DISASTER PREPAREDNESS


might be protection of the electrical for specialty cooling and freezing assets for genetic material. In a treatment clinic, it might be refrigerators for maintaining drugs at the correct temperature, and preventing mold and mildew in feed. Capabilities may change based on training and resources in your area, but are there specific vulnerabilities in your facility that are necessary to preserve the welfare and quality of life for animals or fulfill important disaster recovery functions? What best practices for your business do you use


Fig. 9. FEMA uses this diagram to communicate the concept that RISK is the relationship between hazards, and assets in the community.12


every day that increase your flexibility and ability to respond in disaster situations? Good examples of DAILY MANAGEMENT ROUTINES that increase business efficiency and safety, but double as prepa- ration for disaster and emergency response are be- low:


contacting your county/city Emergency Manager or Emergency Operations Center. In some areas, this is available online (Fig. 9). Making a plan once and putting it into a drawer is


not sufficient, it should be part of a regular planning process that dynamically changes based on new in- formation, new personnel, review of what works and what doesn’t, and lastly, perform a practice to test the plan. The plan should be reviewed and updated regularly as animal facilities or services change, urbanization occurs, or as other factors affecting the facility may change. As an example, a rural clinic in Kansas will have very different expectations for assistance from their 911 responders than one in the urban and suburban environment of Wellington, Florida during a local emergency. The planning PROCESS is as important, perhaps


more important, than the plan itself, involving all potentially affected people as a team in the plan (your family, staff/employees, clients, etc.) This en- sures commitment by everyone to the effort. Ap- propriate practice/testing of the plan, improvements to the plan and performing mitigation activities build confidence in your staff and clients, and en- courages clients and others to follow suit—taking ownership and responsibility for their own family, animals, and property. Ultimately, the goal is for resilient communities that are self reliant and can plan and respond appropriately on their own. Con- tinuity of business after disasters is a reliable pre- dictor of community resilience. Community farms and other agricultural businesses such as veterinary clinics and equine facilities will contribute to a more rapid recovery and restoration to normal operations by having an effective disaster response plan. You can gain a solid understanding of emergency and disaster planning for businesses and animal situa- tions; there are plenty of books, references, and on- line resources available.13–15 Risk and vulnerability assessments allow evalua-


tion of critical infrastructure for the facility—most commonly water, natural gas, forage provisioning, electrical service, and transportation accessibility to the outside world. In a reproduction facility, it


82 2018  Vol. 64  AAEP PROCEEDINGS


● Basic fire safety ideas for human facilities should be applied to large-animal facilities. For example, ensure clear escape routes (you won’t find aisles in a human hospital littered with obstacles and “stuff”). Don’t allow ship- ments of hay, farm equipment, nonworking doors, or bedding piles, to block these paths. Escape routes should be available to leave the facility every 50 feet according to NFPA 150 Standards on Life and Fire Safety for Animal Housing and there should be a door to every stall on the outside wall as well as the inside aisle.16


● Provision of veterinary health maintenance (vaccination, deworming, current Coggins test) is important for all animals in your care or management, and reduces stress in animals comingled with others at treatment clinics and public events, as well as in the event of emer- gency evacuation or sheltering. Every hurri- cane watch causes a rush for Coggins testing in Southeast states as owners try to get their vaccinations, health certificates, and Coggins tests updated; even though it is documented that vaccine efficacy takes weeks to build up immunity.


● Detailed biosecurity procedures for handling sick horses, healthy horses, and preventing transmission of disease in equine hospitals.


● Permanent identification of all animals is a crucial mitigation step to implement via freeze branding, tattoo, or microchipping. Tempo- rary and visible methods can then be added prior to the disaster or during response as nec- essary. Numerous disasters have shown that animals with permanent ID have the best chance of being returned to their owners, and preventing theft. Disasters are one of the few times that clinic owners and clients can easily lose track of their horses (other reasons in- clude escape and theft). Animals reunited with owners are usually from homes with re- sponsible owners that initiate efforts to find


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