Standing Rock Reservation Becomes StormReady Nov 16th, 2010

On November 16, 2010 the ceremony formally recognizing the Standing Rock Reservation as becoming StormReady was held at tribal headquarters in Ft. Yates, ND. The Standing Rock Reservation comprises all of Sioux County, North Dakota, and all of Corson County, South Dakota, plus slivers of northern Dewey County and Ziebach County in South Dakota. In terms of land mass, the reservation is the 4th largest in the United States and has a population of 8,250 according to the 2000 census. The Standing Rock Reservation is only the 9th Tribal Reservation to become StormReady across the United States.

From left to right: Vice-Chairman Mike Faith, Emergency Manager Johnelle Leingang, WFO Aberdeen MIC James Scarlett, Charman Charles Murphy, WFO Bismarck WCM John Paul Martin, WFO Aberdeen WCM Dave Hintz, WFO MIC Jeff Savadel.

To become StormReady, a community, county or reservation must meet a set of strict requirments, including the establishment of a 24hr warning point and Emergency Operations Center, having redundant communication systems in place, and the development of a formal, written Hazardous Weather Plan. Currently, there are 1693 StormReady sites located in 48 states, Puerto Rico and Guam.

For more information about StormReady, you can go to their webpage.

If you are interested in StormReady, you can contact either Dave Hintz or John Paul Martin.