GHS/OCD Host Community Resilience and Natural Disaster Awareness Training

The Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense (GHS/OCD), in coordination with the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC), will host the following training opportunities as part of the National Preparedness Month initiative:

· Community Resilience (AWR-228): Thursday, September 12, 2019, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
o The AWR-228 course is offered at no cost to eligible participants and is intended to teach participants about meaningful actions to take to enhance resilience to natural hazards and the opportunities available to incorporate these actions into professional practice. The tools learned will benefit hazard planning, including practices of how community resilience can be enhanced at a local level. Attendees for the course include emergency management personnel and community volunteers from the government of Guam, federal, military, private, and non-profit organizations.
· Natural Disaster Awareness for Community Leaders (AWR-310): Friday, September 13, 2019, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
o The AWR-310 course intends to increase understanding of disasters, risk assessment in the context of disaster management, prevailing emergency management procedures and operations, and the different vulnerability factors that exist within the local community. Attendees will learn how to recognize and define the roles and responsibilities that may be assumed by a community leader and understand the roles that first responders and other support personnel are likely to assume to ensure primary assistance in the response and recovery phase of emergency management. Attendees for this course include community leaders and emergency management personnel from the Government of Guam, federal, military, private, and non-profit organizations.

For registration details, contact GHS/OCD State Training and Exercise Manager, Patrick Leon Guerrero at (671) 475-9600 or via email at pat.leonguerrero@ghs.guam.gov.

For more media inquiries, contact Public Information Officer, Jenna G. Blas at (671) 478-0208 or via email at jenna.g.blas@ghs.guam.gov.

X Flooding is a temporary overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry. Flooding may happen with only a few inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop. There are many possible causes of floods including heavy rain, coastal storms and storm surge, waterway overflow from being blocked with debris, or overflow of levees, dams, or waste water systems. Flooding can occur slowly over many days or happen very quickly with little or no warning, called flash floods.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/floods

Wildfire

Regularly clean the roof and gutters.
Maintain an area approximately 30’ away from you home that is free of anything that will burn, such as wood piles, dried leaves, newspapers and other brush.
Connect garden hoses long enough to reach any area of the home and fill garbage cans, tubs, or other large containers with water.
Review your homeowner's insurance policy and also prepare/update a list of your home's contents.

Fire Weather

Turn on your TV/radio. You’ll get the latest weather updates and emergency instructions.
Know where to go. If you are ordered to evacuate, know the route to take and have plan of where you will go. Check-in with your friends and family.
Keep your car fueled, in good condition, and stocked with emergency supplies and a change of clothes.

Drought

Conserve water

Take shorter showers.

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving.
Run the washer less frequently and only when you have a full load.
Water your lawn less frequently and do so when the temperature is cooler in the early morning or late evening.
When you run the tap to heat or cool water, keep a pitcher to store the water and use it to water plants.
Avoid washing your car.

Practice fire prevention

Don't set off fireworks when conditions are dry.
Deposit cigarette butts in the proper receptacle to avoid starting a
Pour water over camp fires and backyard fire pits to ensure they are completely out before leaving them unattended.

Follow directions from local officials. If there are restrictions on water usage, be sure to heed them.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/wildfires and https://www.ready.gov/drought

X
Typhoons/Hurricanes are massive storm systems that form over the water and move toward land. Threats from typhoons/hurricanes include high winds, heavy rainfall, storm surge, coastal and inland flooding, and rip currents.

“Hurricanes” form in the Atlantic Northeast Pacific region and “Typhoons” form in the Northwest Pacific Region. These large storms are call cyclones in other parts of the world.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes.