Support for Blue Cascades IV provided by
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Blue Cascades IV
Pandemic Preparedness
Overview
Blue Cascades IV was held in Seattle in January 2007. It focused on Pandemic Flu and service interruptions as a result of employee illness, infrastructure interdependencies, and cyber overload.
Focus
A pandemic flu outbreak is one of many threats facing critical infrastructures in the Pacific Northwest. Unlike other threats, a pandemic outbreak does not directly impact physical or cyber assets, rather it impacts the workforce. In the event of a pandemic outbreak the workforce will be diminished significantly. Not only are physical and cyber assets vital to the continued operation of critical infrastructures, infrastructure sector employees play an essential role in the successful operation of infrastructure. Thus, in addition to preparing for threats to physical and cyber assets, infrastructure sectors must prepare for threats to their workforce, such as pandemic influenza
Purpose
To build on experience from previous Blue Cascades regional exercises to examine the impact
of infrastructure interdependencies that could impede state/provincial, regional, and local
emergency and business continuity planning and activities, including delivery of critical
services, for response and recovery from an influenza pandemic. Lessons learned will be used
to assess and improve existing stakeholder pandemic plans and also bio-terrorism plans.
Objectives
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Given our still rudimentary but growing understanding of regional interdependencies, provide
as realistic as possible an expectation of the impacts from a pandemic event on regional
infrastructures/essential service providers and the communities they support.
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Provide a basic understanding of existing local, state, and federal pandemic preparedness plans,
policies, regulations, expected actions and available resources;
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Assess the level and effectiveness of communication on and coordination of public- private sector and other organizational preparedness and continuity of business or operations plans;
- Examine roles and missions of local, state/provincial, and federal (civilian and defense)
agencies under the Incident Command System and of other key stakeholder organizations and
their contribution to the decision-making process during response and recovery, with particular
emphasis on how intelligent ad hoc decisions are made under changing situations.
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Create an integrated After Action Report that identifies shortfalls and points toward cost-effective
mitigation measures.
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