The lead agency in Evansville for administrating emergency management programs is the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Emergency Management Agency (EMA). The EMA is comprised of several units each responsible for a specific aspect of emergency preparedness or response. The Planning Division is tasked with developing and maintaining an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) that provides guidelines to EM personnel during a natural or technological crisis. The Planning Division has formulated the EOP with input and guidance from numerous public and private agencies including fire, police, utilities and medical organizations.
The EMA has partnered with the National Weather Service and the Tri-state Amateur Radio Service to create the SKYWARN Severe Weather Spotter Program. In situations where severe weather is possible, weather spotters are activated. These radio operators monitor weather conditions and provide warnings to nearby communities. The city of Evansville may then activate some or all of its 22 warning sirens to alert residents to approaching storms.
Training and Requirements for Emergency Management Professionals in Evansville
Professionals seeking emergency management jobs in Evansville, Indiana may find them with a number of private, public or non-profit organizations. Applicants with experience in public administration, emergency medicine, criminal justice, emergency planning, or business continuity planning may find employment opportunities if they possess qualifications similar to these:
- A bachelor’s or master’s degree with substantial coursework in
- Terrorism studies
- Emergency management
- Public policy
- Law enforcement
- Business administration
- Three or more years of experience in homeland security or disaster response
- Familiarity with the National Incident Management System or National Response Framework
- Experience planning or managing EM programs or training exercises
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) provides a wide selection of training programs. The IDHS offers certification programs through its Fire Course & Testing Module as well as its Indiana First Responder Learning Management System.
The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) is the federal agency responsible for designing and developing courses for emergency management personnel. EMI has created and distributed these training modules to the IDHS and other state agencies for EM personnel to advance their knowledge of the latest techniques, programs and equipment used in disaster preparedness and response.
Natural Disasters that Have Occurred in Evansville
In 2005, a category F3 tornado struck 1.9 miles from the center of Evansville. The storm caused the deaths of 24 people and injuries to more than 230 others. The resulting damage to the city was estimated at $80 million.
In 1955, a category F3 tornado touched down a mile from the city center and injured nine people. The twister reportedly had winds as high as 206 mph and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damage.
Over the course of ten hours, almost five inches of rain fell on Evansville in June of 2013. The resulting flooding caused more than 18 abandoned cars and 12 water rescues. Several roads were washed out due to the vast pools of standing water.