The all-county disaster preparedness team

Risk Management, June, 2007 by Michelle Brown, Judy Joffe

Only the Beginning

Even with a dedicated and visionary committee of businesses on board, Truesdale said there is much to be worked out. The committee must still select and train business representatives to enter their buildings following a disaster and conduct damage assessments. Law enforcement agencies require a certain level of safety certification and identification for these individuals before they will let them go into hazardous zones.

The committee must also build a database to show the resources of each company and how these can be shared. Many questions remain to be answered, such as who will build and maintain the database and how resources will be administered when communications are down and roadways become impassable.

But Truesdale is hopeful. "I am very encouraged by what has transpired to date," says Truesdale. "My director is letting me run with the business program, and we have support from the economic development community. This is key to having a sustainable economy and protecting our quality of life. We have to be disaster resilient, and that means having everyone on the same page."

Michelle Brown is the president/owner of Kaliah Communications, Inc.

Judy Joffe is the director of community relations of NCCI Holdings, Inc.

Tao Woolfe, a senior writer at NCCI, also contributed to this article.