Emergency Preparedness
Deborah Swoboda, Coordinator
The Board of County Commissioners
of the County of Washington, Kansas, has the responsibility to
protect the inhabitants of the county from the hazards of natural or
man made disasters and to provide for the mobilization, organization
and direction of the populace during times of hostile military or
paramilitary actions and in connection with those duties, the Board
of County Commissioners deemed it necessary and expedient to
establish and maintain a disaster agency responsible for emergency
management and direction of response to disasters, which shall
include an Emergency Management Office and an Emergency Management
Director for Washington County.
The Washington County Emergency
Management Office exists to help citizens and local governments
mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from all
types of emergencies and disasters.
Responsibilities
include: developing and maintaining the Washington County Emergency
Operations Plan, coordinating responses of public and private
assistance during disasters and resource coordination following
disasters.
BE READY TO RESPOND TO AN EMERGENCY
Preparedness is the best prevention. Here are some things that you
can do in order to be “Ready to Respond” to any emergency.
-
Practice your Emergency Plan at home and at work.
What
is your plan for tornadoes? For Floods?
For chemical spills?
-
Put together a disaster kit containing:
* Plastic containers of water
* Canned food and other non perishable food
*
A complete change of clothing and shoes for each
person in your household
*
Battery operated radio with extra batteries
*
Flashlight and batteries
*
Non-electric can opener
*
Utility knife
*
Matches
in waterproof container
*
Utility Knife
*
Matches in waterproof container or butane lighter
*
Tools to shut off utilities
*
Tape, paper and pencil
*
Soap and liquid detergent
*
Toilet Paper
*
Personal hygiene items
*
First Aid kits
-
Inspect your utilities. Have the proper tools nearby in
case you need to shut them off, and reacquaint yourself with the
procedures on how to turn utilities off.
-
Check your fire extinguishers. Are they stored in the
right places? Test your smoke detectors monthly.
-
Keep your contact information up-to-date and deep copies
in your Disaster Kit, car, purse/wallet, and with a neighbor or
relative.
Your local Emergency Management Office has free brochures about
Disaster preparations and/or assembling a disaster kit.
SEVERE WEATHER – WATCHES & WARNINGS
A WATCH identifies a relatively large area in which
flash floods or severe storms might occur. Watches are quite often
issued before any severe weather has developed. Severe
Thunderstorm and Tornado Watches usually include an area
140 miles wide by about 200 miles long.
A WARNING is issued when severe weather has already
developed and has been reported by storm spotters or indicated by
radar. Warnings are statements of imminent danger and
are issued for relatively small areas near the severe storm or
flood.
OUTDOOR WARNING DEVICES (SIRENS) FOR WASHINGTON
COUNTY
Sirens are designed as a means of warning the population outdoors.
They are not designed to be heard inside your home or business.
When stormy weather is prevalent you are responsible for your own
protection by staying informed either through television, your local
radio station or weather alert radio.
All towns in
Washington
County
have outdoor warning devices and are radio-activated by the
Communications Office or can be manually set off in case of a power
shortage.
Remember . . . DO NOT DEPEND ON THE SIRENS, if you have no
electricity, the siren can not be set off by the Communication
Center or if the Communication Center looses power, they are unable
to activate your siren, therefore, keep a watch on the weather.
The tornado warning is a solid three minute blast followed
immediately by another solid three minute blast. Please remember
that NO ALL CLEAR siren will be sounded. If a second set of 3
minute blasts is heard, that would indicate that another tornado has
been spotted and you should remain in your shelter area.
Additional Links for further information:
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