Are you ready for a ‘black sky’ event? 

September 2021: The Emergency Planning Society, a CRJ Partner, is collaborating with the Electric Infrastructure Security (EIS) Council to deliver free online training for resilience professionals and families.


 
EARTH-EX is an exercise opportunity to self-evaluate levels of preparedness in the face of real-world black sky potential disasters. It is a cross-sector exercise focused on individual, organisational and community resilience.
 
The EIS Council defines a black sky hazard as: “A catastrophic event that severely disrupts the normal functioning of our critical infrastructures in multiple regions, for long durations.” Put simply, it is a major event that we are not prepared for, such as a geomagnetic disturbance, cyberattack or high altitude electromagnetic pulse. 
 
EARTH-EX is a dynamic, engaging and thought-provoking tabletop exercise. It uses video injects and a modern game-like interface to present the situation, new information and facilitate exercise play through the exercise landscape.
 
This year’s exercise presents two scenarios faced by people worldwide – uncontrolled fires and extreme flooding events. It runs from September 1 to October 31, 2021, and is available to play anytime during this period. It is also possible to play multiple functional areas and ‘lanes’.
 
Play consists of gathering new information, developing courses of action, and making and refining decisions. Players receive all the essential information for their sector and other sectors that can influence the environment. There are two separate phases, one for fire and one for floods.
 
This year’s themes include developing situational, understanding evacuation decisions, supply chain and resource management impacts and the critical restoration mission.
 
There is an individual area and a family functional area that make the platform suitable for everyone to participate. Six additional functional areas support in-depth play for organisations, businesses and government agencies. Within these six areas, thirty-eight unique lanes address nearly all of the functions that make up the modern, highly interconnected and interdependent world.
 
EARTH EX is adaptable, flexible and built to support virtual play either as an individual exercise or to drive group play for a section or team. With local facilitation, it can drive significant organisational elements like an Emergency Operations Centre or corporate boardroom discussion. All of the information needed to support these environments, including User and Facilitator Guides will be provided.
 
The EARTH EX design supports cross-sector awareness using customised injects to advance play. Participants can sign up and play one or more of these exercise areas: Individuals and families; leaders and communities; government functions; medical and healthcare functions; critical infrastructure/utility functions; private sector and financial functions; and communications and IT operation.
 
EEX-21 is focused on the following training and resilience objectives to drive learning:

• Develop situational awareness;
• Understanding mission/business essential internal and external critical infrastructure;
• Understanding critical interdependencies;
• Developing courses of action;
• Making and adjusting decisions;
• Understanding critical restoration missions;
• Improve planning for actions in response to a catastrophic event;
• Refine or develop restoration priorities and support concepts;
• Better understand the tools and capabilities required; and
• Develop internal and external future training and support requirements.

 
More info
EARTH EX is a self-assessed, self-evaluated exercise opportunity. Each person or organisation will evaluate their own level of play and readiness.
 
EARTH EX follows HSEEP guidelines and is perfect for meeting EMPG exercise requirements. Everyone that completes the exercise and the survey will receive a certificate of completion.
 
For more information on EARTH EX-21, email this address.