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VE SE RIS <br />Contingency Plan <br />Section 6 — <br />Emergency Procedures <br />Effective Date <br />9/20/2021 <br />Supersedes <br />New <br />Page <br />6-16 <br />VII. NATURAL DISASTER <br />In the event of a severe storm, tornado, or earthquake all Branch personnel <br />should take shelter in an interior hallway or room away from windows. As <br />earthquakes come with little to no warning; how you respond depends on <br />where you are in the facility. <br />Indoors: If inside, stay there. Find a heavy desk or table to provide cover. <br />Doorways and inner walls can also provide cover. Move away from <br />bookcases or any other object that could topple over. Stay in the building <br />until the shaking has stopped. <br />Outdoors: Move away from buildings and utility wires as debris and wires <br />pose a significant risk. Once in the open, drop down, cover your head <br />with your arms and stay there until the shaking has stopped. <br />After the shaking has stopped, all personnel need to be accounted for. The <br />best method to do this is to conduct an evacuation drill and have all <br />employees, contractors and visitors report to their pre-assigned assembly <br />points for a roll call. Once all employees, contractors and visitors have been <br />accounted for the Emergency Coordinator will assemble a team of <br />knowledgeable employees to conduct a facility inspection to check for <br />damages. <br />In the case of an anticipated natural disaster, such as predicted flood or <br />hurricane, the major precautions are to evacuate non-essential personnel, to <br />shut-off power supplies to any equipment which does not need to be in <br />operation, and to move any inventory which may be exposed to the full force <br />of the event. <br />Hazardous materials and wastes, if threatened by a severe storm event, <br />require particular attention. Inventory must be moved to as safe a location as <br />possible to protect it, paying close attention to product compatibility. In <br />particular, oxidizers and water sensitive products should be tarped to prevent <br />contact with storm waters. Additionally, high priced products should also be <br />relocated to a safe location.