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« Legislative News TAC Emergency Management Listserve and Website Respond
By Bruce Barr
TAC Legislative Staff
Scheduled to go on line June 1, the start of the 2009 hurricane season, the TAC Emergency Management listserve and County Information Resources Agency (CIRA) Emergency Management website got pressed into service a month earlier than anticipated. On April 29 the State Operations Center was activated in response to the H1N1 (Swine Flu) outbreak in Texas. Since Hurricane Dolly came ashore, the TAC County Information Project (CIP) has been providing technical assistance to the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management (GDEM) during subsequent disaster-related events. That relationship has led to the development of a communication infrastructure between TAC, GDEM and local emergency management authorities. In cooperation with the GDEM, the TAC emergency management listserve is designed to facilitate the distribution of critical information and dialogue across the spectrum of Texas governmental entities and supporting agencies, and ensure that the most accurate information is available to all emergency respondents. The CIRA website provides information and resources critical to responding effectively during an emergency event. Both goals are viewed by GDEM as essential tools in the continuity of government.
Because some school operations were immediately impacted, the response to the April H1N1 outbreak was led jointly by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) with GDEM providing logistical support. TAC staff posted the latest information as it was received and local emergency managers had an opportunity to exchange ideas in response to that information. For most jurisdictions and agencies, response to the virus brought up issues not considered in the course of usual emergency management planning. With the closure of schools and daycare centers, emergency management coordinators, human resource managers and supervisors were challenged to come up with contingency plans that made sure day-to-day operations could be maintained with a minimum risk of exposure. The loss of “healthy” workers who had to stay home to care for a child, and how to “count” those lost days also raised questions. When TEA sent out verbal instructions on how schools and businesses should proceed in regard to the amount of time a student or employee returning from Mexico should stay away, CIP staff created a matrix describing the proposed scenarios and asked for TEA and DSHS review (see Figure 1). Because of these and other questions TEA and DSHS amended their recommendations and loosened the closure requirements for schools and school districts.
The TAC emergency management listserve and website served as timely information sources for decision makers wrestling with when and where to close facilities and cancel events. Input from listserve members helped provide guidance and direction to the lead agencies that eventually led to suspension of closure activities by TEA and DSHS.
To become a member of the TAC Emergency Management listserve contact Bruce Barr at (800) 456-5974, (512) 478-8753 or bruceb@county.org, or sign up at list.county.org/lists. The listserve is open to all members of state or local government responsible for emergency management and response, as well as Volunteer Organizations in A Disaster (VOADS). The TAC/CIRA Emergency Management Web site is available at www.recovertexas.org. For information on the website contact Gayle Latham, CIRA Director at (512) 478-8753, (800) 456-5974, or gaylel@county.org.
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