ORLANDO FLORIDA STAKE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
WARD EMERGENCY PLAN GUIDELINES
PRE-EVENT PHASE
The Pre-Event Phase is the period of time immediately before an identifiable event when it
appears that such an event (e.g. fire, tornado, hurricane, etc.) will heavily impact the Ward.
The direction from WWLH states:
“3-4 days ahead of landfall, each member should be contacted by phone to
determine who is staying, who is leaving, where they plan to evacuate to, special
health needs, whose employment will require them to be at work at hospital,
police, fire, utility company 24 hours a day.
“How are their families prepared to go through this without them?
“1-2 days ahead of landfall, when location can be narrowed down, re-contact
everyone to let every member know …” (WWLH) how, after the hurricane
passes, they should communicate their condition to Ward EP personnel.
As a general rule, a Hurricane Watch is issued 36 hours before an event for any area that falls
in the projected path. A Hurricane Warning is issued 24 hours before an event, as the projected
path narrows. Stake Presidents participate in conference calls with regional and area church
leaders any time an area might be affected by a projected event. When applicable, the Stake
President, in coordination with regional and area authorities, requests bishops to implement the
Stake EP Plan. However, the bishop may elect to implement the Pre-Event Phase when a
Hurricane Warning is issued. The bishop might ask EP personnel to start contacting members
and to fulfill Special Needs Work Orders. The bishop might also call a meeting of the Ward
Expanded Welfare Committee to coordinate preparation for an event.
A. Bishop. When activated by the Stake President, or when conditions dictate, the Bishop
starts this Phase.
1. Calls a meeting of the Bishopric or contacts them by phone to activate the PreEvent Phase of the Ward EP Plan (see Appendix E).
2. Identifies the schedule, with the help of the Stake President, to perform the
Assessment Phase and report back, and the alternate meeting location of the
Assessment Team should phone communication not be available during that phase.
3. Identifies the locations that are designated as Emergency Shelters for the benefit of
the Area Captains and the members.
4. Communicates information to Bishopric Counselors and Ward EP Specialist to pass
along to Area Captains as they are activated to contact all households in the Ward.
a. Schedule to return and report.
b. Emergency Shelters.
c. Assessment Phase schedule and reporting instructions, and alternate time and
place to meet and report.
d. EP Special Needs Work Orders.
5. Assigns Pre- and Post-Event EP Special Needs Work Orders.
a. Distributes EP Special Needs Work Orders.
b. Establishes Return and Report logistics.
c. Records Emergency Shelters on Work Orders for those who use them.
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d. Files completed Work Orders for reference during other Phases.
6. Continues to meet and communicate with Stake President, Bishopric Counselors,
and Ward EP Specialist, as needed.
7. Updates and adjusts EP Plan, and makes additional assignments, as needed.
B. Bishopric and Ward EP Specialist. Members of the bishopric and the Ward EP
Specialist complete the following tasks as directed by the Bishop.
1. Notify and activate the Expanded Ward Welfare Committee to implement the Ward
EP Plan.
a. Make assignments as needed to carry out this phase of the plan.
b. Pass on direction from Stake regarding Assessment and reporting.
2. Activate Area Captains to perform Pre-Event Telephone Surveys and Summary
Reports, and to report back by a pre-determined time.
3. Request Area Captains, other Expanded Ward Welfare Committee personnel, or
other priesthood leaders to fulfill EP Special Needs Work Orders for households
previously identified during the Annual Preparation Phase. Such needs might
include:
a. Moving the missionaries because “… missionaries are generally housed at
chapels 12-18 hours ahead of the anticipated storm” (WWLH).
b. Moving members to pre-designated emergency shelters for those living in
mobile or pre-fabricated homes, flood prone areas, or with other Special Needs.
c. Helping members with Special Needs to prepare their homes (if required).
4. Gather and update documentation.
a. Current MLS information; rosters and EP reports on Special Needs.
b. List of Area Captains and Households by Area (see Appendix B).
c. EP Household Surveys and EP Special Needs Work Orders (see Appendix D).
d. Pre-Event and Checklists and Forms (Appendix F).
5. Meet or communicate often to review the situation.
a. Monitor the weather.
b. Evaluate the Ward EP status.
c. Review reports from the Expanded Ward Welfare Committee and Area
Captains.
6. Fulfill EP Special Needs Work Orders as assigned.
7. Review Pre-Event reports to determine additional needs, or to follow-up on any
Special Needs not previously identified and assigned.
8. Re-evaluate the Ward EP Status.
9. Prepare report for Bishop to return and report to the Stake President “the level of
success (% of households contacted) in locating and assessing the needs of the
members prior to the event,” and report Special Needs that were addressed.
10. Once the emergency event is imminent, terminate the Pre-Event Phase.
a. Notify all EP Personnel.
b. Hunker down.
C. Ward Clerk and Executive Secretary.
1. Execute any pre-determined Pre-Event tasks
2. Fulfill assignments as requested.
3. Help gather and provide updated information and documentation.
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D. Area Captains / Walking District Leaders.
1. Receive direction to activate the Pre-Event Phase and any special assignments.
a. Record the Assessment Phase reporting time and/or meeting place.
b. Record the Emergency Shelters.
2. Contact each household with his area.
a. Perform Pre-Event Telephone Survey – Area Captain (App. F, Exhibit F – 2).
b. Encourage households to “Be Prepared,” gathering needed materials and food
items to sustain themselves as much as possible while there is still time.
c. Emphasize the need for the Bishop to know their plans. “Do [the members]
understand that it is their obligation to report to their designated priesthood
leader their plans before the event and their situation/condition after the event?”
(WWLH)
d. Return and report results of Telephone Surveys by pre-determined deadline
using the Pre-Event Area Summary Worksheet (see Appendix F, Exhibit F – 3).
3. Report updates to the Pre-Event EP Surveys, thus enabling the Bishop to be
prepared to respond to the needs of the members now that an event is imminent.
4. Fulfill EP Special Needs Work Orders as assigned.
E. Disaster Response Teams (DRT), Damage Assessment Teams, Relief Society Teams,
and Other EP Personnel.
1. Fulfill EP Special Needs Work Orders as assigned.
2. Return and report to the Bishop
3. Receive Standby Order.
4. Prepare for the Assessment and Rendering Assistance Phases.
F. High Priests Group Leader, Elders Quorum President, Relief Society President and
other members of the Expanded Ward Welfare Committee.
1. Fulfill EP Special Needs Work Orders and any other assignments as given.
2. Monitor other needs.
3. Report information to the Bishopric.
WWLH Pre-Event Checklist for Wards
Numbers match the numbering in WWLH. Only those items that deal with Ward preparation
are listed.
1. When directed by the Stake Presidency, the bishop activates the ward emergency plan.
This should serve to place in motion a number of activities that include but are not limited
to the following: 1) Assess the location of all members to determine who is staying in the
area and who can be counted on to assist in the aftermath. An attempt should be made to
contact all members of record within each unit. 2) A meeting of the expanded ward
welfare committee should be held as soon as possible to coordinate all actions required and
coordination of future communications. 3) Special need members should be attended to.
4) Alert all those assigned to do aftermath assessment and provide relief and remind them
of their responsibilities. 5) A communication plan that addresses landline outage and use
of cell phones as primary communication. Know the service providers (cell phones) of key
leadership personnel as some companies performed better than others in the storms of 2004
(WWLH-22). 6) Buildings should be pre-designated as shelters and those assigned to
ready and man the buildings should be alerted.
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3. Recommend that at least one work relief team be identified within each ward with the
appropriate registration form filled out and ready to go following the event. (WWLH-11)
5. Bishops should report back to the stake president the level of success (% of families
contacted) in locating and assessing the needs of the members prior to the event. Any
special areas of need should be communicated. (WWLH-05 and 07)
6. Stake presidents and bishops should coordinate the possible use of Church buildings as
shelters and ensure that generators are delivered to key buildings prior to the event to be
used in support of the building as a shelter or relief staging point. Have members report to
community shelters or church buildings with plenty of time to spare before the event.
(WWLH-10) [Check with local Church FM Group for current building use policies]
7. Stake presidents should consider a conference call just prior to the event if possible with all
the bishops and key stake welfare leaders for last minute instructions, current member
status and other actions that may be required and possible instructions received from the
Regional Welfare leaders. (WWLH-25)
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