Another interview as we talk about preparedness. This week is severe weather awareness week in Illinois.
PIO here….working with the Springfield news to feature IEMA-OHS Deputy Director Clayton Kuetemeyer.
Making sure everyone is prepared is key to safety.
Illinois has had some severe weather lately so I am glad that our media partners are in it to win it too.
Just glad to hang with the crew from WICS today in Springfield.
Reporting live from the SEOC…
Some days, I get to see cool things….
Because of the work we will be doing with the US Secret Service, got to be up close and personal with the Beast.
This is the US Presidential limo that takes POTUS around.
As you can probably tell, it’s a bit more fortified than other limos….and protected from stuff.
Additionally, they brought a few support vehicles too. All the prep for the upcoming National Special Security Event (NSSE) with the 2024 Democratic National Convention here in Chicago.
Proud to work close with the US Secret Service in these upcoming events.
Long storied history of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
My boss, Director and Homeland Security Advisor Alicia Tate-Nadeau is the first female to lead the agency.
Long list of directors from all walks of life…and all parts of Illinois.
Incidentally, Alicia Tate-Nadeau is the first female one-star general from Illinois.
Outstanding crew so far.
Long hours, but thankful to lead the PIO effort here in Illinois.
As we near the end of the first week, we should also consider our planning and look at evacuation routes. As far as things go, most major routes should be open esp in emergency to allow for those who need to egress to GTFO of there right?!?
While in perfect situations, this would be the case. But lately, we’ve had some challenging situations across the nation that leads me to believe we may not have the option to evacuate safety out of the city.
While most days, all the bridges are down in Chicago.
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However the City of Chicago has had some bad luck and was forced to pop the bridges to curtail silly behavior at night.
With almost all the bridges up, that makes travel through the loop a bit more complex and challenging esp when things happen last minute and late at night.
To help deal with these challenging situations, subscribing to the mass notification systems would provide additional information on which roads are closed but amidst the ruckus, perhaps planning alternate routes out of your location would be best.
Easier said than done but necessary when faced with pressures of the safety of yourself and your family.
While it doesn’t have to be a straight shot out, you can exercise various options on how to exit your location and safely rondevous with loved ones in other places.
Remember, plan at least two alternate routes of egress from your location and try your hardest to reduce the amount of complexity after a disaster/emergency.
As always, remain vigilant and make sure you and your family are safe by planning now.
Reporting live on AlohaFriday…
We’re still in the first week of National Preparedness Month, we need to examine shelter locations. Yes I said planning for shelter locations.
Because if this is your shelter idea…
…you might want to rethink your plan.
If you plan for a proper shelter location WITH your family, you’d likely be rewarded with a more comfortable situation. Food, water, etc….are nice things to have. But the last thing anyone needs during a crisis is more things to think about and burden you down.
No one has time for that!
Interior rooms with no windows is always a good shelter location esp during a tornado strike. Not only is it interior, but you can seek further shelter/cover underneath the counter top.
Nice!
After the danger passes, a simple meeting place outside is a good idea too.It should be a relatively easy to find location that everyone knows and can rally up. Also be identifiable from great distances. Something tall and unique could be used too.
Don’t be the bearer of bad news…make sure everyone knows the plans!
Since most of you are home, consider taking the time to assessing your situation, evaluate your options, and make good decisions. But no matter where it is, be sure to tell the rest of your family where to go in case of emergency.
Plan for stuff to happen right? Just look at us now.
Worst. Year. Ever.
Reporting live from the first week of National Preparedness week!
Since this is only the second day of 2020 National Preparedness month, we needed to focus in on your plans before, during, and after an emergency.
On the regular, I get TONS of calls/inquiries from people trying to figure out what’s going on. Many of our friends/families can glean this same info I get from the mass notification systems already in place.
The City of Chicago (IL) Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) has an easy system called NotifyChicago.
By inputting your information and particular way to be contacted, you can get the most up-to-date information about any part of the city. This includes warnings, hazards, and of course major street closures due to riots, protests, or other weird things that happen in Chicago. Choosing to be notified via text message ensures that no matter where you are, you can be alerted to dangers in your area 24/7. Subscribe for free here: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/oem/provdrs/alertchicago/svcs/notifychicago.html
At the county level, DuPage County (IL) Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (OHSEM) uses the Smart911 system which is a mass notification system to alert anyone on issues at the county level.
This could include severe weather, road closures, as well as critical information for anyone living/working in the area. You can sign up here: https://www.smart911.com/
From the region:
I rely heavily on our partners from the National Weather Service. While not the primary way, I think their social media work on Twitter is excellent and pull lots of info from them using the alert feature (notifications on) function on Twitter.
Consider following Mike Bardou and the crew from the NWS Chicago or follow your own local NWS office for immediate weather info. There are 122 Weather Forecasting Offices across our great nation.
More details can be found here: https://www.weather.gov/srh/nwsoffices
And finally, with the amount of info and the onslaught of information being pushed to our mobile devices, it’s good to know that IF it’s too much, you can always unsubscribe to any these services.
IF you have family in other parts of the country, consider subscribing to their area notifications. Doesn’t hurt to help a loved one out as they maybe be too busy, sleeping, or incapable of understanding the severity of their situation. More on that tomorrow.
Keep it safe during this first week of National Preparedness Month by making your plan!
Welcome to the 2020 National Preparedness Month!!!
As described by so many, this is the most perfect year to plan for the unexpected.
Join me and my esteemed colleagues as we help share preparedness tips all month and help get you through this rotten year.
Reporting live in my favorite month…..
Sunday is off to a bang as we need some formality to the process. Revamp what? What does that mean?
<Cue the Hawaiian music in the JIC because we are going to revamp a few things today.>
1. We are going to take a look at the press releases and move them to media alerts…because no one reads press releases anymore. Let’s not waste time and align it to be more factual and numbers. From a PIO perspective, this “trending” is what news outlets are looking for. Big upticks/spikes in numbers.
And in this situation, I doubt they are concentrating at the minutia of individual numbers esp since they are projected to dramatically increase over the next few weeks.
2. Accountability must be improved as we got the formal FEMA Disaster Declaration under the Stafford Act. So everyone gets a T-card and everyone must fill out an ICS-214. That includes me too.
3. Don’t forget to sign in on the ICS-211 form and your T-card is good to go.
4. Get a hard copy of the IAP and read through it. Don’t get caught not knowing the current plan. Maybe…MAYBE use those fancy tactical cargo pockets to hold your IAP (I’m judging).
5. Daily morning briefs with your PIOs….we call them our PIO roll call. Not longer than 10 minutes, allows us to get a handle on our daily activities and allows us to coordinate with each other. SA/COP baby!
I hate to break the news to you but the PIO’s job isn’t easy. So much more work goes behind the scenes and talking on camera is really about 5% of the job. Your main bread and butter work comes from the preparation and planning that goes into that.
Additionally, most reporters aren’t going to catch you live and want to do interviews. This new fangled invention called the cell phone makes it easy to communicate with all your reporters.
I honestly can’t tell you how many phone calls and interviews I did standing in my garage at 11p at night.
Yep, it never ends.
Get some sleep peeps, it’s going to be a long week ahead.
Rolling in on a Saturday to the EOC….
Wait a sec…WAIT A SEC….
Did one of our partners get their drive through testing station up and running already?
PIO to SITL: How do copy?
Man, the news is going to be all over this one…
Oh yes….did someone say the Joint Information Center (JIC)?!?!? BRING. IT. ON. BABY.
Not only are we activating the JIC, we need to keep in track and record of all of our staff/personnel.
As a good PSC, you know I wouldn’t leave home without my trusty T-cards right?
Let’s see how many of my ESF friends will be here with us…
Reporting live from the JIC…
Where is @rusnivek? 