University of Wisconsin - Extension

Recent heavy rains in central Wisconsin resulted in the declaration of a seven county federal disaster area. Some communities received as much as 14 inches of rain in one week, closing roads and damaging millions of dollars in crops. Meanwhile, in northwestern Wisconsin, residents of Siren were remembering last June when a devastating tornado leveled the town, killing three people. University of Wisconsin-Extension plays an important role in helping Wisconsin communities deal with such devastating events.

UW-Extension has a history of successfully coordinating resources for response to a disaster. Following the Siren tornado, the Burnett County UW-Extension office was mobilized to be in charge of communications-answering phones, giving directions and generating press releases. Since then local Extension educators have continued to help the community recover.

"This is a natural role for the organization," said Dave Hinds, local government specialist for UW-Extension. "People know Extension is connected to a lot of resources. And Extension is there."

UW-Extension is a member of the Extension Disaster Education Network, or EDEN, a collaborative, multi-state effort by Extension Services across the country to improve the delivery of services to citizens affected by disasters.

"The network has come in handy quite a few times in Wisconsin," Hinds said. "The EDEN network unites and organizes for emergency management among Extension members. When one state in the network needs an expert in a particular area, EDEN makes that person available."

A list serv is used for immediate needs, allowing members to quickly track down specialists and offer aid. The EDEN web site, at http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/eden/ , features a collection of materials on emergency management as well as links to documents from each university extension service. These documents are available for immediate use; what Hinds calls "tear and run."

When flooding and tornadoes occurred last June, 24 Wisconsin counties were included in a single federal disaster declaration. UW-Extension agents produced fact sheets detailing the kinds of things that residents needed to be aware of, such as filing insurance claims, preventing dangerous mold and drying out carpeting.

"There are four phases of emergency management," Hinds said. "And Extension is uniquely suited to play a role in each phase."

First is the Preparation Phase. UW-Extension can work with local emergency government to educate communities on disaster preparation, and is working nationwide with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be more involved in local emergency planning.

In the Mitigation Phase, efforts focus on getting and keeping things out of harm's way-acting to lessen or remove the danger from disasters such as wildfire. Wisconsin recently adopted its first hazard mitigation plan. UW-Extension works to integrate mitigation ideas and concepts into state and local programs such as Smart Growth and housing.

The Response Phase is critical in any disaster, as it involves actions by first responders such as fire, police and emergency government. UW-Extension has been less active in this phase, mainly staying out of the way of the first responders, observing and planning for the recovery phase. That role is changing though, because of the events of September 11. Some EDEN members have received national funding to begin training first responders. In Wisconsin technical schools have traditionally handled this training.

"This is a particularly important role for UW-Extension's agricultural personnel," Hinds said. "They are key to ensuring the safety of the food supply, including livestock, crops and stored grains, and protecting it from radiological and biological threats and disease. Last year's efforts to prepare for the possibility of Foot and Mouth Disease in Wisconsin showed the importance of this role."

In the Recovery Phase, UW-Extension plays its most important role.

"Extension is especially equipped for this phase because of its long-term involvement in communities," Hinds said. "Emergency Government and FEMA are only there for a very short time, but Extension is there for the long haul. We are available to work over time with businesses and communities and help families in decision-making."

UW-Extension is gearing up to partner with state emergency management and the Red Cross in emergencies. In addition to its other roles UW-Extension will coordinate education on agricultural preparedness and rural disaster recovery programs, an area identified by FEMA as a gap in disaster planning.

"A lot of county educators tell me, 'disasters won't happen here,'" Hinds said. "I agree with them, the odds are with you, but every year Wisconsin experiences disasters and they are happening somewhere in the state. If you make an assessment of what we are susceptible to, it would have to include fire, ice storms, tornado, flash flooding, major river flooding, and man-made disasters such as train derailment."

"In fact, UW-Extension played a role in the response to the 1996 Weyauwega train derailment and chemical spill. The local county Extension Office worked closely with emergency government during the crisis. Prior to this disaster people were advised to leave pets behind in the evacuation, but residents were putting themselves at risk to return for the animals. A veterinarian brought in from another state via the EDEN network helped advise on caring for the animals in the disaster area and included the event in his research."

The Weyauwega experience played a part in getting the policy changed and residents are now advised to bring pets with them in an evacuation.

For more information, visit the EDEN web site at http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/eden/ or the UW-Extension Local Government Center's Disaster Management and Recovery Web site at

http://www.uwex.edu/lgc/disaster/disaster.htm .