Emergency Awareness Program History
During 1999's Hurrican Floyd, many Deaf and hard of hearing individuals across eastern North Carolinaw weren't aware of the pending wide-spread flooding associated with the storm. Normal sources of information were quickly cut off.
To escape the rising floodwaters of North Carolina's largest natural disaster, one Deaf woman literally swam for her life when rising water cutt off her escape routes. This is one example of many. Too many time North Carolina's Deaf and hard of hearing people do not get the timely warning they need.
Lessons are learned following any disaster and Hurricane Floyd was no exception. In responce, The North Carolina Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing (DSDHH) created an Emergency Alert and Response Program in 2004 and hired Tom Ditt as the Program Coordinator. In 2005, the name changed to the Emergency Awareness Program (EAP). The goal if EAP is to 1) provide emergency responders with the knowledge, sensitivity, communication skills and cultural competency to better equip them to serve individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf Blind and 2) provide consumers with information and equipment the will enable them to be prepared for emergencies.
Collaboration is key to the core of this program. In 2005, EAP partnered with the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management (NCEM). Through a $500,00 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, NCEM purchased 3,500 weather radios with hearing impaired kits for statewide distribution. The hearing impaired kits included a back-up power supply, strobe light, and a heavy-duty vibrater. DSDHH used its database to identify recipients in all North Carolina counties. For delivery, locak emergency management coordinators called on rescue squads, fire departments, Boy Scouts and several Sertoma Clubs to get the radios into the hands of recipients.
Using the grant for 3,500 weather radios as a starting point, the Division created the Emergency Equipment Distribution Program (EEDP) to continue providing emergency alert equipment to North Carolina's Deaf and hard of hearing people.
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