Wildfires. Floods. Earthquakes. These are the more well-known disasters with which the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services are intimately familiar. However, did you know we have expertise in mitigating and preparing for some very specialized disasters, incidents such as tsunami and volcanic, biological, and radiological?
Cal OES just wrapped a week-long training and exercise symposium with the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program in San Diego. Cal OES and several other civil authorities participated in the emergency response symposium as a way to ensure and test the Navy’s interoperability with its emergency response partners.
Bill Potter, Cal OES Radiological Preparedness Unit, attended the symposium and said, “their [the Navy’s] continuing efforts have helped the state and local jurisdictions around their Naval Facilities to better prepare for all-hazards.”
The symposium featured demonstrations, presentations, dockside tours and a joint-exercise involving the Navy’s nuclear powered warships; it was all capped with an all-day cruise aboard a nuclear powered submarine and aircraft carrier.
While this was the first time the Navy has taken this training from a simple table-top exercise to a week-long event, it’s also been conducting this type of training for years, on at least a biannual basis.
“Their continuous cycle of Planning, Training, Exercising, and Evaluating provide the perfect tempo to ensure a more resilient and safe California” said Potter.
There will be more on this symposium in the coming days so be sure to stay connected with Cal OES.
Links
Cal OES Nuclear Power Plant Program
National Nuclear Security Administration / Federal Radiological Monitoring Assessment Center
National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center