Community Disaster Preparedness & Response

While the federal government plays a crucial role in preparing and responding to major manmade and natural disasters, it is the local response that is most critical in the early stages of an event. This was quite evident in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the problems encountered along the Gulf Coast. While the St. Louis area is not subject to hurricanes, neither are we immune from the potential of a major disaster. Located in "tornado alley" and along the New Madrid fault, our region has experienced disasters in our past and will likely face similar challenges in the future. The crucial question is, “Are we prepared?”

The responses to disasters that fail do so not because of a lack of resources but due to a lack of planning and organization. From that standpoint, the City of Town and Country is well prepared. We have had a written emergency operations plan and organization in place for over 15 years. It was revised last year in cooperation with the State Emergency Management Agency to bring it into compliance with all federal and state standards. All supervisory personnel and command staff have been trained in advanced levels of the incident command system, and all police officers and other critical positions in City government have been trained in the new National Incident Management System as required by Presidential Directive #5. The City’s ICS plan is more than theoretical, having been implemented on a number of occasions with regular visits of U.S. Presidents to Town & Country. The Town and Country Police Department also served as incident command for the 2001 World Golf Championship and the 2004 United States Senior Open, and the 2008 BMW Championship, overseeing the facilitation of traffic and security functions for these events that were attended by over 200,000 people without major incident.

Through a Homeland Security grant, every police officer in the State of Missouri was also equipped with a hazardous materials suit and breathing apparatus that allows officers to respond to hazardous materials spills as well as incidents where weapons of mass destruction have been used. In addition to our own resources and training, the Town and Country Police Department has mutual aid agreements with the other local governments in St. Louis County, as well as the availability of the resources of SEMA and FEMA in the event of major disasters that exceed local capabilities. In addition to local, state and federal government, there is still another crucial partner in emergency preparedness and response…

After experiencing the aftereffects of the severe wind and lightning storm (photo courtesy of www.wunderground.com) that hit Town & Country during a recent summer, resident and good neighbor Jerry Alpert decided that a neighborhood disaster plan was needed to prepare his neighborhood for future disasters. With the assistance of many of his neighbors and Officer Kent Berry, Jerry developed “The Chapel Hill Plan.” The plan was so well done that Jerry agreed to allow us to offer it to the community as a model. To further assist you, we strongly encourage neighborhood participation in Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training that will greatly enhance a neighborhood’s ability to prepare and respond to a disaster. Topics covered during the training include disaster preparedness, fire suppression, medical operations, light search and rescue, and disaster psychology. Required training manuals, as well as some supplies, are provided for participants. The Fairfield neighborhood is the first in Town and Country to have had its own CERT class. Police and Fire CERT instructors met with forty residents from Fairfield to prepare them to be a “good neighbor” if and when disaster strikes. They were instrumental in the power outages of 2006 in the evacuation of nearly 200 people from and Town and Country nursing home. We encourage this type of neighborhood participation and commend all of the residents in Fairfield for their commitment. CERT classes are offered several times a year and information is available by CLICKING HERE. For an applicaiton, CLICK HERE or contact Officer Chris Hunt at (314) 567-4900 x129 or by email.

READY IN 3. One of the basic assumptions in preparing your household for a disaster is that you may be on your own for up to three days. The State of Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services has developed the READY IN 3 plan to help households, schools and workplaces prepare for such an emergency. The program is based upon three steps in developing a personal disaster plan:

1. Create a plan for you, your family and your business
2. Prepare a kit for home, car, and work
3. Listen for information about what to do and where to go during an actual emergency.