LongTerm ShelterinPlace

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Long-Term Shelter-in-Place
Herve Riou, SBCI H.Riou_at_montaguetm.com
www.montaguetm.com Tel [phone]
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(No Transcript)
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• Katrina Storm Surge In Bay St Louis.

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Where Do You Start?

• Does the company want to take the RISK to shelter
  employees in a designated facility ?
• Does the company fully understand the
  implications of these RISKS?
• Does the company need to take these RISKS in
  order to stay in operation?
• If we assume the answer is YES to ALL of the
  above..

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Questions...

• WHO will be in charge
• Before operation for planning and organizing the
  shelter.
• During operation for managing the shelter.
• Who is paying for the shelter operation and how
  will shelter staff access these funds?

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The Three KEY Questions Are...

• WHO?
• Who will we accept in the shelter?
• HOW LONG?
• For how long are we planning to have the shelter
  operational?
• WHERE?
• Where will this shelter be located?

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Key Questions and Answers

• WHO? will determine how much space, of what
  kind, and what kind of setup you will need.
• HOW LONG? will facilitate the planning and
  organization you have to put in place.
• WHERE? will be determined by the previous two
  questions.

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A Simple Case

• Sheltering four staff members for up to one month
• One office floor at one site
• Easy to manage
• Low cost
• Not very difficult

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Now Add Their Families

• Need a lot more space
• Difficult to manage
• Very expensive
• Significant liability
• Not an easy task

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Where to Start Shelter Design

• Shelter design must be approved by local agencies
  for code compliance (fire, health, etc.).
• Shelter rules are already in place (this is not
  the time to improvise, but do stay flexible).
• Shelter pre-activation mode is operational.
• Consult and involve local, state, and other
  emergency management groups.

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Where to Start Obtain This Information

• What is the nature of disaster for which you are
  activating the shelter (flood, fire, hurricane,
  etc.)?
• The shelter location must be outside the danger
  zone (be sure to check with local authorities).
• What is the capacity of the shelter as well as
  its estimated population?

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Declaration of Opening

• Notify your shelter staff to open the shelter
  (this can take a day or two as per plan).
• Notify your employees that the shelter is open.
  Make sure your employees do not come to the
  shelter until contacted. You will need a good
  notification system and solid, well-rehearsed
  procedures.

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Key Shelter Functions

• Shelter Manager
• This role is critical to the operation
• Avoids tensions
• Avoids conflicts
• Resolves all situations
• Makes decisions
• Enforces the rules
• Is creative and flexible
• Stays open to suggestions from guests and staff

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Key Shelter Functions

• Logistics Team
• Makes sure the shelter infrastructure will be
  operational at all times.
• Ensures the ongoing safety of all shelter
  premises (repairs any hazardous conditions,
  such as loose electrical wiring, sanitary
  facilities operations problems, etc., etc.)
• Assures that the shelter has all necessary
  supplies at all times.

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Key Shelter Functions

• Emergency Medical Team
• Make sure
• Your medical team participates when guests
  register.
• Your medical team notes any pre-existing medical
  condition of guests.
• You have an emergency evacuation procedure in
  place, and have trained everyone in its use.
• Your medical team is on duty at all times.

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Key Shelter Functions

• Disaster Mental Health Counseling Team
• It is extremely important to
• Support a displaced and traumatized population.
• Identify and resolve conflicts.
• Listen to the population and be available.
• SUPPORT YOUR OWN STAFF.

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Key Shelter Functions

• Social Workers
• Help the guests to resolve the potential
  administrative quagmire.
• Inform guests of possible resolutions to their
  problems and ways to improve their situations.
• Listen to the population be the heart of the
  shelter management team.
• Be available at all times.

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Key Shelter Functions

• Security Team
• Make sure your security team always takes into
  account the existing stresses on the shelter
  population.
• Must be open and flexible.
• Make sure EVERYONE respects the rules of the
  shelter.
• Remains in permanent contact with local civil
  authorities.
• Responds to any emergency with tact.

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Key Shelter Functions

• Administration and Guest Registration
• You need to know who is inside your shelter at
  all times.
• Who is checking in and checking out (need
  check-in hours).
• Who is leaving for a short period of time when
  they plan to come back.
• Find out if guests need medical and disaster
  mental health assistance. Note any pre-existing
  medical conditions.
• Find out each guests story. This will allow
  you to refer them to the right agency if they
  need help. Social worker job.
• Now is a good time to explain the rules of the
  shelter (have guests read and sign a copy of the
  rules) and introduce the staff.

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Key Shelter Functions

• Food Operations
• Be prepared to feed every person in your shelter,
  including staff, for as long as the shelter is
  open.
• Make sure you have a designated area for dining.
• Make sure your dining rules are posted and
  enforced.

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Key Shelter Functions

• Media Relations Team
• Works with management to develop and disseminate
  the official corporate message.
• Does not divulge what is going on inside the
  shelter What goes on here, stays here.
• Protects the privacy of the shelter population.
• Manages all information requests from the media.

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How to Close the Shelter

• Close the shelter gradually when the population
  starts to decrease.
• Shut down some shelter services to ensure the
  population knows the shelter is a temporary
  solution.
• Train your staff to be sensitive when they speak
  to guests about closing the shelter.

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How to Close the Shelter

• Have a deadline for closing and STICK TO IT. Do
  not increase guest uncertainty about their
  already cloudy futures.
• Debrief your staff thoroughly.
• Offer Disaster Mental Health Counseling to your
  shelter staff.

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Conclusion

• Long Term Shelter-in-Place is a high-risk
  proposition for any company.
• You need to have a detailed shelter plan,
  developed with the involvement of legal staff,
  local civil authorities, company management, and
  employees.
• You need to train your shelter staff AHEAD OF
  TIME!

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In My Humble Opinion

• Like Noah's Ark
• Long-term shelter-in-place should be your
• solution of last resort.