Disability and Communication Access Board
State of Hawaii
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Emergency Preparedness E-News
for Individuals with Access and Functional Needs
November/December 2011 Issue 22
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| Greetings!
November 30, 2011 marks the end of this year's hurricane season. That doesn't mean we can disassemble our emergency kits, forget about our emergency plans, or stop keeping informed about events in our community. Disasters may strike at any time, so we must all remain alert and ready.
This is a good time to check our emergency kits and rotate food, water and medications that may have expiration dates. Items included in our kits must be checked on a regular basis to make sure everything is current and will work when we need them. Also remember to check expiration dates on batteries. During an emergency there's no time to check to see if the batteries will work in our flashlight or radio. Check it now when there is no emergency and there's time to do a good job reviewing all items in our kit.
The Emergency Preparedness E-News is written to keep the community aware of issues and events related to emergency preparedness and individuals with disabilities and special health needs. Please feel free to send DCAB information that you would like to have included in a future issue. We look forward to hearing from you. Aloha,Debbie JacksonPlanner |
National EAS Test
 The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Communication Commission (FCC), and the National Organization for A Agency (NOAA) administered the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on November 9, 2011 at 9:00 am Hawaii time. The purpose of the test was to identify gaps and generate a comprehensive set of data to strengthen the ability to communicate during a real emergency. Once results are collected and evaluated, there will be a better understanding of what works, what doesn't work and what improvements to the EAS are necessary. The EAS needs to ensure it provides an accessible, reliable and robust mechanism from which the entire public receives timely and accurate emergency alerts.
FEMA has already received information from EAS participants nationwide, that there were some instances in which the test apparently was not received by some participants and/or not rebroadcasted to the public. There was also feedback related to the audio quality. FEMA and the FCC will work closely with EAS participants over the next few weeks to assess the nature of the problems with the national EAS test and how best to address them effectively. Comprehensive testing and analysis must be done to improve technologies in order to ensure the most effective and reliable emergency alert systems are available at a moment's notice in a time of real national emergency.
FEMA and the FCC extends its appreciation to all of the stakeholders who helped make the test possible, including radio and television broadcasters, cable and satellite service providers and all other stakeholders who helped conduct the test, and to all of the partners who helped to spread the word that the test was happening.
Test participants may submit complete test result data and feedback to the FCC by December 27, 2011. Prompt submission of data will allow the FCC to promptly assess the Nationwide EAS Test. Please go to the FCC's Nationwide EAS Test webpage at www.fcc.gov/nationwideeastest. FEMA is also interested in hearing from any stakeholders who want to share feedback about the test in their viewing areas. Comments may be submitted to: ipaws@dhs.gov.
Exerpted from a November 10, 2011 open letter from FEMA and FCC representatives to partners. |
Volunteers Needed
 The Department of Health (DOH) is planning an evacuation exercise and would like to include people with disabilities in the activity. Last year, an exercise was done using actors who portrayed people with disabilities. The Disability and Communication Access Board (DCAB) participated as a member of the planning team this year for the Na Lima Kako'o Conference and has encouraged the inclusion of people with disabilities in the exercise as part of the learning process for everyone.
This year's exercise is planned at the Convention Center in Honolulu on January 27, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. If you have a disability and time, we invite you to participate as a volunteer for the evacuation exercise. Using people with disabilities will assist Red Cross and Department of Health volunteers learn how to work with and interact with individuals with disabilities during the intake or registration process of entering an general mass care evacuation shelter. DCAB sent out an e-mail invitation to people, so if you were not on that list and would like to volunteer contact Debbie Jackson at (808) 586-8121 or send her an e-mail.
The exercise has allotted 20 spaces for volunteers with disabilities. Although DOH cannot pay individuals to participate, a continental breakfast and lunch will be available for volunteers. There are a few airfares for neighbor island participants who would like to participate in the exercise, however those have already been assigned to volunteers.
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Getting Real II Conference Update
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Nicole Kelly, Dawn Skaggs & FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate
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The following is excerpted from a letter that was received from Marcie Roth, Director of the Disability Integration and Coordination Office (ODIC) at FEMA.
ODIC hosted a conference on September 12 - 14, 2011 called "Getting Real II: Promising Practices in Inclusive Emergency Management for the Whole Community." The conference focused on disability inclusive promising practices in emergency management, and over 400 people attended from across the nation to hear from disability and emergency management leaders about how the whole community can be better prepared and more involved in emergency planning, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts.
The presentations from the conference are now available online. To view the entire conference visit http://GettingReal-II.WebCastOn.TV. You will hear Administrator Craig Fugate talk about the importance of planning for the whole community, Deputy Administrator Richard Serino stressing the importance of actually including people with disabilities in exercises and drills, and others speaking in support of FEMA's efforts to include the whole community. There were also 67 presentations covering promising practices from Hawaii to Florida. A wide range of topics from empowering children to become emergency ambassadors to developing Smartphone applications for emergency responders to sign language interpreter strike teams. All of the products related to this conference are accessible. Videos have captions and some have ASL interpreters included in a separate window, as well as accessible PowerPoint presentations ready for download.
After you review the webcast, please complete a Getting Real II Conference survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GettingReal2. The survey will let us know the promising practices being used in your community and what your experience is as you begin to use the promising practice shared during the Conference.
Any you have any questions or if you want additional information, please contact the ODIC at FEMA via e-mail or call (202) 646-4100. |
Big Island Tsunami Maps and Aloha
 The County of Hawaii's Civil Defense Agency has completed work on updating the county's tsunami zone maps. The county Civil Defense Manager, Quince Mento worked with the County ADA Coordinator, Teri Spinola-Campbell to ensure that the maps were accessible to individuals with visual disabilities. Text descriptions of the maps were reviewed by local individuals who are blind and visually impaired to make sure they were accessible. The tsunami maps can be viewed on the County Civil Defense Agency's website at http://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/weblink/Browse.aspx?startid=24604&&dbid=1 . Please take a look at the map to see if you live or work inside or outside of a tsunami zone. Do this before a tsunami alert, so that you know where you are and where to go to get to a safe area.
As a side note, Mr. Mento is retiring on November 30, 2011. Please join us in wishing him well. He has been very committed to working on and improving emergency services for everyone including individuals with disabilities on the Big Island. He will be missed. Best of luck in your retirement and thank you for your work and service to the Big Island community, Quince! Aloha and mahalo! |
FEMA Region IX Functional Needs Working Group
 The FEMA Region IX Functional Needs Working Group (FNWG) held its initial meeting in October 2011 and had a subsequent meeting on December 1, 2011. The group has three (3) Hawaii Representatives who participate on the monthly teleconference call: Francine Kenyon and Dawn Skaggs represent the disability community and Debbie Jackson represents state government. There are three (3) representatives per state from California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and the Pacific Rim, participating in the working group. The group currently has no representatives from the Pacific Rim, but are hoping to for the next meeting in January.
The purpose of the FNWG is to serve as a sounding board and means of disseminating FEMA approved information and best practices to the access and functional needs (AFN) community in Region IX. It also serves as a link back to FEMA's Region IX's Regional Disability Information Specialist (RDIS) as a resource to identify needs, obtain accurate information, or assist FEMA in providing true "whole community" service to the survivors of disasters to ensure all needs are met to the extent FEMA provides.
To assist FNWG satisfy its purpose, at the December 1, 2011 meeting, representatives agreed to explore gaps in service and identify unmet needs in the disability community. the 2009 Interagency Action Plan for the Emergency Preparedness of Persons with Disabilities and Special Health Needs noted similar needs in the community that the FNWG identified as lack of: - adequate notification for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or blind;
- transportation during an emergency; and
- community education.
Please assist us in identifying what you, as a person with a disability or someone with an AFN, require during an emergency by providing the following information: - How do you get information about an emergency?
- If you don't get information quickly what is the best way to contact you (for example: text message, phone call, e-mail, Facebook, etc.)?
- What type of transportation do you use to get to and from an evacuation shelter?
- If you don't have your own transportation, how will you get to and from an evacuation shelter if there is an emergency?
- Do you already have basic information about where the closest shelter is if you need to evacuate, and do you have your emergency kit ready to take with you?
- If you do not have that basic information or an emergency kit, what is the best way for you to learn about how to prepare for an emergency and what you need to do (such as: take a class, watch a video, go online and learn from a web site, etc.)?
Please respond to Debbie Jackson by phone at (808) 586-8121 (toll free numbers for Neighbor Islands to call are listed below), by fax at (808) 586-8129, or e-mail. Mahalo for taking the time to provide information to DCAB related to emergency preparedness and response to emergencies in the community. Your feedback is important to assist the FNWG identify and meet the needs of the community! |
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Contact Information
Disability and Communication Access Board
919 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 101
Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone: (808) 586-8121 (V/TTY)
Fax: (808) 586-8129
E-mail: DCAB General Delivery
Web site: DCAB Home Page County of Hawaii: 974-4000, ext. 6-8121# Couny of Kauai: 274-3141, ext. 6-8121# County of Maui: 984-2400, ext. 6-8121# Molokai & Lanai: 1-800-468-4644 , ext. 6-8121# |
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