The Disaster Resilient Universities’ (DRU) members are offering to help Higher Education Institutions that have been impacted by a disaster by providing assistance with the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) process and by leveraging the expertise of the DRU Network membership.
An announcement from the organization says the goal of this effort is to serve as a mentor and broker between impacted institutions with needs and non-impacted institutions with available resources.
“This is NOT a legal mutual aid agreement in itself!” the statement claims. “It is solely a mentoring and matching service. Once a match has been made, we will then refer you to the appropriate mutual aid process, such as the EMAC for interstate mutual aid.”
Here is additional information on the program:
What is the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)?
The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is the pre-eminent interstate mutual aid agreement ratified by the Legislature of all 50 states and a number of territories. The details about what EMAC is and how it works can be found at: http://emacweb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=256
What about reimbursement, liability, licensure reciprocation and other legal issues?
The EMAC compact has already addressed all of these issues. It has been in place for over a decade and has been successfully used for many disasters including the infamous Florida hurricane seasons of 2004/2005, Hurricane Katrina, Rita, and other major disasters. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions can be found at:http://emacweb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109&Itemid=249
How can the DRU network help?
We are planning to poll the DRU membership to identify individuals with specific knowledge, skills and abilities. Who may be able to assist in response and recovery efforts if requested. The goal is to facilitate resources that are unique and specific to institutions of higher education. It is not intended to be a substitute for receiving more generalized response resources from your community and state partners.
What if I need help?
There are DRU members who are willing to help you through the process. If you would like to request assistance in the process please send your request by Email to ALL 3 of the following: [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]. If you cannot e-mail you can call (850) 644-7055.
How can I volunteer to help?
Please fill out the following survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DRU-Assist
How will I know if my assistance is needed?
If you have volunteered, we will contact you to confirm that you are available at the time of the event and that you are able to travel. This could occur with relatively short notice (48-72 hours). We will then assist with getting you connected with your EMAC coordinator so that you can get matched with the requesting institution. At that point, EMAC will assume responsibility for the rest of the process.
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