When it comes to emergency preparedness, organizations and agencies in Asheville and Buncombe County are stepping up their efforts to enhance existing services, add new capabilities and run tests to see how well prepared we really are. This Xpress cover story examines some of the issues surrounding local preparedness.
• Buncombe County has put together a booklet to help residents be sure they’re ready for everything from floods to the pandemic flu. Click here to download a PDF of the document.
• In May 2008, Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy headed to Washington, D.C., to attend a White House conference hosted by the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The agency holds regular Compassion in Action policy roundtables designed to address issues concerning the faith-based and nonprofit communities while highlighting their contributions. This one was titled “Partnerships in Emergency Preparation.” Click here to read the agency’s document titled “Compassion in Action” that explains how the faith-based community can be a resource for disaster relief.
• Click here to read a document outlining North Carolina’s homeland-security strategy.
• On April 9, 2008, the Buncombe County Health Center hosted a full-scale pandemic influenza preparedness exercise that included teams from the following counties: Avery, Mitchell, Yancey, Burke, Cherokee, Haywood, Henderson, Swain, Caldwell, Jackson, Clay, Transylvania, Graham, Madison, Rutherford, Polk, McDowell, Macon and Madison. The exercise simulated the delivery of medications to the field and a press conference. Click here to read the 26-page after-action report on the exercise.
• Click here to read the Buncombe County emergency operations plan, dated October 2007.
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