FEMA and its emergency management partner organizations today released Philip Mann’s PrepTalk “Public Works & Emergency Management: Restoring Lifeline Services,” the fourth PrepTalk release from the Sept. 6, 2018 symposium. Mann is the Public Works Director for Gainesville, Florida. He is the past Chair of the American Public Works Association’s (APWA) Emergency Management Committee and is APWA’s representative to the Public Safety Advisory Committee working on the FirstNet project.

In his PrepTalk Mann shares a career’s worth of public works experience, including response and recovery from many disasters. Mann explains that the lifelines managed by a public works department are essential to “allow the community to survive” before and after a disaster. These systems include transportation; supporting utilities to restore power and communications; water for homes, businesses, and fire suppression; waste and stormwater management; and solid waste management including debris removal.