Whatever You Do, Don't Panic

Whatever You Do, Don't Panic

Simulation 12 min

Get ready, the hurricane's ETA is 72 hours!

Category 3 Hurricane Hazel formed in the mid-Atlantic and is projected to make landfall along the New Jersey shore. Located approximately 500 nautical miles southeast of Cuba, sustained winds are 105 MPH and intensification is expected.

Your mission is to communicate vital information to external and internal audiences during this crisis. Resources and other information regarding the mission will be provided to help you along the way.

Your Mission

Category 3 Hurricane Hazel formed in the mid-Atlantic and is projected to make landfall along the shore near Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, New Jersey.
From your Base Commander: We need to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Hazel before it makes landfall.
This storm is projected to develop into a major weather event for the area.
Safety is the primary concern.
Your priority is to save lives, protect property, stabilize the incident and provide for basic human needs.
Timely and accurate information is critical to saving lives and easing panic.
As members of the armed forces, we employ the HURCON alert scale, which indicates the state of emergency or preparedness for an approaching hurricane.
We are currently in HURCON 4 as the storm is roughly 72 hours from landfall.
The emergency operations center is set up, and all EOC members have been recalled.
From your base commander: We need people to fulfill three primary roles: mission partner support, media operations and crisis action team leadership.
Your mission is to identify a role and carry out your duties to communicate the commander’s directive and mitigate unforeseen circumstances to the best of your abilities.
Make sure all of your people are accounted for and remember... Crisis communication is the most important role of the public affairs office. Don’t let us down!

Objectives

Based on your role, communicate with appropriate internal and external audiences to:
  1. Prepare them for the hurricane.
  2. Assist with emergency preparations.
  3. Disseminate potential evacuation orders when they are directed.
  4. Communicate relief and recovery efforts.

Resources

Don't forget, the resources in the upper right corner will stay with you throughout the mission.
Q. 1 OF 4
The Base Commander needs you to carry out the duties of these roles during this crisis. Use your Crisis Management Team Roles and Tasks Checklist in the Resources tab to help you choose which role to perform and fulfill the commander’s directive to the best of your abilities.
There's a lot to do! Select your role and fulfill the commander’s directive to the best of your abilities. Don't forget to circle back and carry out the remaining roles when you're finished.
Q. 2 OF 4
You are the mission partner support member who will stay throughout the storm to assist in performing the Emergency Support Function #15 duties.
What duties should you perform leading up to the storm?
Q. 3 OF 4
You are responsible for posting to the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst social media channels. As the hurricane approaches, you must decide which post is the most appropriate to share.
Which of these social media posts should be approved and disseminated at this point?
Q. 4 OF 4
With Hurricane Hazel approaching, the storm is expected to reach Category 4 strength during HURCON 1 and an evacuation order is prepared for release.
According to ESF #15, what should you do in your mission partner support role?
Q. 2 OF 4
Your office is small, and the sergeant has been called away to support the emergency operations center. The public affairs office has also been called away to support the crisis action team's functions for the impending storm. You are assigned to media operations.
What are the primary tasks you need to carry out?
Q. 3 OF 4
Before an evacuation, during the storm, WKRZ News contacts the main public affairs office with a query, another Facebook page is spreading inaccurate evacuation information, and an accident has occurred at the gate. Your team has no information on any of the developing issues.
What should you do first?
Q. 4 OF 4
With Hurricane Hazel approaching, the storm is expected to reach Category 4 strength during HURCON 1 and an evacuation order is prepared for release.
What should you do in your media operations role?
Q. 2 OF 4
You have been sent to the crisis action team to work with other installation leadership during the crisis.
What function should you perform first?
Q. 3 OF 4
The crisis action team/emergency operations center has determined that all base assets may be evacuated.
What will you do when planning for the event?
Q. 4 OF 4
With Hurricane Hazel approaching, the storm is expected to reach Category 4 strength during HURCON 1, and an evacuation order is prepared for release.
What should you do in your crisis action team role?

Your Debrief

Hurricane Hazel has passed! During this event, every decision you made impacted many lives. Your ability to respond effectively and calmly is one of the key functions of crisis communication.

Note: You can check your score and then complete the other roles in this mission.

Check Your Score

Let's see how you did!
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