Operation High Waters
by Stormy on June 09, 2007
Get the arc ready! The flood is coming!
No, it's not a real flood, but it is one that gets us ready for a real emergency.
I was invited to participate in Operation High Waters, a flash flood simulation in Jefferson County, west of Denver, Colorado. Operation High waters was a civil exercise to test emergency preparedness of the CERT and ARES units in the Denver metropolitan area. The mountains west of the city can easily experience severe storms, the water from which would be funneled down narrow canyons and create hazardous situations. This has been seen in the Denver area many times over the last century, including at the Cherry Creek floods of 1912 and 1933, the South Platte flood in 1965, the Big Thompson flood of 1976 and Spring Creek in 1997.
The responders included trained CERT and ARES volunteers from all over the region and they did a spectacular job assessing the scene, rescuing people and minimizing further damage from the rising waters.
The event was covered by the media, including Denver's KCNC Channel 4 and KUSA Channel 9. Professional responders supervising the event indicated that the exercise was a great success!
Are you a member of CERT or ARES? Perhaps you should look into the organizations in your area. When disaster comes, you may be the one to make a difference!
| |
