An exhibit at the West Virginia and Regional History Center (WVRHC) at WVU invites the public to explore influential traditions for today and tomorrow.
Damage from the cyclone was less pronounced in West Virginia. But it still reminded some emergency response officials that natural disasters require proactive preparation, because they can occur without much warning for residents.
“Take the emergency situations that happened in North Carolina and Tennessee. Their systems, they weren’t there anymore. Towers blew down. Towns washed away,” said Jason Hoover, director of the Morgan County Office of Emergency Services, Sunday afternoon. “We’re talking about 350 miles and that could have been us.”
Hoover addressed the hurricane at a local firehall in Berkeley Springs as part of an emergency preparedness seminar for Morgan County residents.
The event was hosted by Hoover’s office and the Morgan County Emergency Communications Network (MCECN).
A nonprofit, the MCECN was founded in 2020 by amateur radio operators in Morgan County. It aims to provide an independent communication network as a backup for government-run communication services during emergencies, according to MCECN President John Petersen.
More than 300 residents attended the event in person or joined over livestream, according to the MCECN. Local emergency response officials outlined risks the community should prepare for, plans for how to respond to a disaster and current methods of emergency communication.
Hoover said many people look to federal organizations like the Federal Emergency Management Agency for intervention during emergencies, but that responses from national agencies tend to be delayed. That means keeping the local community prepared is crucial, he said.
“Disasters start local, and they end local,” Hoover said. “The only thing we can do as a community is help prepare for that.”
Major disasters like Hurricane Helene are typically so large in scale that they overwhelm local emergency response efforts and the supply chain, preventing people from getting resources, according to Petersen.
Stores can run out of food in a matter of days, and communication networks and internet service can fall soon after, he said.
One way residents can prepare for events like these is creating emergency kits with nonperishable food and water, sheltering supplies, medical and self-defense items, and communications and power resources, Petersen said.
Petersen said families should also develop plans for where they would go during an emergency, and which family member would take on each responsibility.
“Remember the brief they give you at the beginning of the airplane [ride]? They say, if the oxygen masks come down, you take care of yourself first,” he said. “That’s the idea. You’ve got to take care of yourself first. Because, if you haven’t got the capability to deal with this, then you’re not going to be able to help anybody else.”
Morgan County law enforcement, medical and fire response officials also spoke during Sunday’s event, highlighting additional crises the community could face and the role their agencies play in responding to them.
To close, the MCECN walked residents through current emergency communications infrastructure in Morgan County.
They said amateur radio operators play an increasingly important role in strengthening communication resources available during disasters, and explained how amateur radios function for prospective new users.
When cellular service and the internet are down, amateur radio operators “are the last resort,” Petersen said. “The amateur radio community commonly plays a central role in providing communications when there are big disasters.”
Petersen also said that the MCECN and its community partners hope to continue hosting meetings and trainings throughout the year so more people can get involved, and so that the local community continues to think about how to prepare for the unexpected.
For him, preparing for emergencies long term means “you don’t have to be afraid” when disasters do strike.
“You prepare, and you think about alternatives, and you train for it,” Petersen said.
To watch the Morgan County Emergency Communications Network livestream of Sunday’s emergency preparedness seminar, visit the nonprofit’s YouTube page.
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