Published: June 06, 2007 07:13 am      

Preparation key in handling emergencies

With threats ranging from floods to tornadoes over the past month, Monday’s monthly Chamber of Commerce luncheon focused on preparing for emergencies.

Woodward City/County Emergency Management Director Matt Lehenbauer discussed the importance of emergency preparedness and how businesses can prepare for disasters.

Lehenbauer explained the history of emergency management in Woodward, noting it began as the Woodward Civil Defense Agency in the 1950s during the Cold War and thus focused on preparations for a nuclear attack.

Concerns have changed over the years, Lehenbauer said. Although terrorism is still an issue, his department is primarily concerned with severe weather.

This is because Woodward has a special role when it comes to severe weather in Oklahoma. Woodward, he said, still holds the record for the deadliest tornado in Oklahoma’s history.

Lehenbauer has a number of duties as emergency management director, including consultations with businesses, responding to severe weather and helping businesses and individuals in obtaining assistance after a disaster.

But the main part of his job, Lehenbauer said, is preparation.

The motto for his department is “To prepare, promote and preserve quality of life.”

His preparation responsibilities include helping the city develop and maintain emergency operation procedures.

Another big part of preparation is equipment acquisition and Lehenbauer said the city recently received thousands of dollars worth of important communication equipment.

He also does a lot of training and public education presentations.

In preparing for emergencies, especially severe weather, Lehenbauer said it is important to always plan for the worst case scenario.

“If prepared for the worst, then you can handle about everything else,” he said.

And as businesses make emergency plans, Lehenbauer said one of the major concerns should be how to get the business back up and running as soon as possible.

He suggested that business owners and managers take simple steps such as storing data off-site so they would still be able to access it if something happened. Keeping good records is also important in order to apply for assistance.

Lehenbauer said it is important to develop a disaster plan.

Lehenbauer also focused on what businesses should do if the tornado sirens go off as they did in early May.

He said they should first have a way to notify customers of the dangers and options for taking shelter. Businesses should never force customers in or out, but should encourage them to stay in the store until the threat has passed.

When a storm hits, Lehenbauer said the risk of fatality goes up by 10 percent once a person goes outside.

Therefore businesses should provide a safe place for their customers to take shelter. The safest places are interior rooms as far away from windows as possible, such as a bathroom.

Lehenbauer said business officials could request a consultation from his department in order to identify the safest area inside their business.

He also said they could get information at the websites for the Department of Homeland Security (www.ready.gov), the Oklahoma Emergency Management Agency (www.oema.us), and the Woodward City/County Emergency Management department (www.woodwardem.org).

Also Monday, Chamber President C. J. Montgomery gave a brief report on the centennial and 101 Classic Bowl events.

He said over 500 students participated in this year’s Classic Bowl. He also noted attendance was up 30 percent at Saturday night’s football game.

He said attendance also seemed to be up at the parade Saturday afternoon, which was marked by the “marvelous looking” Woodward centennial float.

Montgomery also reminded chamber members of the chamber golf tournament on Friday.

weekend, and the Mayor’s Conference coming up on June 21-23.