Active Shooter Preparedness

This morning, October 24, 2012, there was another single shooter incident; this time at World Changers Church in Georgia. Early reports confirm that one person (an employee of the church) was shot and killed. Police are still looking for the suspect.

We strongly encourage all churches and houses of worship to consider their course of action, and create an emergency response plan for how to handle active shooter situations in their places of worship.

October 18, 2012 is the nationwide Great ShakeOut earthquake drill. This event, sponsored by FEMA, encourages people to know what to do in order to prepare for earthquakes.

Tomorrow, join more than 13 million people nationwide in the Great ShakeOut earthquake drill. Register here!

"Earthquakes occur all year long across our country – in a lot of places you wouldn’t expect," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "For the Great ShakeOut, we’re asking everyone to take just a minute out of your day to drop, cover and hold on, and practice what you would do during an actual earthquake."

During National Preparedness Month FEMA Deputy Administrator Tim Manning stressed that most emergency management professionals believe that his agency has made significant progress since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. However, Manning also argued that most Americans are not sufficiently prepared for natural disasters.

While Manning does not support his view with specific data, CEN would share his opinion. CEN recognized that the Church itself did not have a heart problem in wanted to respond and it did not even have a resource problem at the local level, but the Church has a huge “FACILITATION” problem in harnessing its own resources and leveraging them with the Gospel. This is why CEN created the ReadyChristian, ReadyChurch and ReadyCity programs to assist the Christian community in biblical readiness and response for such a time as this.

 “But I cannot afford it!” How often we hear that answer. Yet, many believe mistakenly that they cannot afford to prepare. Having an evacuation communication plan with your family and rinsing out used milk containers then filling them with water is not a matter of cost. It is a matter of attitude followed by action. Picking up one more can of beans and stocking up for a couple of months is not costly since you rotate out the item and will use it anyway! This is why CEN offers ReadyChristian online training FREE so no one is unable to become biblically ready to respond.

As ReadyNewOrleans continues to provide CEN with the specifics on critical needs in the area the media has shifted off the story making it more difficult to generate human and material resources. Please visit the Hurricane Isaac response group at www.christianemergencynetwork.org indicating what you may be able to do to assist ReadyNewOrleans.

About 130 schools were still closed today in the Gulf region as survivors were digging themselves out of the flood regions. Emergency Management reports 13,000 homes were damaged and eight deaths occurred. Congressional leaders appear to be insuring that a steady flow of funding for the disaster relief continues, however there still seems to be a concern on the level of disaster funding available as FEMA’s current relief budget stands at $1.4 billion. Often overlooked MS received a visit from FEMA Craig Fugate who assured the community there would be funding available, as a federal disaster declaration had been made. As of September 4 over 4,000 people remain in shelters across the affected region. Meanwhile 90 pollution cases, not unexpected for an incident like this, are being investigated.

Please continue to pray for those affected by the storms and those who are responding. Likewise, take the precautionary steps to ready yourself and your family for times of crisis. 

Prayers have been answered for residents of New Orleans as the city itself was spared massive damage largely due to levees having been strengthened after Katrina. Meanwhile, preliminary assessments on the disaster needs in greater New Orleans, MS, and LA are still challenging due to the extensive flooding. The suburbs of New Orleans appears to have taken the largest hit as local levees have been breached and damage to the 26 mile long beach areas of MS. In some areas whole communities are now underwater and in LaPlace LA more than 3100 residents evacuated in a rescue operations because they had not heeded the evacuation order. Isaac has dumped more than 20 inches of rain in three days. Mississippi’s Lake Tangipahoa swelled beyond its banks. Authorities will have to release some of the water to avoid 60,000 people from losing their homes to 17 feet of flooding. Governor Jindall is urging the residents in the area to evacuate. 5,000 people have been moved to shelters and almost one million are without power in the Gulf States.

Isaac has generated twisters and continues as a tropical depression headed for Illinois, Missouri, and the Ohio River Valley and may dump up to ten inches of rain as it moves northward. The rain will arrive as farmers see it as bad timing. After so many years and months of little rain and weakened harvests, the excessive rain may damage what was hoped to be a comeback harvest season.

This week the people of New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Region are once again facing a disastrous storm. The storm has been officially downgraded to a Tropical Storm, however the rain and flooding potential still remains a threat for the area.

To engage in the ReadyNewOrleans Response, here are some action steps:

1. Commit to Prayer.  Pray for: (1) Citizens to seek God for comfort and protection to all who are in the path of Hurricane Isaac. (2) Citizens not directly affected will offer prayer, compassion and assistance in their community. (3) Hurricane Isaac will be lessened in intensity. (4) First responders. 
2. Join the Hurricane Isaac Response Group
3. Let us knowif you are interested in helping stand up ReadyNewOrleans in the area of:
   1. Logistics
   2. Public Information
   3. Operations
   4. Prayer
   5. Care
   6. Share
   7. Safety & Security
   8. Finance

As always one of the best things you can do is prepare yourself and your family to be ready in times of disaster. CEN helps make that easier by providing our FREE ReadyChristian Training which you can download and do as you have time.