In Virginia, state leaders performed a natural disaster preparedness drill to evaluate how emergency responders would react during a tornado. According to The Associated Press, the exercise took place on March 12, 2013, and was completed as part of a collaborative initiative between Virginia administrators, emergency management personnel and the National Weather Service.
Natural disasters have recently caused serious problems for Virginia residents, as 62 tornadoes have hit the state in the past two years. While such storms have negatively impacted many business operators and homeowners throughout the area, the drill could help state officials find long-term resolutions to protect citizens against these problems.
Officials at the SSM St. Joseph Health Center in Wentzville, Missouri, plan to host training sessions designed to teach community members about emergency preparedness. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the tutorials will be open to residents in April 2013 and are intended for both adults and teenagers.
Participants in the Mid America Teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program will deliver information to attendees about a vast array of topics, including the county's emergency management services, medical operations and light search and rescue. Additionally, the tutorials finish with a drill that enables audience members to get hands-on training they can use to fully understand how to respond to dangerous situations.
Additionally, The Harvard Press notes that a statewide emergency preparedness forum will allow public safety administrators to address citizens' concerns in Harvard, Massachusetts, on March 23, 2013. This conference will feature participants from several agencies, such as the town's fire and police departments.
Steve Beckman, one of the forum's organizers, noted that community members began planning the event in August 2012. The gathering could provide numerous positive outcomes to Harvard and other nearby municipalities, as residents can discuss and plan for emergencies by developing useful strategies.
"Building-block exercises have begun to sensitize ambulance members to the heightened stressors of a [mass casualty incident] that challenge conventional patient care practices. Drills in these challenging settings begin the process of developing new 'muscle memory' necessary to perform our functions well in inherently chaotic and distracting environments," Beckman told the newspaper.
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