US: EOC manager wants Independence to be 'most disaster resilient' city

At the occasion of the opening of a new emergency operations centre, Mark Widner, the city's emergency preparedness manager, expressed his wish "to make Independence the most disaster-resilient community in the country." He called for individual responsibility of citizens to get themselves and their families ready to ride out whatever happens, such as tornado, bad chemical spill, bioterrorism attack, or devastating earthquake, and would like to see everyone go through the Community Emergency Response Team program.

The Examiner also highlights that the city of Independence and Jackson County work closely together on emergency management issues and have won praise from state and federal officials for efforts such as working with faith-based organizations to train people and put equipment and supplies in place to deal with large-scale emergencies.