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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Puget Sound selected as venue for upcoming international "Top Officials"counter-terrorism exercise
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
10/8/2002 1:59:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Office of the Mayor (206) 684-4000
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Puget Sound selected as venue for upcoming international
"Top Officials"counter-terrorism exercise
Washington Governor Gary Locke, King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced today they have accepted an invitation from the U.S. Department of Justice and State Department to participate in TOPOFF 2 – a major counter-terrorism exercise that will involve both U.S. and Canadian first responders and national officials. The exercise will held in May 2003.
TOPOFF, which stands for "Top Officials," is a Congressionally mandated exercise designed to test the country’s ability to respond to and manage acts of terrorism. The first large-scale national TOPOFF exercise occurred in 2000 and included the cities of Denver, Colorado, Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Washington D.C. Given the events of 9-11, TOPOFF 2 is expected to draw broad participation ranging from local first responders to federal officials.
This exercise will help us better protect our citizens from acts of terrorism," said Locke. "TOPOFF 2 affords us the opportunity to test, evaluate and improve our collective local, state and federal emergency operations."
"Being selected as a national venue for TOPOFF 2 is a chance of a lifetime for this region to expand its readiness to deal with acts of terrorism or any other emergency we may be faced with in the future," added King County Executive Ron Sims. "Even more importantly, this exercise will show us the additional steps we need to take to be the very best prepared region in the country."
"TOPOFF is another opportunity for Seattle to work with regional partners to test and coordinate our emergency plans," said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. "We’ve worked hard to develop a good plan. This year, we created a new Emergency Preparedness Bureau in the Seattle Police Department to make sure we are ready, whether the potential threat is earthquake, terrorism or civil disturbance. I want the citizens of Seattle and our region to know we are prepared."
Numerous federal agencies will team up with responders from Seattle, King County, the state of Washington along with area hospitals, cities and other agencies to participate in the exercise. Elements of the terrorism scenario will not be revealed prior to the start of the exercise. While some mock activities will require actual response by agencies, other events will be "simulated" and will not be noticeable to the general public. The exercise is expected to unfold over a 10-day period.
The state of Washington, Seattle and King County will share an estimated $2 million in federal funds to offset costs associated with participating in the exercise. Most of the funding will be used for exercise planning and to defray costs associated with around-the-clock operations.
During the next several months, regional agencies will work with the Department of Justice and other federal departments to develop elements of the exercise. Special emphasis will be placed on activities that will improve overall response and coordination between agencies.
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Mayor's Office
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