State and local emergency personnel participated in a severe storm emergency exercise Monday
The scenario: An EF-3 tornado has devastated the city of Devils Lake. And the agencies worked on their response to that. The lesson: Be prepared.
"One of the critical elements is the coordination ahead of time," said National Guard Colonel Warren Pauling, the operations officer for the joint exercise. "Coordination is important for the clarity for all organizations to work together and refine the processes, so in the event of an actual disaster, we are ready to help, with very few issues."
Master Sergeant Andy Buntrock worked in the message center. His job was to make sure messages got to the right places. Buntrock says there’s been a concerted effort to give the agencies the ability to talk to each other.
"I've been here since 2008," said Buntrock. "We've come leap years as far as being able to operate smoothly and work things through."
Besides the Guard and the state Department of Emergency Services, the state Departments of Health and Homeland Security, as well as Ramsey County Emergency Services participated.