader. There's no "township park" There's no pool, no library - really nothing much more than a roads department, a zoning officer (part time) and meeting minutes for the township generally take up one sheet of paper.

So into this context, we bring in a new government "service" - which is mandated by state law. They have to have an emergency plan. They have to keep it up to date and they have to provide the county with the plan. So it's into this context that "Emergency Management" will be introduced. Thus my need to set low expectations from the get-go.

This is great that you are doing this.

My little neighborhood has "fire meetings" since that's the very serious danger we could face here, on our street we have a volunteer fire department.

I like what you are doing! I will see what is said in my next newsletter about emergencies! You can never be to prepared especially so far away..

Great job!

You know your area best (of us, anyway). On a scale of 1-10, what do you think is the level of expectation of the people within your township? You have to start somewhere, the others are watching.

You've assisted with the three floods, what percentage do you think didn't evacuate when told? If they didn't, WHY didn't they?

Do you have a local newspaper? Would they be interested in helping? Could they devote a page (free) to a questionnaire about disaster planning, and receive the results from you to put in a follow-up issue? This wouldn't cost you what it would to send individual mailers. For instance:

Did you evacuate from your home in any of the last three floods? (insert any other local disasters of the last few/10 years)

If you did evacuate...
* What was your greatest fear?
* What was best unexpected thing that happened?
* What was the worst unexpected thing?
* What happened afterward that you didn't expect?
* Would you be willing to evacuate sooner next time?
* If you evacuated in time, would family members outside the disaster area be willing to take your family in?
* What would be the most basic thing you felt you needed for your family in a shelter?
* Did you feel that you needed more help for special-needs family members such as babies, children, elderly, handicapped?
* Was worry about your pets an issue?
* Have you made more personal preparations for yourself and your family since the last disaster that affected you?
* If you haven't made any preps, what would you need to get started?

* If you didn't evacuate, what was your reasoning?
* Do you think you would evacuate the next time?
* What would it take to get you to evacuate next time?
* Have you made more personal preparations for yourself and your family since the last disaster that affected you?
* If you haven't made any preps, what would you need to get started?
* What problems did you encounter by not evacuating, that you didn't expect?
* What did you do right that helped your situation?
* Did you receive help from your neighbors? Did they help you?

With a newspaper survey, the people who responded would be providing the stamps.

The newspaper should see that the survey would probably sell papers, and do it without charge.

You might discover things that you hadn't considered, and be able to direct solutions in that direction.

Sue

Good ideas as usual, Sue.

Good idea! And I think that's a regional planning tool, not just the township level. We have a good local paper, they definitely would help.

I was wondering how you are going to mail it out.
Would including it with the tax assessment statements be possible.
If you could include some of the ideas you explained to us about it being a new federally mandated service and that you are limited in what you can do without tax increases it might help them.
If it was piggy backed in the tax notice envelope you might save a bit of your budget and it would be less likely to be just disregarded and trashed.
You could place a copy in the paper to reach the people who don't get tax notices.

Hmmm, how hard is it to work up into a story for the reporters? You might even be able to get an editor doing a comment piece for you.

First choice is Shiner Bock (or better yet the limited edition Shiner Smokehouse) but after that, yeah Lone Star. To me it has a more...distinctive...flavor than Bud lite or that sort of near-beer stuff.

Plus I'm a cheap SOB.
-Blast

Been to Shiner? Worth the trip.

Try the 100, but be careful... A little stronger than normal. I was caught, um, unaware one evening.

Have you considered some form of training classes that area NGO's might provide for free? These in conjunction with local VFD fundraising cookouts might get folks leaning in the right direction for learning.

Maybe negotiate with local retailers to have different preparedness booths. Like a big box home improvement store with home prep ideas, etc. I bet PANG or other reserve would help also. They love large groups to speak with/recruit from.

Since you are relatively well connected with the press, maybe you can network through to the new "common sense" FEMA director. He might surprise you by showing up or sending help.

Just brainstorming now. More later

For your OEM budget, couldn't you set up a 'Preparedness Fair' for your area, and charge the vendors a fee to increase revenue to your budget?

The business get to showcase wares, ideas.
The public can smell, touch, talk, look at set ups and gear.
OEM budget gets an infusion of cash and media attention.

OK, thanks everyone for all the input.

I'll be going back for another pass at this, I'll post what comes out of it. I hope you all got the very SMALL nature of this community.

OK, Over and out for now.

I liked bsmith's suggestions as well (including the "we can't" which could also be "the town can't" or "emergency services can't").

Making this easy to read and absorb - even to the point of making it visual, with illustrations, will likely improve acceptance and understanding. Many people will not read and absorb a traditionally written text letter.

(My work is in communications and interactive media, so I deal with similar issues every day.)

Just for the sake of curiosity, how did this turn out?

2 cents' worth idea:

An emergency preparedness checklist, tailored to the area, on the back of the letter? Print it so it forms columns when the letter is folded.

Did an interview with the papers, got a bunch of input, and make a presentation to the board of supervisors next week.

We'll see what happens then.