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Preparing for Emergencies
Marshalling resources and strategy for disaster prevention and response.
News
Legislation
Senate Bill 444 helps non-profit organizations such as volunteer fire
companies and veterans clubs raise more money for community activities by
allowing for increased prize limits. Sen. Jane Earll (R-Erie)
Hurricane Irene/Tropical Storm Lee Disaster Relief
Sponsors include Sen. John Gordner
(R-Columbia), Senate Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee Chair Lisa
Baker (R-Luzerne), Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming)
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Senate Bill 1264 provides for supplemental state assistance to those who
have exhausted federal flood benefits and qualify under income eligibility
guidelines.
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Senate Bill 1266 authorizes $150 million bond for flood-related highway,
bridge and rail rehabilitation projects, as well as flood control and disaster
mitigation projects.
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Senate
Bill 1267 provides for real estate tax abatement for properties
substantially damaged by flooding.
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Senate
Bill 1268,
Senate Bill 1269,
Senate Bill 1271 authorize county-by-county lists of highways, bridges and
rail facilities damaged by the flood that require repair and rehabilitation, and
flood control and disaster mitigation projects.
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Senate
Bill 1297 establishes a low-interest loan program for small businesses
damaged by flooding.
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Senate
Bill 1323 provides interest rate assistance and loan guarantees to assist
farmers in recovering from the natural disasters.
Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee
State Emergency Management Improvements Since 9/11
Office of Homeland Security
After 9/11, an Office of Homeland Security was formed at the federal and state levels. The federal
office, formed in October 2001, became a
full-fledged department in November 2002, led by former Governor Tom Ridge.
Pennsylvania's Office of Homeland Security now operates within the
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). Nine regional
Counter-Terrorism Task Forces were also formed, with representation from
police, fire, EMS, hospitals, utilities, schools, government leaders, and
other critical stakeholders, to decide how to best prevent, prepare for,
respond to and recover from emergencies. Task force members have decided how
to spend federal homeland security monies for items ranging from
state-of-the-art vehicles, bomb robots and GPS systems to oxygen masks.
Because federal money is now drying up for the task forces, they may be
re-purposed, and some purchases with a limited shelf life may require replacement.
Radio Interoperability
Since 9/11, efforts have been ongoing to implement an "interoperable" radio communications system to
allow first responders to talk to each other within and across agencies and
jurisdictions. The Pennsylvania Statewide Radio Network, or PA STARNet,
was the subject of Senate hearings, most recently in April, to examine cost
overruns and coverage issues. Implementation problems and service
disruptions continue to be reported, especially when using hand-carried
radios in areas with uneven terrain, and ground-to-air communications are
nonexistent. We continue to monitor the project's status.
Call Tracing in 9-1-1 Call Centers
Since 9/11, counties across Pennsylvania have implemented "Phase I" and "Phase II" compliant
phone systems, which allow dispatchers to see where a 9-1-1 call is
originating from, on either a landline or cell phone.
Bomb Squad and Intelligence
The Pennsylvania State Police formed a bomb squad in 2004 to investigate suspicious packages and
respond to emergencies, and has led intelligence-gathering efforts on
terrorism suspects. The State Police's Bureau of Criminal Investigation
established the Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center (PaCIC) in July
2003 to give law enforcement agencies a central point of contact for their
information needs. The center gives officers around-the-clock access to
intelligence information, investigative data and information from other
public sources.
Health Training
The state Department of Health has been conducting additional exercises on points of distribution (PODs)
for medications such as antibiotics, in partnership with the regional task
forces, in the event of chemical and biological terrorism or a pandemic.
They have also made advancements in surge capacity, to handle multiple
injuries or casualties at the same time.
National Guard
The Pennsylvania National Guard has invested in new training, equipment, tanks, radios, and other
advancements since 9/11. The 56th Stryker Brigade is the only one of the
Army’s seven Stryker brigades to be contained within a Guard division. The
Stryker is a combat vehicle that looks like a tank but uses wheels instead
of tracks.
511 Service
The state established the 511 Traveler Information Service, inspired largely by the 2007 Valentine’s
Day snowstorm, which spawned a 50-mile back-up on I-78 and left many
motorists stranded on the highway without food and water for more than 24
hours. Callers can find up-to-the-minute road conditions on the interstates
by calling this automated, toll-free number, consolidating lines formerly
operated by the State Police, PennDOT and PEMA.
NIMS
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is now used at all levels. NIMS provides a national
template to guide the public and private sector in managing any domestic
incident.
Citizen Readiness
The Commonwealth is
promoting citizen participation and readiness through such vehicles as the
www.ReadyPA.org website. The government is encouraging families to
prepare so that they would be able to survive on their own for at least 72
hours. In a large-scale disaster, it is likely that rescuers will not be
able to arrive on scene in seconds, and a neighbor may be the first “first
responder” on the scene of a tragedy.
Future Goals
Title 35 Revisions
The Senate has held
several hearings on updating Title 35, which governs emergency management,
to reflect a post 9/11 and post-Katrina world. Title 35 was last updated in
1996. Another hearing is tentatively slated for the fall, with the onus for
changes focusing not just on "counter-terrorism," but on an "all-hazards"
approach to disaster prevention, response and recovery, be it manmade or an
act of God.
Fusion Center
Pennsylvania still needs a
fusion center, which is a terrorism prevention and response center to share
information and intelligence. Philadelphia is now implementing its own
fusion center.
9-1-1 Services
The Legislative Budget and
Finance Committee is currently conducting a study, to be completed by the
end of this year, to recommend a stable, technology-neutral funding source
for 9-1-1 systems. As consumers abandon their landlines in favor of cell
phones and the Internet, revenue from the state's 9-1-1 fee on landlines has
plummeted. In the future, it is hoped that callers will be able to text and
send photographs to 9-1-1, but this capability involves costly enhancements.
Even the Virginia-based earthquake, which measured 5.8 on the Richter scale,
caused little injuries or structural damage in Pennsylvania, but
precipitated cell phone traffic that overwhelmed many 9-1-1 call centers and
the wireless network.
Fire Grant Program
The Senate Veterans
Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee will soon consider Senate Bill
866 (Ward) which would extend the state's fire assistance grant program for
ten more years. Also under discussion are raising the allocation from $25
million to $40 million and extending grant eligibility to paid firefighters.
State Disaster Assistance Program
The Senate held a hearing
on September 27 to examine the possibility of establishing a state grant or
loan program to provide disaster assistance to communities with damage
estimates that fall below the federal threshold of $16.5 million.
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