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Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
Kentucky Tests Communications and Response Capabilities in the National Earthquake Exercise
FRANKFORT, Ky.– Kentucky and other several other states teamed up this week with federal, state government partners, volunteer organizations and representatives of private sector business and industry to kick off National Level Exercise 2011 (NLE 2011), a week-long simulation of a catastrophic earthquake centered on the New Madrid Seismic Zone.
NLE 2011 provides an opportunity to exercise and evaluate the entire spectrum of existing capabilities to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from major disasters in an integrated fashion.
As part of the exercise on Tuesday, President Obama hosted a video teleconference with participating states, including Kentucky, to discuss roles and responsibilities of government, response coordination efforts and lessons learned moving forward.
”We have significant experience in responding to natural disasters in Kentucky, including the ongoing response and recovery from recent devastating storms and floods,” said Governor Steve Beshear. "Our emergency responders are trained to deal with an earthquake, and this exercise provides another opportunity to hone those skills.”
NLE 2011 activities on Monday focused on alert notifications and communications. The Commonwealth Emergency Operations Center (CEOC), located at Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort, was activated and conducted a series of communications tests to begin the exercise. More than 10,000 communication contacts verified receiving the CEOC notifications that announced the start of the exercise.
“Communications is the backbone of emergency response,” stated John Heltzel, director of KYEM. “Knowing the right person or agency to contact when an emergency happens is the first step to being prepared. This is true for government and for individuals.”
NLE 2011 will exercise capabilities while testing plans, policies and procedures, including the Federal Interagency Response Plan – Earthquake and State and Regional New Madrid catastrophic plans.
Today is the second day of the exercise, and efforts focused on life safety and Search and Rescue missions. Search and Rescue teams flew to Calloway County from Frankfort and Bowling Green and demonstrated how to integrate into and augment local emergency management.
The Kentucky National Guard deployed approximately 400 Service members throughout the Commonwealth in support of the multi-state exercise, including an Air Guard contingency in Springfield, Mo.
“We spent the last six months refining our Earthquake Response Plan, updating it with real-world lessons from the 2009 ice storm and from the recent flooding in western Kentucky," said Col. William A. Denny, deputy chief of staff for operations. "We are now in the process of testing this plan with real first responders, elected officials, emergency managers and Kentucky guardsmen. It's truly a unique and vital test of our emergency response planning."
NLE 2011 is one of the largest joint exercises in U.S. history and for the first time is being based on a natural event. Organizers invited everyone – private citizens, businesses, private business and industry and centers of government – to participate and exercise their own earthquake preparations.
Private citizens who complete daily participation links will receive a downloadable KYEM NLE 2011 Certificate of Participation recognizing their efforts to better protect and prepare themselves in the event of a disaster.
For more information on the NLE 2011, daily agendas, scheduled daily participation links and to register as a participant, visit www.kyem.ky.gov/nle2011. You will also find external information, related social media sites and links to Kentucky’s Earthquake Preparedness Program.
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