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Central City Letterhead Joseph Smith Dear Mr. Smith, On behalf of Central City, State of Columbia, I respectfully request consideration to participate in a community-specific Integrated Emergency Management Course (IEMC). We have reviewed the FEMA Training Catalog of Courses as well as the FEMA Website and have determined that our community meets the necessary criteria for application and selection. We further understand that subsequent approval for the IEMC will require a major commitment from our community. As such, I believe our community is an ideal candidate and would benefit significantly from participation in this exercise-based course. Central City has a population of approximately 149,000 permanent residents with a peak business-day population of 352,000. A “Downtown Improvement Program” is currently underway to restore and renovate historic riverfront buildings into apartments and condominiums. In addition, the construction of Columbia Convention Center is nearly complete. The scheduled grand opening within six months will correspond with opening of the Heritage Park open recreation area along the riverfront. [Or cite other community on-going characteristics] Potential hazards include severe weather, earthquake (we are near the Mineral Mountain earthquake fault), flooding (the Roaring River divides our city in half), various hazardous material facilities and transportation systems, hurricanes, and winter storms. We are especially concerned about the potential threat terrorism poses to our community and the possibility of mass casualty response. We understand that all IEMC courses assist local communities in preparing for a wide range of large-scale emergencies. As such, we request an IEMC program that will emphasize our preparedness and response to a terrorism event. [Or cite another focus for the IEMC exercise i.e. natural hazard, hazardous materials event, or special event] We believe this type of exercise will also prepare and train our city for virtually any disaster scenario. We would also consider including, along with the terrorist event, a hazardous materials accident in the exercise program.Attached is a document that provides supplemental information concerning our Emergency Management Program. We look forward to the opportunity to participate in an IEMC. Thank your for your consideration Sincerely, Vicki Moore cc: State Emergency Management/Homeland Security Director DHS/FEMA Regional Training Manager
Central City, Liberty County, State of Columbia Population: 149,253 (2000 Census) Preferred Dates for IEMC: November 14-18, 2005 December 12-16, 2005 March 13-17, 2005 Government Structure: Council/City Manager [Additional details should be provided] Single City or Combination: This IEMC request is for Central City. However, we intend to include a small number of neighboring city and county officials in our contingent of students. Status of Emergency Management: We have a full-time Emergency Management position under the direction of the City Manager. We take an “all hazards” approach to emergency management for purposes of planning, preparedness, response, and recovery and are compliant with the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Our Emergency Operations Center is configured under the Incident Command System. [Additional details should be provided] Past Disaster History: Our community has responded to several disasters since 1982 to include Hurricane Alonzo (category 3) in 1996, three earthquakes in 1984, 1992, and 2002 (Richter scale of 5.2, 6.1, 7.0 respectively), and one major hazardous material event (1994) at one of our chemical facilities resulting in 8 deaths and 37 injuries. We also have several facilities and government organizations that are considered potential terrorist targets per FBI analysis. [Additional details should be provided] Emergency Management Training & Exercises: All of our public safety agencies have full-time active training departments. Each agency conducts individual training and exercise programs on a quarterly basis. Central City conducts city-wide tabletop and functional exercises twice yearly with a full-scale field exercise once a year. We have participated in the Department of Justice WMD training and exercises (three annually beginning in 2000) and the MMRS program. We also exercise annually with the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program. [Additional details should be provided] Our Community Hazards: Our hazard analysis (conducted 2004) includes earthquakes, flooding, tornadoes, winter storms, hazardous materials, terrorism, bomb threats, and wild land fires. A copy of this document is available for your review on our website: www.centralcity.org (Community Website). [Additional details should be provided]
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