At the Indiana Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, we are fortunate to be able to play a role in helping individuals mitigate and overcome disasters. Most notably, we assist the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) in serving Emergency Service Function 14 (ESF-14) (long term recovery) and we act as a liaison between nonprofits who directly serve individuals impacted by disaster. We also have the honor of administering funds to organizations that focus on disaster preparedness and response, such as the Indiana Response and Preparedness Corps, which is one of Indiana's AmeriCorps*State programs.
Similar agency's, organizations, and programs exist along the east coast, so we ask that as hurricane Sandy makes its approach, readers keep them in their thoughts. For readers who are looking to do something more, please let hurricane Sandy remind you to have your own preparedness plans in place and that there are always ways to help out: whether it is donating an amount of your choice to the Red Cross or other legitimate disaster response organizations or whether it is affiliating with an organization so you can be grouped and ready to go with a team when hands-on help is needed.
As for the state of Indiana, we hope to lead by example, so we are already pulling together resources in anticipation of the storm. Please feel free to read on for IDHS's account of how the state of Indiana is preparing to help.
INDIANA
DEPLOYS RESPONSE ELEMENTS TO EAST COAST
Responders sent to aid in Hurricane Sandy response efforts
Responders sent to aid in Hurricane Sandy response efforts
INDIANAPOLIS – In response to
Hurricane Sandy and the overlapping winter storm expected to affect the East
Coast and New England area, several Indiana emergency response assets,
including elements with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS)
District Response Task Forces, have deployed to the region.
On Saturday, October 27, Indiana
began receiving requests for resources to aid with evacuation and response for
Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast. IDHS immediately increased staffing at the
State of Indiana Emergency Operations Center to reach out to partners within
the state to evaluate resources that could be deployed to assist.
A total of 107 personnel and 44
vehicles, including 24 ambulances, have been deployed. Teams will assist
however they are needed, but some anticipated actions include evacuation of
hospitals and nursing homes. They also will stand by to provide response
assistance as directed.
“We believe Indiana was one of the
first, if not the first, state to respond to the request for aid from the
east coast,” said Joe Wainscott, director of the Indiana Department of Homeland
Security. “We are constantly planning, training and preparing our emergency
response resources so they can be readily available to assist our citizens in
Indiana and others in their time of need.”
As of this morning, Indiana has
deployed the state Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT), two All Hazards
Incident Management Teams (AHIMT) and five Emergency Medical Services Teams (or
EMS Strike Teams). There are no further requests at this time.
Incident Management Team deployment
A 15-person Incident Management
Assistance Team (IMAT) has been deployed to Maryland. They left Indiana at 6
a.m. Sunday and arrived in Maryland at 10 a.m. The team includes public safety
professionals from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana
University, Indiana Department of Correction, Integrated Public Safety
Commission, Indiana Office of Technology, Montgomery County, the City of
Lafayette, Indiana State Police and the Family and Social Services
Administration.
An All Hazards Incident Management
Team (AHIMT) from District 2 has also been deployed to Maryland to assist in
the response. Additionally, District 7 AHIMT is going to New York.
All incident management teams will be
deployed until November 11, unless their assignment is extended.
Other than the state IMAT, the AHIMTs
and ambulance strike teams are local responders who volunteer to be part of the
task forces and whose employers support their participation.
Medical Strike Team deployment
Ambulance strike teams from Districts
1, 2, 4, 6, and 7have been deployed. Each of the five districts staffed a
strike team.
On Sunday, units and personnel from
Districts 2, 4, and 7 were deployed to New Jersey before noon. There are 15
ambulances total and 27 personnel. Each district had 5 ambulances.
Last night, 9 more ambulances were
deployed to New Jersey from District 6 and District 1. There are 27 personnel.
District 1 has 4 ambulances. District 6 has 5 ambulances.
Both teams will assist however they
are needed, but some anticipated actions are evacuation of hospitals and
nursing homes. They also will stand by to provide response assistance (such as
accidents, injuries, illness) as directed. Unless extended, they will return to
Indiana on November 1.
Background information on IDHS DRTFs
The State of Indiana is organized
into ten districts, each with its own District Response Task Force (DRTF). Each
task force is ready to be deployed anywhere in the state within a few hours of
notice. They are also prepared to deploy to assist other states. Please see
attached map for the district designations.
Indiana practices for disasters and
emergencies regularly, so there are teams across the state which are ready to
rapidly respond to all types of incidents. IDHS led full scale exercises in
April and September of this year that included many of the components that are
being deployed to the east coast, and some of the same staff were used in
response to the disaster in Southern Indiana in March of this year.
Leadership
for a Safe and Secure Indiana
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