Disaster Response

All disasters be it weather related (ice, wind, snow, flooding), terrorism, or human-made (e.g. truck overturns with resulting chemical spill) have similar stages. These stages include preparedness, response (subdivided into emergency response and relief response), recovery and mitigation. A preparedness plan can be a guide to addressing an incident and actually decrease the time to recover if designed and implemented appropriately. Anecdotally, other than preparedness and mitigation, each stage is generally 10 times longer in duration than the previous state. If an emergency response lasts 3 days then the relief response will be approximately 30 days and the recovery stage may last up to 300 days. In the event of an emergency, an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) may be set up. All information about the disaster and the response will be disseminated through the Information Officer.

Seneca County Emergency Services (phone 315/539-1756) provides a County-wide emergency management program, leadership, continuity and direction to enable Seneca County to respond to, recover from and mitigate the impact of natural, manmade or technological disasters upon the people or property in Seneca County. Contact emergency personnel through the County’s 911-system.

The New York State Office of Emergency Management is responsible for coordinating the activities of all State agencies to protect NY’s communities, the State’s economic well-being, and the environment from natural and man-made disasters and emergencies.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency provides federal resources and response to large scale disasters. The agency also has resources on preparation, recovery, and rebuilding following a disaster.

The New York Extension Disaster Education Network (NY EDEN) is an educational network based at Cornell University, dedicated educating NY residents about preventing, preparing for and recovering from emergencies and disasters that could affect their families and their communities.

Over 1,700 people own or work on farms in Seneca County. Approximately 18% of our nation’s workforce is employed in production agriculture or an occupation directly related to the agricultural industry, but everyone consumes food so keeping our nation’s food and fiber supply safe remains an important priority for all citizens. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9 (HSPD-9): Defense of U. S. Agriculture and Food recognizes agriculture as part of the critical infrastructure of the nation and establishes a policy to defend the food and fiber system against terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies. Agrosecurity and Agroterrorism provides resources to assist producers and those who work with them to better manage agrosecurity risks from invasive plant species and insects to terrorism threats.

ReadyAG ©: Disaster and Defense Preparedness for Production Agriculture workbook is an educational tool developed to assist farmers to become better prepared for a disaster. It helps farmers identify vulnerable areas, prioritize areas to strengthen, create an action plan specific to their operation, inventory assets to address a disaster, identify local critical services when needed and find additional help.

Agricultural Damage Assessment Form

Following a disaster information will be collected by insurance companies and government officials. Farm owners may want to complete their own damage assessment. The Ag Damage Assessment Form  provides a structured format to more accurately collect the important information, assess the damage and determine an accurate economic loss estimate.

The Users Guide and Instructions  provides assistance in how to more accurately complete the report. Photographs are critical when documenting a disaster.

Last updated July 26, 2019