Welcome to National Preparedness Month 2018
September 1st marks the start of National Preparedness Month (NPM), which is an opportunity for all of us to take a step back and prepare ourselves, our families, and our communities for emergencies and disasters. The 2018 NPM follows a historic year in disasters. 2017 was one of the most deadly and costly hurricane seasons in United States (US) history. The US experienced a series of mass shootings, including the attack last September in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead and 851 injured. As we end August and look toward September, over 100 large fires burn throughout the country. The need for personal preparedness is evident; however, this is also an opportunity to explore how we are working to be more prepared as a nation. Hagerty Consulting, Inc. (Hagerty) is using this NPM to highlight best practices and trends that communities and governments are making in regional preparedness efforts across the nation.
Regional preparedness builds on the notion that, within a geographic area, there is a common sense of identity and purpose with an interconnection to our governments, institutions, and communities all facing similar threats and hazards. Within most regions, there is no single point of responsibility or authority, yet there is an expectation that coordination, information sharing, and resource sharing will occur. Regions that embrace these concepts and take on the efforts to plan, train, and exercise together and to develop mechanisms to share information and resources are taking critical steps to increase their resilience.
Nationwide, the concept of regional preparedness is not a new one. However, as we experience emergencies and disasters happening more frequently with more devastating consequences, as well as limitations in single jurisdictions capabilities, the benefits of regional preparedness could not be overstated. The advantages of regional preparedness can be seen when there is a single event in one jurisdiction, just as they can be seen when multiple events are happening across a region or a catastrophic incident affects an entire geographical area.
Over the next month, we will highlight regional planning and preparedness perspectives and initiatives focusing on the following topic areas:
- Active Threat and Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attack (CCTA) Preparedness
- Recovery and Resilience Planning
- Strategic Planning for Urban Areas
- Infrastructure Preparedness
We invite you to be a part of this conversation with us. Please share with us the thoughts, ideas, and success stories you might have in regional preparedness by engaging with us on social media or reaching out via email at preparedness@hagertyconsulting.com.
Brian Baker is an expert in preparedness, response, disaster recovery, and homeland security. With close to two decades of public service and public safety leadership, he has served in a variety of senior level management positions for public, private, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). He currently serves as Hagerty’s Vice President.