FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 01, 2021
Contact: MHA Emergency Operations Center
Phone: 701-627-7300 ext. 5904
Email: mha.nation.eoc@gmail.com
MHA Nation is the First Tribal Nation in North Dakota to Utilize FEMA’S Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS)
The MHA Emergency Operations Center is Officially Authorized to use the FEMA’s IPAWS System throughout the Ft. Berthold Reservation
[NEW TOWN, ND June 01, 2021] — The MHA Emergency Operations Center (EOC) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with FEMA to officially authorize the utilization of FEMA'S Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) on the Ft. Berthold Reservation which includes six Counties. IPAWS is FEMA's national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency and life-saving information to the public through mobile phones using Wireless Emergency Alerts, radio, and television via the Emergency Alert System, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Weather Radio. The MHA EOC will be the administrator of this system and will work closely and coordinate with other Emergency Services and local Infrastructure (including Non-tribal Stakeholders) on the Ft. Berthold Reservation, such as Fire/Rescue, Law Enforcement, and EMS. The MHA EOC has chosen a compatible software provider to get this messaging system accessible to the public. This service is offered to the public free of cost and does not require individuals' personal information. Specific urgent alerts are to be sent out to the public on the reservation using mobile phones, landlines, local radio, TV, and the MHA Nation website, including Segments' webpages if they would like to develop a partnership with the MHA EOC.
FEMA IPAWS is a tool to increase our chance to disseminate information immediately during incidences of a tornado, severe winter storms, flooding, wildfire, terrorism, missing person searches, etc., and any other emergencies requiring lockdown, shelter in place, and evacuation procedures to be implemented.
The MHA EOC Director Emily Sitting Bear and Emergency Planning Specialist Thomas Nash completed IPAWS Training to provide this service to the FBIR during natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters.
Mark Fox, Chairman of the MHA Nation, acknowledged, “The use of emergency alerts is invaluable when there is a need to get important information out to the public quickly. As Chairman of the MHA Nation, I am very proud of our MHA Emergency Operations Center and the CEO’s hard work in getting this new system in place to help ensure reliable, efficient public communication in the event of various types of emergencies on local, state, and federal levels.”
MHA Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
The mission of the MHA Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is to create and maintain the comprehensive framework that will reduce the overall vulnerability of communities and government infrastructure on the Fort Berthold Reservation by coordinating and integrating all activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from threatened or actual natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters. For more information, please visit our webpage: https://www.mhanation.com/emergency-operations-center and our Facebook Page: @mhanationeoc: https://www.facebook.com/mhanationeoc.
For media inquiries, please contact MHA EOC Public Affairs Specialist, Nyamka Reese at 701-627-7300, or nreese@mhanation.com.
