Col. Stanley E. Toy, director of operations and military support of the Hawaii Army National Guard, said the islands are vulnerable to blackouts in case of a major typhoon because of aging and poorly maintained power facilities.
Toy is on Saipan for the Joint Task Force Homeland Defense’s three-day workshop on “All-Hazards Terrorism Subject Matter Expert Exchange,” which will conclude today.
He said the workshop is designed to identify the processes and structure to facilitate Defense support of civil authorities to Saipan in case of an emergency disaster.
Col. David R. Norton, Joint Task Force Homeland Defense chief, said their findings will help them get a better understanding of the current mass casualty response operations on Saipan.
Toy said providing interim communication lines and medical kits are their top priorities during a disaster.
During the workshop, participants were told to always observe the “90 percent rule”: “When a major damaging incident occurs, 90 percent of the opportunities that were ever available to affect the outcome have already passed by; you can no longer prevent, prepare, train, equip, educate; you can only respond with what you have at that point.”
