Reno Area Disaster Preparedness Will Be Tested

 

A major emergency preparedness exercise involving dozens of local and state agencies, including National Guard troops from five western states and Guam, will be staged in Northern Nevada June 12-19, Gov. Jim Gibbons announced today.

 

The exercise, Vigilant Guard ’08, will simulate disaster response to a powerful earthquake striking the Reno-Carson City area and theoretically causing casualties and widespread destruction and activating emergency response in six counties. State and local emergency management officials will direct the exercise and receive support from the Nevada National Guard and other guard units.

 

“Vigilant Guard will enable emergency responders and National Guard troops who would respond to an actual earthquake disaster, or any emergency, to sharpen their skills in a safe simulated situation,” Gibbons said. “We cannot know when a major earthquake will strike, but we must be ready to deal swiftly with catastrophic impacts on life, property, business and infrastructure and restore public safety and well-being as soon as possible.”

“This exercise has been in the planning stages for more than two years and is not a direct response to the recent series of temblors in the Mogul area west of Reno,” the Governor said. “However, this series of earthquakes highlights the need to conduct these drills to ensure all emergency responders are prepared in case a disaster does occur.”

 

The weeklong Nevada exercise will demonstrate and evaluate various emergency response operations that could be expected to occur in Washoe, Carson City, Douglas, Storey, Lyon and Churchill counties.

 

“In a real earthquake emergency, hundreds or thousands of people could be forced to leave their homes and experience disruptions of roads, utilities, food supplies, medical services and transportation,” Frank Siracusa, Chief of the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, said. “Our practice scenarios will not disrupt the public. No actual damage to roads or other public services or infrastructure will occur, but people might see an unusually large military presence such as aircraft and ground troop movements as part of the exercise.”

 

Vigilant Guard was established as an annual exercise for National Guard and local and state government emergency responders to coordinate and practice response techniques. This year’s exercise will involve troops from Nevada, California, Arizona, Hawaii, Utah and the U.S. Territory of Guam. A number of other states already have staged Vigilant Guard exercises.

 

"The Nevada National Guard is proud to partner with local first responders in times of crisis," Maj. Gen. Cindy Kirkland, adjutant general for the Nevada National Guard, said. "We're the state's first military responders and this exercise will ensure we're better prepared for whatever the future holds."

 

The exercise is in the final planning stages and further details will be announced later.