DERT INFORMER

“Disasters Don’t Plan

Ahead. YOU CAN!”

2017 National

Preparedness Month

In This Issue

• Shelter in Place vs. Evacua-

tion Tabletop Exercise

• Flu Prevention

• Dallas ALERT

• Watches vs. Warnings

• Training Links—Weather

Links—Helpful Hints—Other

Resources

• 2018 Public-Private Partner-

ship Symposium Planning

Hurricane Harvey and Preparedness

September was National Preparedness Month. The 2017 theme was

“Disasters Don’t Plan Ahead. You can!” The City of Dallas saw that in action

as we responded to Hurricane Harvey by providing shelter operations for

those affect in South Texas.

The response took countless personnel hours and amounts of resources from

across all segments of the City. We were overwhelmed by the generosity and

support of Dallas residents and business partners. It was truly a whole com-

munity effort to provide basic needs to the over 3600 guests as well as driving

home the necessity of being prepared at every level—both personal and busi-

ness.

Businesses and buildings need emergency and continuity of operations plan

to be able to return to functionality as quickly as possible following a disaster.

Do you know how to get your residents, employees, or customers to safety if

an evacuation is necessary? Do you have plans for those with access or

functional needs? Do you have important documents or files in a digital for-

mat on a portable device for easy access if your system is unavailable?

These answers should be in all your emergency plans and regularly updated

and practiced.

Pre-Incident Planning helps your organization and First Responders when

seconds count. Making sure safety equipment and spaces are identified and

communicated is essential elements to any plan. If you’re affected by an inci-

dent like Hurricane Harvey, a tornado, or a fire, by making a plan you know

what to do, how to recover from it, and how to move forward. Check http://

dallascityhall.com/departments/officeemergencymanagement/Pages/

DERT.aspx for more information on how to create a Pre-Incident Plan and

other tips and topics.

Downtown Dallas, Inc. October 2017

Shelter in Place vs. Evacuation Tabletop Exercise In an emergency, is it better to stay where you are or evacuate your building?

That call can be as simple as listening to instructions from First Responders or

building management. Identifying safe spaces or whether or not evacuation is

necessary requires training and exercise. The Office of Emergency Management

has developed a tabletop exercise to help you know what to do.

Key Elements of the Tabletop:

• The purpose of this exercise is to provide you with an opportunity to practice and evaluate your response concepts, plans, and procedures for a strategic-level response to shelter in place or evacuate during an event.

• Know your resources and capabilities. The exercise asks guided questions to generate discussion on what you would do, who would do what, and when it would be done.

• Identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. This exercise allows you to practice your plans so you can update and revise them as gaps and changes are identified.

• Training and exercise are important parts of preparedness and planning. OEM and DERT offer resources on the www.dallasemergencymanagement.com website.

Communicate the Information Make sure every person in your facility or organization knows your plan, and not

only key personnel. Designate backups to those people and involve them at every

level. Communication is key to preparedness and recovery.

Flu Prevention

Autumn means the return of

cold and flu season. Preventing

illness among your employees,

customers, and tenants keeps

everyone safe.

Flu viruses causes or contrib-

utes to tens of thousands of

deaths on average each year.

The most at risk are the aging,

the very young, and those with

chronic conditions. Know the

steps to prevent catching or

spreading the flu.

Flu Prevention Tips

Tornado Tabletop Exercise

Flu Prevention:

Get a flu shot every year

Wash your hands with soap and water

Stay home when running a fever if possible

Get plenty of rest

Don’t touch people who are sick, or your eyes, nose or mouth

Cover your coughs and sneezes

Help keep everyone around you

safe and healthy.

Dallas ALERT!

Emergencies can happen

anytime. Make sure your

organization is informed in

the event of an incident.

There is no one way to get

emergency notifications, so

have multiple ways to get

notified about events.

OEM also recommends resi-

dents and businesses have

multiple ways to get emer-

gency notifications, including

signing up with

www.DallasALERT.com to

receive notifications when

City emergencies occur.

Check the website:

www.DallasALERT.com for more information on how

to receive warnings. Sign up

today to receive information

to via telephone, text, or

email.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This is an annual cam-

paign to remind everyone about the importance of staying safe online and to

highlight some of the challenges we face daily on the internet. The main idea

behind Cybersecurity Awareness Month is Stop. Think. Connect.

Some simple things to do to keep your online identity and information safe:

• Don’t open attachments or click links in unsolicited emails. If in doubt,

don’t open it. Don’t click or visit suspicious websites.

• Have strong passwords for all devices, logins, and run anti-virus software

often. Secure your home and business devices as well as your networks.

• Don’t send out personal information over the internet without being sure of

the security. Always look for the “HTTPS” and double check the URL to be

sure you’re going to the right site.

• Back up your machines and systems on a regular basis.

• If you think you’ve been a victim of cyber crime, report it to your IT depart-

ment and to the Justice Department through www.justice.gov/crimina-

ccips

Creating a cyber secure organization is vital for all sizes of companies or

groups and is a shared responsibility. We must all work together to protect our

online lives as we would our physical ones. For more information on Cyberse-

curity visit: http://www.dallascityhall.com/departments/

officeemergencymanagement/Pages/Cyber-Attack.aspx

—Training Links—

http://www.preparingtexas.org

http://www.fema.gov

http://www.nctog.org/ep/training

—Weather Links—

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/radio.html

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/skywarn.html

—Other Resources—

http://www.knowhat2do.com

http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit

http://www.dallasalert.org

http://www.dallascert.com

http://www.domesticpreparedness.com

Training Links—Weather Links—Helpful Hints—Other Resources

—Helpful Hints—

Emergency supplies to keep handy:

•Flashlights with extra batteries

•First Aid kit

•Food/water for employees and customers

to use during a period of unexpected

confinement at your business

•Plastic to cover expensive equipment and

furnishings

•Hard hats, gloves and boots

•NOAA weather radio with batteries

•Communication plans.

Subscribe to Downtown Dal-

las, Inc.’s newsletters and e-

blasts to stay up to date on

the latest Downtown news,

events, and openings!

Planning for 2018 Public-Private Partnership Symposium

It’s time to start planning our next Public-

Private Partnership Symposium. This an-

nual event is a way to bring public and pri-

vate sector partners together to strengthen

relationships.

We’ve had discussions on active shooter

scenarios, Stop the Bleed, and other is-

sues relevant to our private sector part-

ners. In order to continue making this free

event topical and relevant, we’re looking

for your input on what you’d like to see discussed.

The Symposium is traditionally in the Spring, we are currently setting dates and times for the next

symposium. With suggestions for topics, speakers, or other input contact Rhonda Simpson with Dallas

OEM at rhonda.simpson@dallascityhall.com. We look forward to seeing you there!

Office of Emergency Management

1500 Marilla, Room L2AN

Dallas, TX 75201 Tel: 214.670.4275 Fax: 214.670.4677

oem@DallasCityHall.com

www.dallasalert.com