As Hurricane Helene ravaged towns in western North Carolina, Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency Director Nick Crossley studied the disaster from hundreds of miles away. He's focused on responses — how emergency workers struggle to reach people where roads are destroyed and how cities set up water distribution sites for residents who are without water for days.
Even though Hamilton County didn’t experience the hurricane’s effects as intensely as towns further south, Crossley wants to learn how Greater Cincinnati can be best prepared for similar extreme weather, like flooding.
"We definitely look at our resources compared to what the need might be and see if we need to add any resources," Crossley said. "We look at training, we look at exercising, all those kinds of things to make sure that we learn from all these events, so that we can implement them here if we need to."
Climate change is intensifying weather events like hurricanes in nearly every part of the country, according to the research-based Fifth National Climate Assessment.
As a result, local emergency management agencies are adapting the ways they plan for disasters. In Hamilton County, that means buying more supplies for shelters, strengthening relationships with organizations that could help residents post-disaster and learning from the emergency responses in other communities.
How does Hamilton County prepare for emergencies?
Hamilton County has a 200-plus-page Emergency Operations Plan that outlines how local governments and agencies will respond to any disaster. The document is revised as needed, and completely updated every five years.
Other plans, such as Hamilton County’s detailed Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, provide guidance on responding to specific hazards, including high winds and tornadoes, hazardous materials incidents and floods.
Crossley says the Emergency Management Agency develops trainings and exercises from these plans.
“We practice if we had to open a shelter; we practice if we had to bring in water or food, where would we get that; and [we] make sure that we have those connections in place in our financial system, pre-disaster, so if we had to make a just-in-time purchase, we could do that," Crossley said.
The county also maintains a supply of cots and care kits people can use immediately after a disaster.
Hamilton County recently leased a warehouse and purchased more of these “mass care” supplies. Crossley says the county would be able to open its own shelters if other agencies like the American Red Cross got overwhelmed by the number of people needing help.
Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency practices its plans with Ohio's Emergency Management Program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It is connected with a local network of community organizations active in disasters, too.
The Emergency Management Agency used its plans recently, coordinating response to a styrene leak in Whitewater Township, and dealing with high winds and power outages resulting from Hurricane Helene.
What are the high hazard risks in Hamilton County?
The Hamilton County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan includes a list of Hazard Risk Scores, which are data-based assessments of events that could impact the region. The scores consider probability, vulnerability, impact, extent and consequence.
The five highest hazard risks are:
- High Wind and Tornado
- Hazardous Material Incident
- Severe Winter Storm
- Flash Flood
- Extreme Cold Incident
How to sign up for emergency alerts
People who work and live in Hamilton County can sign up for online emergency alerts via Alert Hamilton County.
If an emergency event happens nearby, people will receive a text, email, and potentially a phone call, depending on the severity of the situation.
“We would love to see more people register for that system because, unfortunately, with streaming services and other things, people are not necessarily hearing the emergency messaging that's going out over traditional media,” Crossley said.
When the hazardous chemical styrene started leaking from a train in Whitewater Township last week, Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency used phone alerts to help notify residents.