Mississippi Valley Division conducts 2015 All Hazards Exercise

Published June 17, 2015

VICKSBURG, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley Division will conduct an interagency All Hazards Exercise to practice its response and recovery activities if a disaster strikes the Mississippi Valley Division’s Area of Operations. The All Hazards Exercise will include planning discussions for hurricanes, floods, severe weather and earthquakes that could strike the region.  

The exercise will be conducted June 17 from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at the Vicksburg District headquarters building, 4155 East Clay Street, Vicksburg, Miss. The media is invited to attend and interview key Corps leaders.

The exercise will also help the Corps strengthen existing relationships with key stakeholders and partners to ensure synchronization of its planning efforts, while also improving coordination, communication and collaboration with federal, state and local government agencies.

“This exercise will create bonds and relationships before an event happen,” said Jared Gartman, chief of the division’s Readiness and Contingency Operations Branch. “We will also learn from each other at multiple levels, while synchronizing our regional response and recovery efforts.”

Participants in the exercise include FEMA Region IV (Mississippi), FEMA Region VI (Louisiana), U.S. Coast Guard, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Louisiana and Mississippi Army National Guard dual status commanders, members from the U.S. Army Reserve 412th and 416th Theater Engineer Commands, Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East and West.

Because of the threat to the United States’ coastal states, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepares annually for potential hurricanes by conducting exercises with its federal, state and local partners. Four of the eight USACE divisions are along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. Each division provides planning and coordination with those states, as well as with the Federal Emergency Management Agency regions within their area of responsibility.


Contact
Bob Anderson
601-634-5760
robert.t.anderson@usace.army.mil

Release no. 15-007