The CAPCOG Homeland Security Division and the Texas Division of Emergency Management trained emergency managers and public safety personnel in mid-June to better prepare for transporting, receiving, and caring for disaster evacuees. The Emergency Tracking Network (ETN) training course demonstrated how WebEOC — an online disaster communication, planning and response platform — can be used to follow individuals through the evacuation process; share information among responding jurisdictions, local and state; and plan accordingly.
The ten-county CAPCOG region has hosted thousands of Texas coastal residents in community centers, schools and shelters during previous hurricane seasons. Counties and municipalities in the region also are managing more evacuee sites for local residents as dangerous wildfires and floods become more prevalent. The ETN training supports jurisdictions that operate an evacuee center or need to evacuate residents. ETN tracks the evacuees, their family groups, pets and medical equipment, during transit, when they reside at an evacuation center, and when they return home. Using a handheld scanner, the system places information directly into WebEOC, which provides a secure means of hosting the data so it could be used to plan for facility resources, allow for proper facility capacity, request additional assistance from neighboring communities, and ensure families can stay together or be reunited.
CAPCOG will continue offering ETN participation training and will conduct exercises to strengthen the region’s response to local, regional and state-wide disasters.
