Linn County, Iowa Incorporates Individuals With Special Needs Into Emergency Evacuation Plans

Release Date: January 15, 2003 Release Number: HQ-03-012

Washington, D.C. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) commends Linn County, Iowa's Smart Practice efforts in developing evacuation plans that took into consideration residents with special needs to ensure their delivery to safety during all kinds of emergencies and disasters. FEMA recently launched an initiative to gather and share the smart practices of state and local emergency managers and responders on a weekly basis. The shared information will benefit the national emergency response community by improving state and local preparation and response plans for emergencies and disasters of all kinds. This week's submission highlights Linn County, Iowa.

"FEMA's effort to prepare the nation includes highlighting the smart practice of state and local emergency managers and first responders to strengthen their preparedness and response capabilities," FEMA Director Joe M. Allbaugh said. "By collecting and sharing the best ideas from the state and local level, FEMA can help communities improve their emergency preparedness and response-related activities for effective programs."

State and local smart practices could involve: effective mutual aid practices, response operations, training, assessment tools, planning models, exercises, standards and competencies, incident management and much more. Selected smart practices will be e-mailed to state and local customers in a weekly Spotlight on Smart Practices bulletin. Visit www.fema.gov/onp to read about Linn County, Iowa and their efforts to seek out residents who may need extra assistance in an emergency situation and create a database to locate these residents should a disaster occur, as well as view other smart practices.

To submit a smart practice idea to share with other emergency managers and responders or to subscribe to the weekly Spotlight on Smart Practices, e-mail a request to SmartPractices@fema.gov.