On November, 25th 2019 the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Emergency Management Department hosted an end of year multiagency emergency preparedness Tabletop Exercise (TTX) held at the MWT Community and Government Center which was facilitated by the Horsley Witten Group. The Tabletop Exercise was based on a hypothetical incident designed to bring together Tribal departments and Indian Health Services as well as local, county and state public safety agencies to discuss roles and responsibilities during an incident affecting the Tribe. While the scenario focused on Tribal situations and facilities, the lessons learned were applicable to other Cape communities.

The overarching goal of the TTX was to increase the Tribal community’s resilience to a severe weather event by providing participants with an opportunity to discuss the preparation for, response to and recovery from an extreme weather event such as a Nor’easter. The objectives during the exercise were to, discuss the roles and responsibilities of Tribal departments/department heads as they related to the preparation for, response to, recovery from and mitigation of an extreme weather event. Practicing of internal/external communications, development of Tribal notification/crisis communications and discussion of mutual aid during an extreme weather event. The participants all left with a better understanding of how to better coordinate and collaborate during an event of this type which is relevant and applicable to various disaster scenarios.

For additional information on the Tribes Emergency Management Department or preparedness info for severe weather events please contact; Emergency Management Director, Nelson Andrews Jr at nelson.andrewsjr@mwtribe-nsn.gov (508) 477-0208 Ext 103 or Emergency Preparedness Specialist, Allyssa Hathaway at allyssa.hathaway@mwtribe-nsn.gov (508) 477-0208 Ext 166.