By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

Guam’s geographical isolation from the rest of the United States and its limited resources have been identified as the territory’s weak points, hindering its chances of receiving immediate assistance from the federal government in the event of a disaster.
Guam’s strengths lie in the local agencies’ aptitude for coordinating interagency efforts in responding to an emergency situation and in having regional neighbors that are ready to assist in times of crisis.
On the third day of the TopOff 4 exercises yesterday, players entered the recovery operations phase as they gear up for the event’s conclusion on Saturday.
“Because of our tyranny of distance and resources that we have as an island community to respond to an event like this that was never expected is certainly where we face the challenges,” Gov. Felix P. Camacho said at yesterday’s press conference, where local officials disclosed preliminary assessments of Guam’s emergency response system.
“I think the strength that I saw was in the cooperation and communication between local federal and military officials that came together in unison. That, I think, is the strength that we had,” the governor added.
Homeland security advisor Dennis Santos Tomas said the exercises did not only test the local emergency response system’s capability, but also provided intense training that would prepare emergency responders for a real-life disaster such as terrorism.
The TopOff 4 scenario involved a dirty bomb explosion, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation, playing the role, confirmed to be related to terrorist attacks in Oregon and Arizona. The incident killed 16 people and injured 60 others, who were taken to the Guam Memorial Hospital.
Officials, medics, rescuers and investigators played their individual roles as if they were responding to a real-life tragedy.
How much of the responses to the fictional situation can be translated into reality when a real incident
“I think most of it,” Santo Tomas said. “Everything was treated like reality. All people working in the emergency operation center treated everything, every scenario as if they’re real. It only makes them better and more proficient in their job. These exercises have established team work.”
Local agencies, he added, have managed to established federal and regional network. “Next time we have a real disaster, we will have a lot of people who will volunteer to help,” Santo Tomas said.
Nathan Rogers of the Department of Homeland Security only a small percentage of the entire exercises was fixed and the rest were spontaneous responses.
“A large percentage of the incident management is the same process, all in accordance with the national response plan,” Roger said. “TopOff 4 is designed for interdependent operations, which will be a component of the evaluation.”
Camacho said “many lessons have been learned that will benefit us in the future.”
“The planning and preparations have strengthened our working relationship and communication,” the governor said. “Better coordination will help minimize the severity of emergency, enabling us to respond effectively. TopOff 4 reveals the areas where we excel and the areas that need improvement.”
Lt. Gov. Mike Cruz said TopOff 4 has also put to test the nation’s capability to respond and react to a major disaster that might happen in Guam.
“Given the unique bureaucratic distance that we have, it’s been a learning experience when the federal government realized that the tyranny of distance is a real significant factor in planning in the future,” Cruz said.
The national preparedness plans, he said, must take into account the limitation of Guam’s resources, such as medical supplies, gas, food and other relief items. “We have to plan on how best we can respond to these needs at the time when we need them the most,’ Cruz said.
Though Guam is isolated, Santo Tomas said the island is blessed with neighbors and partners in Micronesia, who during the course of the disaster drill, have extended their hands to assist.
“People are inundating me with phone calls, asking me how they can help,” Santo Tomas.
“The weaknesses that we have overcome by the support and collaboration with our regional partners. I want to continue this partnership. We don’t need the TopOff to do that. WI think we can do out own regional exercise,” Santo Tomas said.
During the morning media, briefing, Mary Torre, president of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association discussed how the private sector, specifically the visitors tourism, could be affected by a disaster. She also discussed the organization’s contribution to help in the community and economic recovery process.
Past experiences with typhoons and other devastating calamities have shown that the tourism industry was one of the most vulnerable sectors of the community.