Dimensions - Summer 2008 - 4

Helping FEMA Test CONPLAN In June, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted a table-top exercise to test the Catastrophic Disaster Recovery Concept Plan, or CONPLAN. Recently accepted by FEMA, the CONPLAN provides a strategic framework for delivering the Public Assistance (PA) Program in an environment where the complexity of managing and allocating resources is increased under the stress of a catastrophic event. Through the PA Program, FEMA provides supplemental federal assistance to state, tribal, and local governments, as well as certain private nonprofits, for response activities, such as debris removal and facility repair. FEMA’s June exercise was the first application of the concepts defined in the CONPLAN, which would be applied to any future catastrophic disaster in the U.S. and its territories. New Strategy Addresses Maximizing Public Assistance Effectiveness Attending the exercise were more than 30 members of the PA Steering Committee who applied the concepts to an earthquake along the New Madrid Seismic Zone and its hypothetical damage to the state of Tennessee. Dewberry representatives facilitated the exercise. Working under the assumption that a catastrophic event would overwhelm traditional PA Program delivery, Dewberry, along with other contractors, has developed the new strategy. CONPLAN includes three new concepts: • Triage applicants by recovery status, which expedites PA applicants’ status into three main categories based on applicants’ availability to participate in their own recovery and the extent of critical infrastructure damage—red for the most severely impacted; yellow for applicants with minimally operational government; and green for those capable of immediate PA assistance. • Manage the PA Program in phases, which enables resources to be delivered in a logical, as well as flexible, sequence while reflecting all recovery priorities. • Enhance reporting, communications and project support, an area that will use new approaches and technology to meet an increased demand for simultaneous information, dissemination, accountability, and coordination. The CONPLAN also addresses mobilization and the Incident Command System to accelerate recovery and streamline the use of limited resources. Through the rest of the year, FEMA is undertaking multiple planning initiatives using CONPLAN for large catastrophic events. New Madrid Seismic Zone Named for a town in Missouri struck by a powerful earthquake on December 16, 1811, the New Madrid Seismic Zone is a 150mile-long fault system that crosses five states: Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Kentucky. In 1811 and 1812, four earthquakes over magnitude 7.0 were reported and caused major geological shifts in the area, including permanent changes to the course of the Mississippi River. In 1974, modern seismic instruments were installed in the area to monitor earthquake activity, and geological scientists generally agree that a major earthquake—of magnitude 6.0 or greater—is likely to occur along the fault line by 2040. The vulnerability of the New Madrid Seismic Zone is evident when compared to a more recent earthquake of a similar magnitude, the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake. 4

Dimensions - Summer 2008

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