3. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
COMMUNITY
EMERGENCIES
PROVDING
SHELTER
RECRUITING
FAITH BASED
ORGANIZATIONS
4. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
Durham County Emergency Management is committed to Durham County
Government’s visions and goals.
OUR CHAMPION AND OUR PURPOSE
• David Marsee
• Fire Marshall and Emergency
Management Coordinator
PROJECT
CHAMPION
•To continue work on an existing project.
•Recruit and train members and leaders of
faith based organizations to provide
shelters in the event of an emergency for
Durham County citizens and citizens of
the Southern Coastal Plain, New Hanover
and Brunswick counties.
OUR
PURPOSE
5. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
The most common community emergencies we face are thunderstorms,
flooding and winter storms.
What are community emergencies?
6. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
Community and Family
Prosperity and
Enrichment
Health and Wellbeing for
All
Safe and Secure
Community
Accountable, Efficient
and Visionary
Government
Environmental
Stewardship
Durham County Emergency Management-maintaining, coordinating and planning in the
event of an emergency.
CONNECTING OUR GOAL WITH DURHAM COUNTY’S
STRATEGIC PLAN
8. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
FEMA MANDATES:
SHELTER 20% OF THE
POPULATION
Hillside High
School
300000
60000
1000
Population FEMA requirement present ability
9. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
BRUNSWICK
NEW HANOVER
THE COASTAL PLAIN IS VULNERABLE TO HAZARDS
Durham County provides shelter to other counties
11. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
IMPACT OF A HAZARD
LEVEL AREA
AFFECTED
IMPACT
Catastrophic More than 50% Multiple deaths; Complete shutdown of facilities for 30 days or
more; more than 50% of property is severely damaged.
Critical 25-50% Multiple severe injuries; Complete shutdown of critical facilities
for at least 2 weeks; More than 25% of property is severely
damaged.
Limited 10-25% Some injuries; Complete shutdown of critical facilities for more
than 1 week.
Negligible Less than 10% Minor injuries; Minimal quality of life impacted; Shutdown of
critical facilities and services for 24 hours or less; Less than 10%
of property is severely damaged.
12. Freeform made
contact with the
faith based
organizations of
Durham County
that had previously
showed interest in
serving as shelters
in the event of a
community
emergency.
14. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
Durham County Emergency Management with the American Red Cross will provide
trainings and practice runs for sheltering.
Hillside High School – practice run
15. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
Durham County Emergency Management is conducting a training session at
WHITE ROCK BAPTIST CHURCH on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016 from 9:00 – 12:00 noon.
.
.
Will your faith based organization be ready in the event of an
emergency?
16. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
Food Trucks are the wave of the future!
Next up! Feeding people in a shelter.
17. Durham County Government www.dconc.gov
Thank you for allowing us a chance to
share our project with you!
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS?
Editor's Notes
Welcome to our presentation on recruiting faith based organizations as shelters in the event of a community emergency. This is an ongoing project of Durham County Emergency Management. We were given this opportunity by our Fire Marshall, Jim Groves. Our project Champion is David Marsee, Coordinator of Durham County Emergency Management. As you may know, Faith based organizations are a group of individuals who are united in a belief. We recognize that there are other organizations that act as shelters in the event of emergencies. For our project, we are focusing on recruiting faith based organizations for several reasons. We are happy to share this with you. We have enjoyed learning about how shelters work and hope you enjoy learning the same.
The Project of recruiting faith based organizations for shelter was an existing project of Durham County Emergency Management. The purpose of using faith based organizations will be laid out in our presentation. We are the Freeform Group. We call ourselves Freeform because we are shapeless, unrestrained, elements of substance for a designated purpose. We are Michael Coleman, who works in the Detention Facility, Jameshia Dixon, Public Health, Pam Jordan-Carrington, The Extension Program and Carolyn Carson Stern of the County Attorney’s Office.
It is crucial that organizations, governments and citizens have a plan of action for safety and security in the event of a community emergency. Often when a community emergency occurs, people need shelter because their homes have become uninhabitable. Among the many considerations, it is important to remember that life does not come to a halt just because a person is temporarily in a shelter. People still have to go to work and school. They may leave during the day to take care of their daily business, but have to come to the shelter in the evening for nourishment and rest. It is also important to remember that shelters are a life boat, not a cruise ship.
We are fortunate in Durham County to have David Marsee as our emergency management coordinator. Not only is David Marsee an experienced professional, but he is a life long citizen of Durham County and has experienced our immense growth first hand. There are only two high schools that serve as shelters in Durham County. There are a few other organizations that serve as shelters, but we need more. There are approximately 300 churches in Durham County and they are spread out throughout the county. One of the reasons we need to move away from schools as shelters is that there is a possibility that we need to shelter people simultaneously at a time when school is in session. Durham County’s current ability to shelter those in need is about 1000 people.
We are less likely to experience as much devastation as the result of storms and hurricanes than some areas of the country like, Baton Rouge. However, our community can be affected as well and we may face the prospect of having to shelter some of our citizens for a period of time. Hazards that Durham County are likely to face are: Thunderstorms; Winter Storms; Tornados; and Hurricanes; Less likely, but possible, we may experience drought and heat Waves; Earthquakes; Flooding; Landslides and sink holes; Wildfires and Dam failures. Fortunately, our area is categorized by the Red Cross as being in the low to moderate range for risk hazard. Unfortunately, because we are lower at risk, we are not as prepared as we could be.
There are roles and responsibilities for County Governments across the United States and Durham County is active in having a strategic plan. Durham County strives to promote safety and security for all its citizens. Components to having a good safety plan include: Identifying issues; 2. Leading in community awareness;. 3. Getting people active in the community.; 4. Relying on professional advice.; and 5. Implementing plans.
To be completely honest, when we first heard what our project would be, we were apprehensive. It seemed like an unsurmountable task. We met with David Marsee a few times and he helped us narrow down our goal and explained the process of how to get the ball rolling. Once we had a clear idea of the scope of our project, we became enthusiastic at the prospect of helping make it work.
FEMA requires that we, as a community, be able to shelter 20%, of our population, approximately 60,000 people in the event of a community emergency. Hillside and Riverside High Schools can shelter approximately 1000 people. [ Explain the pie chart showing our present capability].
We are a 3 Tier County in North Carolina. That means that in the event our southern coastal plain is impacted by a storm or other emergency that requires evacuation, we need to be prepared to shelter those citizens. This is another reason we cannot just rely on Hillside and Riverside High Schools to act as shelters. It is likely that the coastal plain would be in a state of emergency, while Durham County, being centrally located in the state, did not feel an impact. If our schools are in regular session, they cannot be counted on as shelters.
Consider the possibility of 20% of the citizens from Brunswick and/or New Hanover Counties evacuating to Durham County. If both of those counties had to evacuate 20% of their citizens, Durham County would be inundated with over 60,000 people needing shelter. The possibility of that is unlikely, however it could happen. Baton Rouge, Louisiana is presently in a catastrophic state of emergency according to the Red Cross. Thirty Thousand (30,000) citizens in Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes had to rescued from their homes. Fourteen thousand (14,000) have applied for FEMA services. Baton Rouge’ population is approximately 230,000 people. Therefore, approximately thirteen percent (13%) of Baton Rouge’s population had to be rescued from their homes.
Here are some statistics on how a hazard is measured. The categories are catastrophic, critical, limited and negligible.
Some of Durham County’s and other areas historic events include:
April 5, 2011 Thunderstorm Winds of 50 knots cause $25,000.00 of damage.
May 8, 2010 Flash Flood causing $50,000.00 of damage in the Huckleberry Springs neighborhood.
August 27, 2008 Flash Flood causing $100,000.00 of damage in Bahama
December 9, 2003 An Earthquake in Richmond, Virginia could be felt in Orange County, NC.
March 20, 1998 Tornado causing $600,000.00 of damage in Bahama
September 5, 1996 Hurricane Fran - 7 deaths in Durham County
January 15, 1994 Extreme cold causing $500,000.00 of damage statewide
March 23, 1993 Winter storm causing 50 Million in damages statewide.
August 31, 1861 Earthquake in Wilksboro, NC measuring 5.2 in magnitude
There are many good reasons to recruit faith based organizations and churches to assist in sheltering people in the event of a community emergency. Obviously, people being sheltered would be more comfortable in their home church and may even be more comfortable in any kind of church. Churches are spread out throughout the county. Churches have members can be trained to assist in running a shelter. Oftentimes, churches’ already have programs in place where the members work with people in need. Many churches have fellowship halls with bathrooms and kitchens. The health and wellbeing of our community benefits from more people being engaged in helping during a crisis.
When a church or faith based organization agrees to participate, David Marsee visits the church leader or leaders and the details are worked out. An assessment is made of what services the church can provide and how many people they can accommodate. Training is provided for those who wish to participate in running the shelter. There are many things to consider, including but not limited to: security, capacity, rules and guidelines, supplies, timeframe, liability, reimbursement, generators, and maintenance.
Durham County Emergency Management and the Red Cross also perform practice runs where members of the community can volunteer as victims in need of shelter. By doing this, it helps everyone be more prepared for temporary shelter living.
All churches and individuals in Durham County are invited to a training workshop at White Rock Baptist Church on Saturday, September 24, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. White Rock Baptist Church is centrally located in Durham at 3400 Fayetteville Road and already has a shelter up and running. White Rock Baptist Church strives to prepare their congregation and the Durham community to respond to disasters or other events that might affect quality of life. Will your church be ready in the event of a community emergency?
Once sheltering people is in place we have to consider how to feed them. Food trucks are becoming the new way to provide nourishment for victims of disasters. The Red Cross has a type of Meal Ready to Eat that can suffice, but food trucks are a great commodity. They are well stocked, have their own generators and are mobile. There are organizations and companies that have Food Trucks ready for disaster relief. Some of them are The Red Cross, The Salvation Army, The NC Baptist Mission, Waffle House, Dunkin Donuts, [click again] Tyson Foods, Olive Garden, McDonalds and many private companies.
Thank you for your time. We enjoyed sharing our project with you.. We learned a lot about sheltering people in the event of a community emergency and we hope you did also. We would be happy to answer your questions.
