ORAU training and mobile app help communities near chemical stockpiles be prepared for related emergencies

CSEPP Ready, a mobile application developed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities, is a featured element in the inaugural 2013-2014 Prepare Pueblo emergency preparedness campaign in Pueblo, Colo., which is in its final phase from June to August 2014. Both the campaign and the app are intended to assist residents living in communities surrounding one of the last two active U.S. Army chemical warfare agent stockpiles with preparing for a potential related emergency.

Even though an accident is unlikely, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Army work together to ensure the local communities are prepared through the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, or CSEPP. Through CSEPP, ORAU experts provide hands-on technology courses to train public affairs professionals and emergency managers to develop and deliver timely public information in an emergency event using the latest technology tools, including mobile apps, cloud technology, and social media. Specifically, CSEPP Ready, which can be downloaded free in both Android and iPhone/iPad mobile formats, provides checklists for family disaster kits, information on how to respond to emergency sirens, and directions for sheltering in place. [Read more…]