What started as a discussion about how state and local governments can better respond to disasters following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 has turned into an annual event attended by more than 500 municipal, state, and business leaders.
The 2022 Connecticut Emergency Management Symposium will begin at 8 a.m. tomorrow (Wed., April 27) at the Aria Banquet Hall in Prospect, and will feature discussions about the state’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as cybersecurity, school security, and drug trafficking.
The event is sponsored by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS), the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), and the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH).
CCM spokesman Kevin Maloney said the symposium initially formed in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane that resulted in nearly 2,000 deaths and more than $100 billion in damage in New Orleans and surrounding communities.
“It was a wake-up call nationally that everyone needed to work more in the area of coordinating emergency management responses between the states and local towns and ensuring best practices were being followed,” Maloney said.
Originally, the event was only meant as a one-time occurrence, but it is now in its 15th year – despite two years off due to the pandemic.
Maloney said while there is high-level discourse at the symposium, the participants are able to get into the important details about how to respond to a disaster, including – for example – how to manage and dispose of debris.
The event will begin with an address by Brenda M. Bergeron, deputy commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. The day will then consist of workshops with nearly 40 companies and agencies presenting the latest in emergency management products and services, according to CCM.
For more information on the schedule, go here. Masks will be required for all those attending this year’s event.