Public Safety

Emergency Preparedness

Emergency preparedness means that when a disaster strikes, individuals and communities will have the knowledge and tools they need to be ready.

Why is This Important?

When emergencies happen -- events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, winter storms, disease epidemics, terrorism, chemical spills and radiation leaks -- everyone turns to the government, hoping it is ready to respond. This response (and the confirmation of the government's ability to react) is an important component of any society's emergency preparedness program, as are planning, exercises, training, awareness and quality assurance as the government and citizens prepare for natural or man-made disasters.

How is Virginia Doing?

Disaster Declarations, 1953-2006. See text for explanation.

Virginia is at higher risk than most states for a disaster declaration, based upon the number of disaster declarations reported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Disaster declarations by Virginia (39) between 1953 and 2006 exceeded the national average (31) and those of Tennessee (38), North Carolina (35), and Maryland (18). Rhode Island, Wyoming, and Utah all had the lowest number of disaster declarations at 7.

In 2005, Virginia became one of five states receiving full accreditation by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). EMAP accreditation demonstrates that an emergency management program meets national standards. To achieve full accreditation, Virginia documented compliance with 54 national standards in 15 functional areas, which include: planning and procedures; resource management; training; exercises, evaluations and corrective actions; and communications and warning. EMAP is voluntary and fosters benchmarking by the accredited programs against consistent standards and continuous improvement in local and state government emergency management.

Trust for America, a national non-profit organization, gave Virginia a score of 10 out of 10 in the 2007 edition of its annual report on state and national bioterrorism and public health threat preparedness. The score placed Virginia among the top seven states in preparedness level. The other six states in the top category are Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. North Carolina scored 9 and Maryland scored 8 out of 10.

Virginia's Homeland Security grants also help support statewide and regional projects that will improve Virginia's capabilities to plan for and respond to man-made and natural emergencies.

What Influences Emergency Preparedness?

Virginia's geographical diversity, from mountains to shoreline, means that the Commonwealth is open to a variety of natural disasters, ranging from severe thunderstorms to winter storms, from hurricanes to geological hazards like landslides. In addition, Virginia prepares for manmade threats, such as radiological and HAZMAT incidents and terrorist incidents, by assessing vulnerabilities, planning and coordinating assets and resources, and practicing what to do in an emergency.

What is the State's Role?

Despite best efforts, disasters will happen, but knowing how to deal with them helps to reduce loss of life and property. Under the overall coordination of the Governor's Office of Commonwealth Preparedness, and led by core preparedness agencies such as the Virginia departments of Emergency Management, Health, and Transportation, all state agencies share a common goal to strengthen the culture of preparedness.   They work with local government, state and federal agencies, and voluntary organizations to provide resources and expertise in the threat areas.

Data Definitions and Sources

ATSDR's Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance system captures incident and facility data as well as data on health outcomes from HazMat accidents and uncontrolled releases in 16 states. Analysis of these data can assist disaster planners by providing valuable insights into the kinds of chemical releases likely to occur in their communities as well as the types of releases most commonly associated with injuries and the types of persons most likely to be injured. www.atsdr.cdc.gov/

Current and archival data on weather emergencies is available from NOAA: www.cam-info.net/emergprep.html

The Virginia Department of Emergency Management, www.vaemergency.com/index.cfm

The Virginia Department of Health, www.vdh.state.va.us/

The Centers for Disease Control, www.cdc.gov/

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, www.fema.gov/

Trust for America's Health, healthyamericans.org/reports/bioterror07

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Recent State Initiatives

Winter Preparedness: "Warm. Cozy. Prepared. Ready Winter." emphasizes the importance of cold-weather preparedness through public service announcements, safety tips, and information on cold-weather emergencies and disasters. www.vaemergency.com/threats/ winter/index.cfm

Organizations active in Virginia's disaster preparedness and response efforts collaborated to ensure that Virginians were prepared for the hurricane season through a joint public information campaign across the Commonwealth called, "It Could Happen to You." www.vaemergency.com/ threats/hurricane/

Major State Programs

For the latest in emergency management news and information on protecting your family and property from the next disaster, to enroll in valuable training courses to advance your career, and to keep up to date on the state's emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts, please visit the Virginia Department of Emergency Management website,
www.vaemergency.com

The Office of Commonwealth Preparedness was created in the Office of the Governor to work with federal, state, and local government as well as the private sector to develop a seamless, coordinated security and preparedness strategy and implementation plan. www.commonwealthpreparedness. virginia.gov/ OfficeInfo/AboutUs.cfm

Learn more about the Virginia Department of Health's efforts to promote health, prevent injury and disease, and protect the environment.  THe VDH website offers practical information to help citizens prepare and respond to protect their health and well-being.
www.vdh.virginia.gov

The Virginia State Police website offers the public access to valuable information on how to prepare and protect themselves and their families from crime, including how to guard against credit card theft, tips on child safety, and how to report suspicious behavior to the VSP Terrorist Hotline.
www.vsp.virginia.gov

The website for the Department of Social Services highlights programs that help Virginia citizens with challenges like overcoming poverty, finding support for the abused and neglected, achieving self-sufficiency, and shaping strong futures for themselves, their families, and their communities.
www.dss.virginia.gov

Virginia has adopted the nation's first statewide Interoperability Strategic Plan. The Commonwealth Interoperability Office is focused on ensuring that public safety personnel across the Commonwealth can communicate through compatible technology and coordinate their response to emergencies.
www.interoperability.virginia.gov/

Virginia Citizen Corps, part of the national Citizen Corps program, directly involves Virginia citizens in homeland security and emergency preparedness.
www.vaemergency.com/citcorps/ index.cfm

Additional Information

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's website on preparedness initiatives educates and empowers Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies. This website provides the public with a family communications plan and disaster kit to begin the planning effort. READY.GOV also provides a valuable resource for pet care during a time of crisis.
www.ready.gov

Predicting downpours and approaching winter storms and tracking hurricanes are just some of the activities the National Weather Service provides to prepare Americans for the possibility of bad weather and its effects.
www.weather.gov