Bridge MeetingQuincy, FL

4-28-09

Meeting 1: Gadsden Emergency Management Personnel 3/27/09 Personnel from health

department, EMS, city and county emergency management,

Meeting 2: Gadsden citizens 3/27/09 Expressing their opinions on

past emergencies and sharing their experiences

Both groups answered

same list of questions

Recent Experiences with Natural Disasters How well community responded / preparation

level Least prepared for disasters Assistance available

Existing Resources Local organizations involved in helping

community prepare Other organizations who could be involved

Assessing the EPD Project Are the steps reasonable / appropriate? Value of “community coach” Is the vulnerability assessment process useful?

Session 1: Some Areas of Agreement

Session 2: Some Areas of Differences

Session 3: Opinions on the EPD Project

Responses / comments from first two meetings will be shown, then break into

discussion groups for more in-depth conversation

Issues / topics that were consistent in both meetings

Tropical Storm (1985, 2008)

Fires (2006, 2007) Hurricanes (1985, 2005) Floods (2009) Tornadoes

Most CommonLoss of utilitiesWind damageRoads washed out/damagedTrees downSnakes/wildlife displaced

Elderly Lack of planning Lack of mobility Living in rural areas Poor communication Handicapped/Disabled

Non-English speaking populations Spanish Migrant workers

Mostly Yes But, sources of information used

were varied (TV, Weather Channel, EOC)

Acknowledged strength of community Personal contacts

Need for improved outside communication noted

Those who could help: Churches Local businesses Fire dept auxiliaries Local veterinarians, physicians,

Park/Recs Grocery Stores Supervalue

Issues / topics where there were inconsistencies between groups

Some thought the community responded quite well Well-trained combination of entire community People know their roles

Some felt the community did not respond well Lack of a plans / communication/ equipment

Some were very aware of Emergency Operations Management (EOM) plans, others were not

Some knew immediately who to call / where to go, for others the information was not obvious

Some were very aware of Emergency Operations Management (EOM) plans, others were not

Some saw the plan as a success for obtaining / staging resources, others knew little about the plan

Most agreed that educating the public about these plans is problematic

Some saw very few local organizations that were involved Sheriff’s Office Red Cross Fire Department Police

Others saw a lot more Churches Health Dept Department of Human Services Schools State Gov’t

Feedback on the steps involved and the community coach

Most were fairly optimistic Felt it represented a good starting point Having an organized plan would help

keep people from panicking Very inclusive Good to look at areas that are at risk Useful for future planning Involvement of new people is useful, but

challenging Will encourage participation from larger

community groups

But some had a few problems with it Getting community involvement might

be difficult Having enough volunteers to develop

and implement the plan would be challenging

Would require some technical expertise and assistance to implement

Potential conflict between citizens groups and official responders

Most generally thought it was a good idea Would be necessary to have this person Good for motivation, and experience from other

sites Some thought it should be someone from

outside the community; Others felt is should be someone from the community

But there were a few problems noted Community coach can’t do it all Difficult for the coach to relate to community Trust is an issue Can’t have an overbearing personality How would they be funded?!