Hurricane Isabel as seen from a ship at sea before reaching the Virginia coast where it would do millions in damage.

O’Neill

   When Hurricane Elizabeth hit Virginia in September with its 100-mph winds, 28 people died and thousands were evacuated, while more than 10,000 homes were either destroyed or severely damaged.
   As the commonwealth of Virginia declared a disaster and put out a call for help to other states, Washington was one of three that responded. Terrie O’Neill, Kitsap County’s communications and community resources coordinator, saw the call as a great professional opportunity and a learning experience for her agency. She is one of three public information officers (PIO) from our state – and the only local government official from Washington – called up to help emergency workers and public officials.
   Kitsap County did not foot the bill. In fact, Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) funds were used to pay the way for O’Neill, who spent two weeks of her vacation time to lend her experience.
   So she went, a stranger to a community across the nation, acting as an ambassador of goodwill on behalf of Washington, and a beacon of hope and information for the devastated residents.
   Virginia’s two Public Information Officers had been working for 10 days by then, exhausted by the overwhelming task. In a disaster, most people think about search and rescue or food and shelter assistance, but the task of collecting and disseminating information is just as daunting.
   “I got to work in the field with FEMA, covering an 18-county area, working with the press and collecting information and concerns from people,” said O’Neill, who was trained as a PIO for the county’s Department of Emergency Management and has attended many seminars and drills, including at the National Emergency Training Center. “I’ve gone through a lot of drills and exercises, even through a model hurricane drill, but no matter how good those exercises are, they can’t simulate reality.”
   The 12- to 14-hour shifts with only one day off in two weeks tested O’Neill’s and others’ stamina. As residents shared their tears along with their stories about the ravage, O’Neill could feel the emotions.
   But it was a good test. Not only does she know now that she can handle a disaster of such magnitude, she also brought back a first-hand perspective about the search and rescue and recovery — and lessons learned from FEMA and other experts.
   “If we have a disaster here, I know I can handle it and be a professional,” she said. “It will help me hone in on what’s important. What we do every day, we’re in a public education mode, but a disaster is completely different.”
   There was something else that O’Neill brought back, something one would only learn in a situation like Virginia’s. It was the feeling of awe at how well the country is prepared to handle emergencies. “It gave me a level of comfort to know our country was there to help our communities,” she said, marveling at the efficiency of FEMA operations and the help that came from the military.
   O’Neill, who has lived in Kitsap all her life, has often dreamed of joining the military. The chance never came, but her short experience in Virginia in a way made up for that. Public information officers are not like firefighters or rescuers, in the first line of response, but their job is just as important, she said. It was the small army of PIOs in Virginia who answered all the public’s questions, from where to get assistance to what areas were damaged. The PIOs were the ones who communicated all the information to the media, keeping the rest of the country abreast, and the ones who went to all the community meetings to bring back to the management team problems and frustrations expressed by the people.
   O’Neill credits the county commissioners and the DEM for realizing what a great opportunity it would be and for allowing her a two-week leave despite her being a county “one-person department.”
   “It’s a really good experience,” said Kitsap County Commissioner Chris Endresen. “When you have a disaster, one of the most important things is to get accurate information out to the public so people know what is going on.”
   Endresen said there have been four declared emergencies since she became a county commissioner seven years ago.
   The area, of course, is known for earthquakes, including the Nisqually quake, and occasional flooding such as we experienced just recently.
   “It’s first-hand experience she can’t get from a school,” Endresen added.