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On Friday, March 13th, ZSR hosted a Disaster Recovery workshop sponsored by the NC Preservation Consortium. Thirteen participants from North Carolina attended representing High Point University, UNCG and Elon University, Rural Hall County Clerk, Wilkes Heritage Museum, Rural Hall Historical Museum, NC Museum of Art, Old Salem and the EPA. The workshop began with Sharon Snow welcoming the group and speaking on collections care and prioritization. Robert James, NCPC Executive Director, then covered all the primary areas of disaster recovery: planning, preparation, response, organization and the Disaster Plan.

Craig Fansler spoke next on stockpiling disaster supplies, preparedness, planning, and the importance of keeping your disaster Plan current and flexible. Numerous anecdotes from ZSR disasters were also shared with the group. I used the Field Guide to Emergency Response produced by Heritage Preservation (2006) as a guide for my discussion.

Michelle Brock, from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Emergency Management spoke on disaster Recovery for Heritage Collections. The priority in a disaster is to preserve-people first, then property. The four phases of emergency response are: planning, response, mitigation, and recovery. All disasters are local- Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Office of Emergency Management is our primary agency. Other important agencies are: FEMA and the NCEM-NC Division of Emergency Management.

Michelle discussed fire safety; gas leaks/chemical spills; natural hazards: hurricanes. tornados, ice storms, severe weather and flooding, etc. She advised getting a NOAA Weather radio which will wake you up in the middle of the night (or day) if severe weather is approaching. September is National Preparedness Month and activities are held to promote awareness from local public safety agencies: fire, law enforcement, DOT, CERT (Citizen Emergency Response Team), and the hospitals. Ready.gov– is a government site for information making an emergency plan for businesses and individuals so they are prepared for emergencies.

Make sure your Insurance coverage is adequate; and you have prepared for loss of utilities, security, a back up site and media relations. Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) work to understand chemical hazards in the community, develop emergency plans in case of an accidental release, and look for ways to prevent chemical accidents. NIMS-National Incident Management System– provides coordination during emergencies. IPER- is the Intergovernmental Preparedness for Essential Records and is run by the Council of State Archivists. IPER is trying to develop and deliver Web- and CD-based training for state and local governments nationwide.

Robert discussed the Heritage Preservation Disaster Wheel and it’s uses. This device helps you go through the steps of disaster response as well as listing how to preserve each kind of material. The final part of the day was dividing into groups who were provided with a disaster scenario and asking the group to make decisions about priorities and solutions.