Emergency Management

In March of 2021, Lt. John Baker, who is the Asst. Director of Belton Emergency Management Agency (BEMA), began revising the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) for the City of Belton. It was heavily revised and expanded upon, to bring it up to date. The EOP was approved by City Council on October 27, 2021. The EOP consists of an intro and 17 annexes for guidance in a wide variety of critical incident(s).

There are several private storm shelters in our community. None of them are owned or managed by BEMA or the City of Belton. We encourage citizen(s) to always stay weather aware. The only FEMA certified shelter is located at the Belton High School, 801 West North Avenue, Belton, Missouri 64012. This FEMA shelter is open to the public and has a maximum occupancy of 1516. Citizen(s) may enter the shelter with service animal(s). As the Director of BEMA, I and/or my designee will notify the school district to activate the shelter under tornado warnings. The BEMA Employees will also assist with the activation of this shelter.

BEMA manages the maintenance and activation of the storm siren(s) system. This year, we have a contract with a maintenance vendor, who installed a software that daily tests the entire system. More recently, we upgraded the software with feature that activates the siren(s) based on tornado warning polygon(s) issued by the National Weather Service. The siren(s) will automatically activate if the polygon(s) are within the alerting area.

There are no “All Clear Alert(s)” issued through the BEMA storm siren(s) system. This is not a feature of any system in Cass County or the State of Missouri. The storm siren(s) system is designed to alert citizen(s) outside during the event. It is not designed to be heard indoors.

If anyone wants phone alert(s) related to severe weather events in Belton, please enroll at Cass County, Missouri Emergency Notification System (https://www.casscountyesb.com/index-2.php) or call 816-887-1953 for assistance. BEMA strongly suggests during severe weather events that citizens obtain further information from news media outlets, NOAA weather radios, smartphone apps, etc. This is the best way to obtain the “All Clear.” If citizens witness flash flooding, they are encouraged to call 911 to report the incident.

Finally, BEMA will begin its annual citizen education campaign in the month of March. Please watch our BEMA and police department Facebook pages.

Always Stay Safe and Weather Aware,

Chief Scott Lyons

Emergency Management is charged with:

Educating Belton residents on what actions they should take in the event of a community-wide emergency
Ensuring that available aid flows from volunteer, state, and federal sources during recovery through prior preparation and direct action
Identifying hazards
Maintaining a plan of action for the city in the case of a community-wide emergency that would exceed the normal capabilities of the city’s emergency services, public works, and residents
Providing warnings for dangerous weather, such as tornadoes or floods, in conjunction with the National Weather Service and in cooperation with other emergency management and safety agencies in the area
Serving as a direct aid to the mayor and city manager during a community-wide emergency

MEMC CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS VIDEO SERIES

In March 2012, the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee (MEMC) introduced a series of seven citizen preparedness videos.

The videos were produced by the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee, a regional forum for emergency managers and response agencies from cities and counties around the Kansas City region. MEMC members made a conscious decision to use humor to share important information in a fun, non-threatening way. They want people to understand the risks, but don't want to scare anyone. They hope that everyone, even children can not only enjoy these videos, but also learn some key lessons from them.

Studies have shown that humor often helps people remember what they've learned, and may also make them more likely to take action. We all know that we need to be prepared, but have you taken steps to protect your family? Do you have a plan and a supply kit? If not, now is the time to get started, especially with the increased risk of severe weather in the spring.

Each video focuses on a particular aspect of emergency preparedness and refers viewers to the MEMC's preparedness website, www.PrepareMetroKC.org, for more details.

The videos were produced in cooperation with the Kansas City Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee and funded by an Urban Area Security Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.