Suffolk Officials Plan For Another Emergency

HAUPPAUGE, NY — Fresh off the recent cyberattack, Suffolk County officials are now planning for another emergency by taking part in a tabletop drill with the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

During the drill, experts in the field will run a multimedia scenario-based seminar to explore homeland security risks and challenges that could threaten the county and also identify any potential gaps in response plans, officials said. Its content has been designed to help strengthen the county’s capability to plan for, prevent, respond and recover from catastrophic events like earthquakes, snow storms, food shortages, and terrorism, according to officials.

County leaders will also analyze how they would respond to a natural disaster without the assistance of outside agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The county previously hosted tabletop seminars that focused on pandemics and cybersecurity to help employees and leaders be better prepared for an emergency. Officials have credited the previous cybersecurity exercise for helping them through the cyberattack in September.

County Executive Bellone announced the drill in a news release on Tuesday.

In a statement included in the news release, Bellone noted how it can be difficult "to know when or where an emergency might strike, that is why we must do our best to ensure we are as prepared as possible to protect the health and safety of our residents.”

“Tabletop exercises have been vital to the county’s response during previous emergencies, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this latest event will help us sharpen our disaster response and ensure all departments work in a coordinated fashion,” he said.

The drill was planned before the Sept. 8 cyberattack, said Marykate Guilfoyle, spokesperson for Bellone.

"Training, such as tabletop exercises, are paramount to operations and ensuring the county is prepared in the event of an emergency," she wrote in an email to Patch Wednesday.

Patrick Beckley, commissioner of Suffolk's Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services noted that "planning and coordination are integral aspects to ensuring the safety and well-being of residents and first responders in the event of an emergency.”

With the county's extensive cooperation between its private and public partners, officials will be prepared for "evolving challenges related to public safety and homeland security while responding to emergencies, hosting large-scale events or catering to the everyday needs of our local communities."

Officials said the roundtable discussions will go on "in a non-attributive and neutral forum where county employees can identify and address dynamic homeland security issues."

Multiple county departments will take part in the exercise, including the police, Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services, the Medical Examiner’s office, public works, parks, information technology, and the Department of Health.

Dawn Wilson, director of the Executive Education Program at the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security, said that the center "works with local and state leaders around the country to prepare their communities for a variety of emergency management and homeland security threats."

"This week, Suffolk County is bringing together our national experts and a multi-disciplinary group of county leaders to do just that," she said. "These events will prepare local leaders as they plan for events and regional emergencies and disasters down the road.”