PORTSMOUTH, Va., (WVEC) — Norfolk Naval Shipyard and the City of Portsmouth are learning what to do in the event of a terrorist attack, chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incidents, or severe weather.
For the first time, the City of Portsmouth was part of a joint emergency preparedness mission.
Captain Philip Emanuel gave the joint presentation on behalf of the Navy. The Defense Support of Civil Authorities or DSCA briefing is an annual briefing.
the presentation talked about the responsibility and resources the military provides through the Department of Defense during emergencies.
"Department of defense tries to be the last resource out there and kind of the first two then get back to their original mission," said Emanuel. "We hope to continue to build the relationship between the institution's commander and the local community and the political establishment. So that they have an understanding of what is and is not available."
The emergencies would have to be bigger ones the city can’t handle alone. Someone from the Mayor’s office would have to ask for help if there aren’t enough city resources to handle the emergency.
Inside Portsmouth City Hall, the Portsmouth mayor, police, fire, and EMS learned about the military’s emergency resources.
EMS Deputy Coordinator, Justin Arnold said being part of the Defense Support of Civil Authorities briefing will help the entire community prepare in advance.
"This helped us get a lot more prepared than we were this time last year," Arnold said.
"This is a great opportunity to talk about both are resources the cities resources we can do to help each other out in an emergency situation," said Norfolk Naval Shipyard commanding officer Scott Brown
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