Annual Storm Day training critical in projected El Niño year

Ventura County Public Works Agency disaster simulation taking place Sept. 29-30 ensures county-wide state of storm readiness.

Press Release : Experts are predicting that 2015 could be one of the biggest El Niño years in history, making County preparation efforts more vital than ever. The Ventura County Public Works Agency (VCPWA) is holding its annual Storm Day disaster simulation drill Sept. 29-30 at various locations, facilities, and “incident” sites throughout Ventura County. Lead organizer for the exercise is Karl Novak, Deputy Director of the Watershed Protection District’s Operations and Maintenance Division.  The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services will lend its support, helping to assure effective coordination between the two agencies.        

The Storm Day exercise underscores the VCPWA’s role as first-responders. In floods, debris flows, fires, earthquakes, or any other emergency circumstances, VCPWA works alongside the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, the Ventura County Fire Department, and emergency medical personnel to sustain critical infrastructure and maintain public safety. The exercise is used to create severe but plausible scenarios to test agency emergency response.

“Storm Day 2015 is an opportunity for us to test the new Public Works Agency emergency tracking system and communications upgrades,” said Novak, who has been lead on the exercise for several years. “These systems will help us efficiently direct our field teams in the event of El Niño flood emergencies.”      

The exercise will simulate the intensity and flooding potential of a 50-year storm, and will mobilize VCPWA to their emergency Field Operations Centers, Department Operations Centers, and Agency Operation Center throughout the county.  The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services will also activate the County’s Emergency Operations Center to support and coordinate with VCPWA.   

“This upcoming winter season may bring a strong, and potentially wet, El Niño, and it is vital that first responders and public-safety agencies plan, prepare, and train together,” says Gil Zavlodaver from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services. “The VCPWA’s annual storm day exercise is a great opportunity for our two agencies to practice working together to respond and recover from a winter storm event.”      

The specific objectives of the exercise include testing the departments’ emergency response plans and processes, evaluating information and communication procedures, analyzing the efficiency of department, agency, and field operations centers, and testing the process and procedure to proclaim a local state of emergency. The drill will also help to identify any deficiencies there may be in the emergency response plans.

An additional component of this year’s exercise includes specific training efforts designed to prepare and test agency, city, and county public- information officers (PIOs) on the proper collection, preparation, and dissemination of disaster-related information. 

Local media will have the opportunity to observe a simulated in-field disaster response to a blocked bridge, unstable rock slide, or other emergency situation at a location and scenario to be determined. 

Date: September 30^th 8:30 am – 11:30 am.

Travel to the incident site, photo ops, and interviews to selected media will be scheduled prior to the event.