During the event is not the time to exchange business cards

In October 2020 – a year and a half after the historic floods of 2019 – Bryan Tuma, assistant director for the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), reflects on the state’s response and the top lessons learned.

Perhaps the main takeaway from the events of 2019 was the need for forming partnerships ahead of disasters to be prepared to leverage those partnerships when crisis occurs.

“During the event is not the time you want to be exchanging business cards,” Tuma said. “When you make the investments on the preparedness side, the dividends are recognized on the response side.”

Tuma said NEMA, the Nebraska National Guard and other state agencies did just that. They had already created strong relationships with one another prior to the historic flooding in 2019 which allowed them to respond quickly and efficiently, proving the state has the capacity to respond to major natural disaster events.

“Forging all those relationships on the front end with the planning and preparedness stage – those are invaluable because it’s during the response when you find out how capable you are to address those issues,” he said.

Tuma credits those preparedness relationships – along with the resourcefulness and kindness of Nebraskans – for the successes he witnessed, including heroic rescues, generous donations, and neighbor to neighbor support to those in need.

“The spirit of Nebraskans was on display throughout this event and during recovery,” Tuma said. “If the pioneer spirit lives, I think it’s still here in our state.”

Since the floods, NEMA and the Nebraska National Guard have expanded preparedness training and operations to include building better communication procedures, cross-training with other state and federal agencies, and expanding the knowledge base for emergency response personnel.

Now sitting in the middle of a pandemic, Tuma said many of those same preparedness principles are being applied today, including how the Nebraska National Guard continues to answer the call in new and different ways.

“I think the strength of the Guard is its ability to adapt,” he said. “It’s a tremendous resource for Nebraska.”

For more reflections by Bryan Tuma, watch his full interview here: