Several dozen emergency planners and responders attended the talk on the National Ocean Service’s hurricane preparedness and response toolkit. Whitmore explained the roles and responsibilities of different NOS offices and divisions, detailed emergency response capabilities, and highlighted specific disaster preparedness and response tools such as the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®). 

The National Hurricane Conference is held with the goal to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation in the United States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific. This conference essentially serves as a national forum for federal, state, and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve hurricane response and preparedness activities. “It was great hearing from different people and agencies after I was done. I had reps from FEMA, US Department of Transportation, the FAA, all coming up and asking more about ERMA®,” explained Whitmore.