the lds role in disasters: dave fisher, lds voad representative
TRANSCRIPT
Fairfax Summit
David R FisherLDS Charities
Organization Overview
• LDS Charities• Subset of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
Day Saints• 100% donation financed• 2012 donations = 2014 budget• $50-100 million spent per year worldwide• 36 worldwide employees• Everyone else is a volunteer
Organization Hierarchy• Membership – Est. 75,000 in Virginia • Family – The most important church unit• Wards/Branches (Congregations) – Est. 125 in
Virginia
• Stakes - 19 in Virginia – 6-10 congregations per Stake
• Coordinating Councils – 4 in Virginia
• Area Seventy – 2 for Virginia
• LDS Charities - World Wide
Disaster Support• There is no ongoing disaster effort in typical
church facilities• Each congregation leader has a limited checkbook
to help a few individuals (not organizations)• Each Stake President has limited discretion to
help a few organizations (but not individuals)• When authorized, LDS Charities can make major
resources available in the event of a disaster• My role is to help connect these internal groups
(and connect the church with outside groups)
Continuity Of Operations Plans
• Typical meetinghouse weekly schedule:– 200 people meet Sunday morning– 200 others meet Sunday afternoon– 50 people meet Tuesday evening– 50 others meet Wednesday evening– Sometimes an activity in the Gym– Sometimes the janitor is there
• No secretary to answer phones• No mail delivery at this location• Most of the time the building is totally empty
My Continuity Of Operations Plan
• Barely relates to:• Daily operations• Sunday meetings• Money flow
• Mostly relates to: • Building “Be Prepared” value in individuals• Establishing communications after an event• Establishing an information/decision center• Involving LDS Charities as required• Meeting needs of the community
Continuity of Operations Plans
• First focus is in on the Family• Encourage self sufficiency• Adequate finances, insurance, etc.• Have an emergency plan• Typical 72 hour kit• Promote major food storage (sustain life not
lifestyle)• 3 months of your “normal” food• Up to 9 months of long term storage
Continuity of Operations Plans
• Second focus is on Facilities• Establish an open communications link to
determine the status of member and church facilities
• Communicate status and needs to church leaders and to members
• Evaluate general community situation, needs, etc.
• Gather appropriate leadership and develop an action plan
Disasters Cross Boundaries
• Fairfax has a boundary• Red Cross serves Fairfax (but different boundaries)• Salvation Army (again different boundaries)• Southern Baptists (again different boundaries)• Senior Center, FeedMore, etc.
Boundaries shouldn’t get in the way of filling needs
Pre-established relationships can erase boundaries
Disasters don’t follow a Schedule
• Typical Family Day• Son at school 8-2• Daughter at school 9-3• Son at soccer 4-6• Daughter at girl scouts 7-9• Dad at work 8-6• Dad at PTA 7-9• Mom trying to work and keep up with all this
Disasters should only be allowed at night when everybody is in the same place
Four Recent Experiences
• Mom and kids unhurt, trapped in house by fallen trees
• Straight-line wind event in Lynchburg area• Hurricane Sandy experience in NY & NJ• Floods in Colorado
Trapped in house experience
• Husband on active duty overseas• Storm trapped wife and kids in house in Eastern VA• Veterans group contacted VOAD in Western Va• VOAD person knew me and called (Richmond)• I called VOAD leader in Eastern Va (never met)• Somebody handled the trees that afternoon• I have no idea who did it – the system worked
Lynchburg Area - Wind Event
• 60,000 without power
• Many wells = no power means no water
• Stores out of water – lines waiting for delivery
• Arranged with LDS Charities for two truckloads bottled water
• Problem - our churches have no fork trucks or unloading facilities
• Routed trucks to two local service organizations with existing unloading and distribution systems
Hurricane Sandy
• This video will provide local church leaders with some disaster expectations• Most have no experience with disasters• Most have little idea how to respond to a local disaster• Most have no idea how to respond to remote disasters• About 20% of leaders change each year, so this will
be an ongoing problem• The video should orient leaders by showing
successes, and preparing them to “change hats” if necessar
Colorado Floods
• Most slides provided by Bill Tolbert (Colorado VOAD representative)
The Storm• 9th- 16th September 2013• 15”-20” of Rain in a 3 day period• Caused an Est* $1B in Damage• 14 Counties Impacted (*estimates)
• *19,000 Homes Damaged• *1,500 Homes Destroyed• *30 State Bridges Destroyed• *43,134 Gallons of Oil Spills
• 11,000+ Evacuated (1,750 by ANG)
• 8 FatalitiesCaused by plume tropical moisture over the Rockies (Monsoon); High Pressure over Midwest; Upper Atmosphere Low Pressure over the Great Basin; Movement stalled over Colorado
The Storm “If”…
This is what a 15”-20” Rain would have looked like if the weather had come as November Snow!
What are we going to talk about?
• Building Bridges between the Faith-Based Groups and Community Emergency Management/Responders
• How to be Part of a “Whole Community”
• Language and Structure of Disaster Response
• Preparedness Foundations• Individual/Group Preparedness • Community Preparedness
• How “Bridges” Will Work• Local Disasters• Wide Area Disasters
Ecclesiastical Perspective—Why?
• As Faith Based Leaders We Have a Dual Responsibility to our Members• The “spiritual” welfare of our Members• The “temporal” welfare of our Members (safety, security)
• We need to be “Ready” as a Faith-based group
• Extraordinary Opportunity to Work Together to Help Strengthen our Communities
Like an Inter-Faith Choir…1+1=3
Ecclesiastical Lessons Learned
• Disasters Will Happen at the “Worst of Times”• Are your Congregations Going to be Waiting for
“Higher Authority” to Arrive in a Disaster?• How Big is your Emergency Communications
“Tool Box”?• What/Where are your “Emergency Resources”?• Are you and your Members “Ready” !
Basic Emergency “Rules of 3’s”
• There are 3 ‘Emergency Time Frames’• Preparedness-Response-Recovery• Pre-event, First 72 hrs, Post 72+ hrs
• There are 3 ‘Preparedness Levels’• Individual-Group-Community
• There are 3 ‘Gov’t Responder Levels’• Local-State-Federal• Local & State = Office of Emergency
Management (“OEMs”)
“Whole Community” Philosophy
“We need to move away from the mindset that Federal and State Governments are always in the lead, and build upon the strengths of our local communities and, more importantly, our citizens.
We must treat individuals and communities as key assets rather than liabilities.”
W. Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator
“Whole Community” Philosophy
• Shifting focus to a “Whole Community” Response• Responsibility, Authority, Resources moving to
local levels• DHS/FEMA Learned that “Top Down” Doesn’t Work
• Don’t know the ‘battlefield’ like locals• Can’t respond adequately in the timeframe
needed• Not cost effective in a declining $$$ environment
• All Emergency Response is “Local”• Need to “Work Together”!
Why “Be Ready”• 1st Responders make up about 1% of the
population• System intended for simple, single events• NYC was 9 hours behind in 911 calls…• Less than 20% still on duty after 72hrs
• Public emergency resources are limited• Call centers and phone service will quickly
overload• Shelves will be empty <72 hrs• Tucson AZ experience; 100% trauma resources
absorbed
Local Bridges: 1+1 can equal 3
• To be a “Whole Community” you need to be a• “Known” and “Trusted” Resource to Emergency Managers• Know the Language and Structure of Emergency Response
• You need to have a good Foundation in Place • Prepared Individuals and Families with good Emergency
Plan
• The OEM needs to recognize your Value• Buildings/Sheltering, Tools, Equipment• Ham Radio Nets, Language Skills• Organize/Lead Volunteer Force• Other Critical Resources
It’s a Two Way Bridge• EM’s can provide valuable training to F-B Leaders
“ICS/NIMS”, “Are You Ready”, “Be Ready”, “CERT”, “CAP”
• You can have key relationships in place…before…•To help get you past the “Yellow Tape”•To get Early Warning and Timely Information
• You can Shape your Emergency Role
Colorado LDS Church Initiative
• An LDS story that started 2 yrs ago…• Began with Basic Emergency Preparedness• Expanded to “Building Bridges” with
State/County/Local Emergency Managers• Resulted in the Development of New Faith-Based
Emergency Response and Recovery Plans, Structures, and Tools (“including an Emergency Response Framework”)
• Tested thru 2 Years of Wildfires, Tornadoes, and Severe Storms, including a “Millennial Flood” Event in September
Colorado LDS Church Initiative
• Church Leaders Knew How To:• Recognize the Disaster and Organize their Response• Set up an Emergency Operations Center• Organize , Deploy and Manage Volunteer Teams• Be a Prime Resource to their County OEM’s
Results• Provided over 6,000+ Volunteers/“Helping Hands”• Provided over 45,000+ Volunteer Hours Helping
Others
What’s Next for Your Faith-Based Group?
• Prepare at Multiple Levels!• Motivate your Members to Prepare• Make an Emergency Plan• Structure your Emergency Team• Put an EmCom “Toolbox” in-place• Identify/Organize Resources• Train your Leaders
• NIMS/ICS leader training; Psych 1st Aid• Prepare your Facilities
• ARC “Partner Shelter” Ops Training
What’s Next for Your Faith-Based Group?
• Join Colorado VOAD (www.coloradoVOAD.org)
• (Virginia VOAD)
• Build Bridges with your local OEM!• Ask for a Bridge-Building Meeting with County• Establish Key “Connection Points”• Participate in Local Exercises• Participate in Local Citizens Corps Activities• Be a Local Resource/Wide Area Resource
Questions
• How’s your Continuity Of Operations Plan?• What should it cover?• Have you tested/exercised it?
• Are your leaders ready?• Are your members/volunteers ready?• Are you ready?