Northern Michigan Storm System and Emergency Preparedness

Image Courtesy of Traverse City Record Eagle.

On Sunday, August 2, 2015, Northern Michigan experienced a storm system that produced 80 mph wind gusts and ¼ in – 2 ½ in size hail, leaving many in counties across the area without power. Power went out in several areas, including Grand Traverse County, Missaukee, Otsego, and Alpena County which led emergency crews and backup to rush to assistance.

July and August are historically busy times for the Northern MI area. There is an influx in the population when tourists and vacationers arrive and we typically see increased storm activity during the couple really hot weeks of summer. 

Some may wonder how prepared their counties are for storms such as Sundays, which has been described as "a long-duration, multiple-round event." The Michigan Critical Incident Management System (MI CIMS), which is operated and maintained by the Michigan State Police, was active with users all over the State reporting damages from the storms. In Region 7, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Crawford, Missaukee, Wexford, Roscommon, and Leelanau Counties were all active on the MI CIMS network, updating their reports as the storm system moved through the region. Of those counties, Benzie County activated their Emergency Operations Center (EOC) while the county’s central dispatch center fielded over 250 calls within a 2 hour time period.

With emergency crews doing their part to help, rescue, and restore, Northern Michigan residents, vacationers, businesses, and organizations can do a lot to assist in preparing for disaster emergencies similar to Sunday’s events. 

It’s imperative to be informed and to have a plan in place, regardless if you are a civilian, business owner, or some kind of medical responder. If one fails to plan, one plans to fail. Create a list of all of your emergency contacts and resources. Plan for your risks, children, pets, and elderly. Add to your list an alternate or back up shelter site should you have to evacuate. If you need to evacuate, do you have an evacuation route established? How will you get everyone out of the premises safely? Ready.gov is an excellent resource for planning all these details. 

Once you’ve established if you will evacuate or shelter in place, what is your plan for the next 8 hours? 24 hours? 48 hours? Did you create an emergency kit for your family or employees/residents in your facility? Your emergency kit should have enough resources to last you at least 72 hours. 

There are numerous ways for everyone to be involved in community preparedness, whether it’s through the Citizen Corps, Medical Reserve Corp, Youth Preparedness initiatives, or taking part in training through your facility or local and State agencies. 

Region 7 Healthcare Coalition offers many opportunities to train responders and medical workers in Healthcare Emergency Preparedness. The region offers several sources of communications, and equipment and supplies. While having all these resources is important to preparedness, the most important aspect may be to regularly practice your plans and to maintain and keep track of expirations dates for your emergency kit.

If you are a hospital, medical control authority, long term care facility, behavioral health worker, or response volunteer and would like to learn more about getting involved in Region 7 HCC Healthcare Preparedness efforts, please visit www.miregion7.com or call 989-731-4975.