he Disaster Preparedness Table Top Drill, organized by the Encino Chamber of Commerce and the West Valley Medical Center is held each year to heighten the community’s disaster planning and response, and this year UEI College Encino will play a vital philanthropic role. In collaboration with the Los Angeles Fire Department, LAPD, Providence Tarzana Medical Center and many other community organizations, 30 UEI College Encino staff and students will participate in enactments of post flood and major earthquake scenarios, which will be used to prompt open discussion and improved disaster planning. “This is our community and we need to work as a team to collectively address community issues. It’s important that we, as both an educational institution and community advocate, honor our civic responsibilities,” says Jackie Azizyan, UEI College Encino Campus President.
The drill accounts for the inevitability of a major earthquake in southern California and is designed to help protect the millions of lives affected in the event that, as in some cases predicted, the earthquake shakes thousands of square miles and damages or destroys hundreds of thousands of buildings. “We need to be prepared to effectively respond, and we can use drills to gain insights on how we can continuously improve disaster response capabilities. It’s easy to take for granted that the Red Cross, LAPD, fire department and other emergency response services will be on hand to help during a disaster, but we must remember that in a widespread disaster, these rescue services may fall victim to massive destruction and it may take days for them to become mobilized,” Azizyan says.
The drill takes a two-step approach, covering the notification and initial response after the major disaster and then the ongoing reintegration and rescue and repair operations needed to address far reaching devastation to homes, health and city infrastructure. The open discussion environment allows community leaders and participants to identify existing plans and resources, planning and resources that need to be put in place and critical issues, decisions, questions or requirements that need to be considered.
This important community safety event will take place on May 19th from 9am to noon at the Encino Community Center, and representatives from numerous organizations throughout the city will be in attendance.
About UEI College and United Education Institute
UEI College and United Education Institute are owned and operated by International Education Corporation. Headquartered in Irvine, California, and named as one of the fastest growing corporations on Inc. 500, IEC is a premier national provider of postsecondary career education and offers top quality programs in high demand verticals such as healthcare, business, technology, transportation, and criminal justice.
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