Yesterday a magnitude 5.9 Earthquake jolted the East Coast.  From Canada to North Carolina and eastward to Ohio, folks were startled the movement of the ground.  While earthquakes are a regular occurrence in California, we've all witness firsthand the devastation that earthquakes can bring.  Earthquakes are sudden occurrences which cause a landslide of negative effects - aftershocks, tsunamis, fires from damaged gas lines, loss of life, infrastructure damage and so on.  Because they are sudden and unpredictable occurrences, preparation is the key to emergency management.  

At TriCON we'll be able to hear from Colin Lawrence of St. John Ambulance, a fellow TriTech customer and the emergency and non-emergency ambulance services provider for New Zealand.   Nicknamed the Shaky Isles, about 20,000 earthquakes, most of them minor, are recorded each year in New Zealand. In September 2010, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand's second largest city.  During Thursday morning keynote presentation, Mr. Lawrence will share how the St. John Ambulance service ensured continuity of operations to effectively manage emergency response. Within half an hour following the earthquake, St. John Ambulance service had 16 ambulances operational and received almost 700 calls within the first six hours.  With damages to their own buildings forcing the closure of one  of their communications centers, St. John remained committed to the the community.  A key mission during the aftermath of the earthquakes was to manage rosters to ensure the right resources are in place for their ambulance and welfare centers by rotating staff and volunteers in and out of Christchurch to support the needs there and to support business as usual in other regions.  

Click here to take a sneak peek at our event program.