Japan-US sister cities disaster preparedness and response exchange
Peace Winds America, an international disaster relief organization, along with the Cities of Seattle, San Francisco and Honolulu, is inaugurating in the sister cities, natural disaster preparedness and response exchange between Japan and the US.
The program goal is to exchange best practices, explore innovative methods, and enhance public-private collaboration in order to improve disaster preparedness and response on both sides of the Pacific. Peace Winds America will bring together municipal and state/ prefectural disaster managers and planners from the Sister Cites of Seattle – Kobe, San Francisco – Osaka, and Honolulu – Hiroshima, plus the respective prefectures/states of Hyogo – Washington, Osaka – California, and Hiroshima – Hawaii.
Topics of the exchange:
- Earthquakes: Lessons Learned, Japan & U.S.
- Cyclones/Typhoons, Tsunamis, and Floods
- Emergency Operations Centers
- Chains of Command
- Role of National Authorities & Regulating Agencies
- Disaster Assessments and Info Distribution
- New Technologies in Prediction & Preparedness
- Transition from Response to Recovery
- Role of the Military
- Working Across Jurisdictions
- Working with NGOs & Community Action Groups
- Public
- Private Collaboration
- Pandemic Disease (H1N1)
- Working with the Media Design
The Exchange begins in Seattle on September 15, 2010. Three days of information exchange, presentations, case studies, and exercises will take place at Seattle’s state-of–the-art Office of Emergency Management Operations Center—building a lasting network that results in cities better prepared for natural disaster in the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” In addition to the programmatic work, participants and guests will interact with the political, business, and cultural leaders of Seattle and Washington State.