Cambridge Emergency Management Department

About the Department:

The Cambridge Emergency Management Department is a small department consisting of the Director, David O'Connor and the Administrative Assistant, Stacia Joyce. We are located on the second floor of 100 Smith Place. Our mission is to ensure that the City of Cambridge and it's citizens become and remain prepared for natural and man made disasters.

Earthquake in Haiti
A major earthquake has caused many deaths and very serious damage in Haiti, especially in the area of Port au Prince.  We know many people in Cambridge have family in Haiti and Cambridge residents travel to Haiti.  For assistance in locating family and loved ones:

The US State Dept. will attempt to locate missing American Citizens overseas.  They cannot locate foreign nationals overseas.  They can be reached by telephone at 1-888-407-4747 from the United States.

The American Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross have established a website to seek information concerning persons in Haiti

International Committee of the Red Cross  -  To locate family members click here  (in English)

Comite International de La Croix-Rouge - Pour rechercher des membres de votre famille clickez ici   (en Francais)

Please remember, when calling any of these agencies for help in locating family or loved ones to have all information that could possibly be needed available with you.  This could include address in the US and Haiti, itinerary, passport information, date of birth, phone contacts overseas, names of relatives they might visit, etc. If you check the websites above you can learn what information you should have before calling.

If you wish to donate to organizations bringing help to Haiti click to the site of the American Red Cross 

The Current Terrorism Threat Level is  

The acts of terrorism against the United States have caused many people to become quite alarmed.  There is no particular reason to believe that Cambridge would be a particularly attractive target to terrorists.  Although there is no immediate cause to be alarmed it would be a good time review your family's emergency plans.  If you would like to learn more about preparedness for acts of Terrorism, click here  In addition to the information contained on that page you should also look at the links below for hurricanes and winter storms.  The basic emergency preparation  steps spelled out there will serve you and your family well in all emergencies.  You might also want to look at the website of the  Department of Homeland Security (click here)  

Preparing For A Disaster

Disasters take many forms. They're caused by blizzards, hurricanes, gale force winds, sudden floods, releases of deadly chemicals, fire, ice, even upheavals of the earth itself. Some types of disasters such as severe winter storms or hurricanes have become somewhat familiar to Cantabrigians. Such familiarity should not result in becoming blasé about the risks Other types of disasters, such as tsunamis or landslides are not plausible risks here but might be of interest to our peripatetic residents who may find themselves in areas where such disasters occur. When disaster strikes, the best protection is being prepared and knowing what to do.

A first step in preparedness is making sure you have advance notice on any impending disasters. For some disasters, such as earthquakes, this is currently impossible. For other disasters such as severe winter storms or hurricanes advance warning information is readily available from broadcast news, the Weather Channel (Ch. 47 on our CATV system) and the Internet. Please check out the Weather Links and save them in your hotlist.    Also, as we face winter weather remember that blackouts are more likely during periods of severe weather. Why not check out the New England Power Pool website for forecasts of electrical problems.

ICE your cell phone
ICE is a new program to make sure emergency medical personnel can contact your family In Case of Emergency if you are injured or ill.  It is simple and free.  For information on the ICE program click here  The ICE program, started about a year ago in Cambridge, England, is already quite successful in the UK.

CEAS
Cambridge has initiated a "Corporate Emergency Access System" (CEAS) to assist business in preserving their business during an emergency and to speed the recovery process.  For additional information on CEAS click here.

LEPC
Since 1987 Cambridge has had a Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC for short) which focuses on the issue of chemical accidents and develops plans for the response to chemical accidents.  For more information, click here for the LEPC web page

To find out more about disasters and steps you can take to prepare, select a disaster or other topic below for further information. For additional advice, please contact the Cambridge Emergency Management Department (617-349-4842) if you are in Cambridge or your local emergency management department.

It is important to know how to "Shelter-in-Place".  During incidents involving the accidental or deliberate release of toxic chemicals or other dangerous materials you may be advised to Shelter in Place.  Sheltering in Place is not difficult and could be the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones. Click here for Shelter in Place information.

Kids!! Check this out!

If you are a parent who wants to help your children prepare for emergencies or if you are a kid who wants to learn more about disasters to help your family prepare you might want to look at the Federal Emergency Management Agency Kids Page or at the Department of Homeland Security "Ready Kids" page. 

Preparing for Common Disasters

Natural Disasters

Technological Disasters

Are you a resident with a Disability?
If you are, you can get excellent information and advice on emergency preparedness for persons with disabilities by going to the website of the National Organization on Disability. Also, you may call the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities at 617-349-4692 (TTY: 617-492-0235)

Water Purification Tips

The following link to the Clorox Company,  a commercial website, is provided because it provides excellent advice as to the best method to purify water if the city water supply should be damaged or if an emergency should leave you stranded in a area without public water supplies.  The fact that this link is provided does not constitute an endorsement of a commercial product.  You should be aware, however, that various commercial chlorine bleaches vary in strength and the method described as safe for Clorox might not be safe using another brand of bleach.  Also be sure to use a plain bleach, not a scented product.  To exit this site and go to the Clorox Company site click here

Additional Information

We have a page called Useful Publications and Interesting Links that contains additional sources of information.  Click Here for Useful Publications  . This page includes guidance for business, industry and schools on emergency planning.

If you are a Massachusetts resident unsure as to how to contact your local Emergency Management or Civil Defense Department please call the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) at 1-508-820-2000. You can also check out the MEMA Website You might also want to call your local chapter of the American Red Cross (in the Greater Boston Area the number is 1-800-564-1234  for additional disaster preparedness information.

Recovering From a Disaster

After a disaster has occurred, the goal of all is to return to normal as soon as possible. Families want to return home and resume their lives. It is also important for businesses to return to normal operations, thereby providing employment to citizens of the area and helping our local economy. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides and coordinates a number of programs to assist individuals, families and businesses as they work to restore the status quo ante. Please click on the links listed below for further information:

Helping others

One frequently asked question is: "Is there some way I can volunteer to assist others during disasters".  In Cambridge we have three  groups with a long tradition of assisting others.  These groups are the Cambridge Auxiliary Police Department, the Cambridge Auxiliary Fire Department and a group of Amateur Radio Operators who assist us with communications if normal communication channels are unusable and who assist us with drills and exercises.   .  If you want more information on joining these groups, please call the Emergency Management Department at 617-349-4842.  Also, check the Cambridge Auxiliary Fire website

One notable event involving the Amateur Radio operators was “Y2K Night” when the Amateur Radio operators were able to communicate directly with operators in Europe and advise us that there were very few Y2K problems in Europe.  The Amateur Radio Operators have equipment available on 2m, 6m and HF bands.  They regularly participate in drills with the Massachusetts RACES group which is a partnership between the Amateur operators and MEMA.

Other Links

You may be interested in looking at the following links to other organizations in Cambridge, England.  Cambridge, England is similar in size to Cambridge, Massachusetts and like Cambridge, Massachusetts is a city with educational institutions, high tech industry and a diverse population.  Cambridgeshire, England has a department called the Civil Preparedness office that performs a similar function to our Emergency Management Department.

 

 

Page updated January 26th, 2010
This page prepared by David O'Connor.