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Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://news.google.ca/news?oe=utf-8...scoring=n&hl=en&q=virus&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&start=0
Pandemic, disaster plans told
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 6:06 PM CDT
Local officials ready for worst scenarios
By Warren Watkins
The Daily Citizen
Officials involved with the Local Emergency Planning Committee have released final versions of both the pandemic flu plan and earthquake plan, with some modifications to be made as needed.
More than 24,000 White Countians could catch the flu during a pandemic, the studies show, and many of them could die. An expected quake on the New Madrid Fault could be felt by half of the population of the United States and by everyone in Arkansas.
Pandemic flu plan
*
The pandemic flu plan is a preparation for a global outbreak of a new strain of human influenza.
?Such an event is inevitable, but the timing and the severity of the pandemic cannot be predicted,? the plan states. The latest flu epidemic in the U.S. was in 1968, when an estimated 34,000 citizens died.
Residents of White County are vulnerable, with the first phase involving a large segment of the population and involving a potentially high fatality rate. No effective vaccine will likely be immediately available during the first phase. The second phase could strike up to a year later, and a limited amount of medication to treat affected populations is to be expected. Distinct ?waves? separated by weeks or months may last up to 18 months.
?If the critical infrastructure fails in the first phase of a pandemic, it will be impossible to protect the remaining population,? the plan states, and ?extensive planning has been conducted and documented concerning mass vaccination and mass dispensing of medications in the event a bioterrorism event or an influenza pandemic occurs.?
The White County Local Health Unit is the lead agency for responding to pandemic influenza, and 35 percent of the county?s population will likely catch the flu.
People who become ill may transmit the virus one or two days before the onset of symptoms, and each community will need to plan for self-sufficiency for six to eight weeks.
Triage will be designated onsite at the White County Medical Center or at the county fairgrounds.
The White County Chapter of the American Red Cross has been designated to provide necessary assistance with provisions of food, transportation and other necessities while local ambulance services will transport the seriously ill. A temporary morgue may be established and operated according to procedures established by the county coroner.
Earthquake plan
Just as medical professionals cannot predict a flu pandemic, so also scientists are not able to predict exactly when an earthquake will occur.
One fact does hold true for earthquakes, however: They are almost always accompanied by aftershocks, which can be equally as damaging as the quakes they follow. The actual movement of the ground in an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of casualties, which occur from falling objects and debris as a result of shocks. Communications, power, gas, sewer and water systems may be disrupted and dams may fail, causing massive flooding.
Searcy is about 50 river miles downstream from one of the state?s largest lakes, Greers Ferry Lake, which is created by Greers Ferry Dam on the Little Red River. The river travels through the north half of the county to the White River at Georgetown and composes part of Searcy?s north city limits.
No part of Arkansas is free from this threat, the plan states, and the New Madrid Fault Zone which includes northeastern Arkansas is the most active fault in the Central and Eastern United States.
During the earthquake of February 1812, the New Madrid Fault experienced aftershocks, at least 15 of which were felt as far away as Washington, D.C. The series of earthquakes represents the largest ever recorded in the Continental United States, making the New Madrid Fault more powerful than the San Andreas Fault in California.
According to the plan, injuries serious enough to require hospitalization are estimated to be about four times greater than fatalities. In the event rubble and debris resulting from an earthquake prevent access to the affected area for a prolonged time, helicopters may be necessary to bring rescue teams in and remove casualties from the area.
The plan details response and recovery phases, with plans for official reactions.
The committee meets at 11:30 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month in the Emergency Operations Center, 417 N. Spruce, in Searcy. The chairman of the committee is Tamara Jenkins, Coordinator for the White County Office of Emergency Management, and members are local law enforcement officers, fire department officials, business leaders and others involved in public safety.
Pandemic, disaster plans told
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 6:06 PM CDT
Local officials ready for worst scenarios
By Warren Watkins
The Daily Citizen
Officials involved with the Local Emergency Planning Committee have released final versions of both the pandemic flu plan and earthquake plan, with some modifications to be made as needed.
More than 24,000 White Countians could catch the flu during a pandemic, the studies show, and many of them could die. An expected quake on the New Madrid Fault could be felt by half of the population of the United States and by everyone in Arkansas.
Pandemic flu plan
*
The pandemic flu plan is a preparation for a global outbreak of a new strain of human influenza.
?Such an event is inevitable, but the timing and the severity of the pandemic cannot be predicted,? the plan states. The latest flu epidemic in the U.S. was in 1968, when an estimated 34,000 citizens died.
Residents of White County are vulnerable, with the first phase involving a large segment of the population and involving a potentially high fatality rate. No effective vaccine will likely be immediately available during the first phase. The second phase could strike up to a year later, and a limited amount of medication to treat affected populations is to be expected. Distinct ?waves? separated by weeks or months may last up to 18 months.
?If the critical infrastructure fails in the first phase of a pandemic, it will be impossible to protect the remaining population,? the plan states, and ?extensive planning has been conducted and documented concerning mass vaccination and mass dispensing of medications in the event a bioterrorism event or an influenza pandemic occurs.?
The White County Local Health Unit is the lead agency for responding to pandemic influenza, and 35 percent of the county?s population will likely catch the flu.
People who become ill may transmit the virus one or two days before the onset of symptoms, and each community will need to plan for self-sufficiency for six to eight weeks.
Triage will be designated onsite at the White County Medical Center or at the county fairgrounds.
The White County Chapter of the American Red Cross has been designated to provide necessary assistance with provisions of food, transportation and other necessities while local ambulance services will transport the seriously ill. A temporary morgue may be established and operated according to procedures established by the county coroner.
Earthquake plan
Just as medical professionals cannot predict a flu pandemic, so also scientists are not able to predict exactly when an earthquake will occur.
One fact does hold true for earthquakes, however: They are almost always accompanied by aftershocks, which can be equally as damaging as the quakes they follow. The actual movement of the ground in an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of casualties, which occur from falling objects and debris as a result of shocks. Communications, power, gas, sewer and water systems may be disrupted and dams may fail, causing massive flooding.
Searcy is about 50 river miles downstream from one of the state?s largest lakes, Greers Ferry Lake, which is created by Greers Ferry Dam on the Little Red River. The river travels through the north half of the county to the White River at Georgetown and composes part of Searcy?s north city limits.
No part of Arkansas is free from this threat, the plan states, and the New Madrid Fault Zone which includes northeastern Arkansas is the most active fault in the Central and Eastern United States.
During the earthquake of February 1812, the New Madrid Fault experienced aftershocks, at least 15 of which were felt as far away as Washington, D.C. The series of earthquakes represents the largest ever recorded in the Continental United States, making the New Madrid Fault more powerful than the San Andreas Fault in California.
According to the plan, injuries serious enough to require hospitalization are estimated to be about four times greater than fatalities. In the event rubble and debris resulting from an earthquake prevent access to the affected area for a prolonged time, helicopters may be necessary to bring rescue teams in and remove casualties from the area.
The plan details response and recovery phases, with plans for official reactions.
The committee meets at 11:30 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month in the Emergency Operations Center, 417 N. Spruce, in Searcy. The chairman of the committee is Tamara Jenkins, Coordinator for the White County Office of Emergency Management, and members are local law enforcement officers, fire department officials, business leaders and others involved in public safety.