KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The City of Kodiak, along with other Kodiak Area Emergency Service organizations will be participating in a statewide emergency exercise starting this afternoon. The Alaska Shield exercise will test the state and local governments’ ability to respond to an extreme cold weather emergency.
The city will operate a mock emergency shelter in Kodiak Middle School starting at 5 p.m. and lasting until 8 Saturday morning. During that period residents may see increased emergency responder activity.
In addition to the mass sheltering, Alaska Shield will also include a surge of "patients" for medical responders to deal with, the restoration of communications and establishing an emergency operations center.
Also participating will be the State of Alaska, other Alaska communities, federal agencies, the military and volunteer organizations statewide. The exercise began Monday elsewhere in the state.
John Madden, director of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for the state, says exercises like Alaska Shield will allow the participants to evaluate "what works, what needs to be improved, and … discover innovative new ways to respond to emergencies."
Once again, a possible increase in activity by local emergency responders starting at 4 this afternoon is part of this statewide exercise. You can find more information online at Ready.Alaska.gov.
