Disaster Drill: Avon Officials Rehash October Snowstorm, Irene Experiences and Prepare for Future Storms

A powerful Category 3 hurricane is heading for Avon with the potential for causing significant flooding, damage to trees and power lines, and is expected to leave thousands without power.

This was the scenario given to more than 160 Connecticut towns, including Avon, participating in a statewide disaster relief exercise. The two-day hurricane disaster drill took place on Monday and Tuesday and was conducted by the Department of Emergency Management & Homeland Security.

Connecticut towns and cities were encouraged to participate, according to Avon Town Manager Brandon Robertson, particularly in the wake of the freak last year that led to as much as a week and a half of power outages in Avon and across the state. As one of the hardest-hit towns, Avon is faced with about and, with all the paperwork filed for up to 75 percent reimbursement, all the town can do is wait.

"It was a very good excercise, very productive." Robertson said.

Avon's emergency operations center was activated at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the and all the major players were there. That included police, firefighters, Emergency Management Director James DiPace, school administrators, Robertson, town officials, public works and social service staff and the .

“We had very recent real life experience to draw on as we talked through this," Robertson said.

They spent several hours the past couple days going over the roles everyone plays during natural disasters and pinpointing areas for improvement after the pre-Halloween storm, Robertson said.

For instance, public officials ran through how to assist "shut-ins" trapped in their neighborhoods or people with "specific medical needs like oxygen," Robertson said.

Communications was major challenge during the October storm as cell phone towers were inactive and 911 calls were rerouted to Simsbury when the phone lines died at the police department and . Residents simultaneaously lost access to landlines and cell phones and the internet. Emergency releases posted on the town website weren't necessarily seen.

But many were able to access the internet through smart phones or iPads and sought internet connections at local businesses. Social media became a quick way to get the word out.

Avon Patch, at the town's request, helped set up a town of Avon Twitter account (@TownofAvonCT) to tweet the information in 140-character briefs. Avon Patch spent the Saturday after the storm training select town employees on Twitter and tweeting updates from the town to build a following quickly. Robertson said it was effective as people looked for information in different formats.

The town also sent out emergency voice messages through its Everbridge phone alert system. After getting feedback that the information was useful but that the messages were too long, town officials are working on ways to deliver more concise notifications.

But how can the town reach people if technology weren't an option?

"If you can’t telephone, email, and people can’t get to [information] on the web, you have to go paper,” Robertson said, noting the emergency operations crew discussed making signs and flyers and talking to people convening at hotspots like Big Y when it remained open after the storm and handed out free coffee.

Never in history Avon had never opened its emergency shelter for more than a week until the October snowstrom, Robertson said. Avon High School served as a shelter for about 11 days. One hypothetical challenge town officials discussed was what to do if a disaster like Irene happened again in the summer and the cafeterias weren't stocked with food. School officials would need to contact the supplier for a special delivery if a shelter was needed, Robertson said.

"This is where having advanced notice is important," Robertson said.

"Well-meaning restaurants" would come in wanting to donate food last fall, but the town plans on consulting with the region's health district about issues that could arise from accepting unauthorized food from outside sources.

In addition to basics like having enough blankets for guests, Robertson said that another consideration is a place for pets. Dogs, cats and other animals were not allowed in the shelter in the October storm aftermath because of concerns like allergies. However, town officials are considering making another part of the building available for pets in the future.

"People are attached to their animals and it's hard to have the facilities to deal with them," Robertson said.

The state also sent intermittent test emergency faxes called "injects" with information from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy like road closures to practice how that affects "readiness and response." Avon and other town leaders also participated in conference calls with state emergency management and governor's office officials.

"It's nice when you’re talking about hurricanes and all this destruction to walk outside and see a blue sky," Robertson said after the drill Tuesday.