IEM has been called upon to provide support staff for hundreds of positions across the nation. IEM response and recovery professionals have first-hand disaster support experience—including massive field and EOC deployments for hurricanes Frances, Ivan, Katrina, Rita, and Alex. In addition, IEM personnel have staffed permanent EOCs for the U.S. Army and operations centers for multiple Federal and state agencies.
Representative deployments include:
Federal Agencies 2009-2011 – IEM continues to provide quick-response strike teams to assist with logistics support for such events as the Haiti earthquake, Multiple State Flooding Disasters, Winter Storms and Tornado Response.
State of Missouri 2008-2009 - IEM assisted the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in responding to the 2009 Severe Winter Storms Emergency (eventual Disaster Declaration 1823). Our response team provided ESF 5 (Emergency Operations / Planning) supporting the EOC at the operations and planning desks; ESF 6 (Human Services / Mass Care) support and administration, ESF 7 (Resource Management / Logistical Support) asset visibility, tracking and resource distribution; We toured the most heavily hit areas in the state, recording and documenting all relevant finds and relaying all information to SEMA and FEMA region 6 as well as worked with the Department of Social Services and their partners-(American Red Cross, Salvation Army, AmeriCorps, United Way 211, the Humane Society) and other agencies. The IEM Team also provided personnel to perform the Preliminary Damage Assessments for Public Assistance as well as Individual Assistance.
Gustav/Ike State of Louisiana Support 2008 - IEM supported the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LA DOTD) with its response to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. Because we had assisted LA DOTD with the development of their plans and procedures for assisted evacuation, they requested that we assist them with their implementation. This support involved ensuring the transportation of over 26,000 individuals, including thousands that had special needs, using buses and paratransit vehicles. The operation included coordination with transportation providers, fuel providers, parish emergency management agencies, traditional shelter operations; special needs shelter operations, air operations, rail operations, and host states.
Support of Mass Air Evacuations of New Orleans Citizens out of New Orleans International Airport during Gustav/Ike 2008 - IEM also helped support the mass evacuation from the New Orleans International Airport. IEM employees staffed the Incident Command Post at the airfield, developing situation reports and assisting with flight tracking of DoD-contracted aircraft transporting more than 5,000 critical transportation needs evacuees out of the city to host state airfields. This effort was the culmination of two years of planning at the Baton Rouge Joint Field Office, where IEM planners helped to develop the Federal Support Plan to Louisiana, which described procedures for air, bus, and rail evacuation, in addition to sections on sheltering, logistics, and medical evacuation. IEM also assisted FEMA with the return of evacuees to Louisiana after the storm had passed. IEM provided the links between FEMA and a host of Federal, State, and local partners involved in the evacuation, keeping them plugged into the situation on the ground and facilitating a smooth operation.
FEMA Baton Rouge JFO SitCell Support 2006-2007 – IEM personnel participated in SOP development groups, developing SitCell org charts, providing SitRep Input, providing Executive Summary Input, defining individual roles of positions in the Fusion Cell and SitCell as a whole, developing exercises in warm and hot situations.
New York FEMA JFO Disaster Response Planning Support 2006 – IEM personnel provided onsite subject matter expertise in emergency management and planning for response to severe storms and flooding in New York in late June 2006.
FEMA Headquarters and Field Office Support Staffing for 2005 Hurricane Season 2005-2006 – IEM quickly deployed a diversified response team of experienced emergency planners, computer programmers, GIS specialists, local government experts, and information analysts to provide support in areas that FEMA leadership identified. Ultimately, IEM supported FEMA’s 2005 hurricane response at ten sites. Throughout this hurricane deployment, IEM response professionals positively impacted the hurricane response and recovery through a myriad of products and processes, such as VIP and senior staff briefing development; SITREP and IAP development and updates; ConOps Matrix Response Management System support; GIS support, including map creation and distribution; and plan preparation and distribution.
Support Personnel for FEMA Baton Rouge Joint Field Office Operations Section 2005 -2006 - In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, IEM personnel working in the Operations Section initiated, reviewed, tracked, and processed action requests to identify resources, support, or assistance needed. They also assisted in the transition of more than 20 Mission Assignments into Interagency Agreements.
Hurricane Response Data Gathering 2004 - During the response to Florida’s near-catastrophic hurricanes, IEM deployed personnel to 15 key locations in three states and the District of Columbia, ranging from Headquarters and Regional operations and logistics sites to state emergency operations centers and local distribution sites. Their mission was to collect information on emergency response operations and processes by FEMA Headquarters, Region IV, and state and local sites. The information gathered has been used to identify well-executed processes and possible procedural gaps that have been translated into requirements for automating response and recovery operations.