Imagine the earthquake that everyone keeps warning us about has come. Perhaps a tornado has destroyed the town, leaving dozens dead in it's wake. Or an explosion has occurred, resulting in a massive fire, injuries, and ruptured gas, power, and water lines.

What would we do? Fortunately, there are those that are responsible for coordinating emergency services. A new network has been formed in the area to pool resources of not only emergency services in Tennessee, but in Arkansas and Missouri as well.

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The Tri-State Emergency Network held its inaugural meeting Tuesday in Dyersburg. Emergency services representatives from as far away as Poplar Bluff, Mo. and Blytheville, Ark. attended. Cities and counties surrounding Dyersburg were also represented.

Dyersburg Police Capt. Mark Grant, who oversees public safety communications for the city of Dyersburg, explained the purpose of the new network. "We want to form a Tri-State Emergency Pact with other emergency responders in our region that will enable us to pool our resources and training in case of a disaster," Grant explained. "By doing this, we know what other agencies in the surrounding area can offer to us in the way of assistance, and they know what we can offer."

He added that the network includes those emergency operations centers within a 150-mile radius of Dyersburg, and includes northwest Tennessee, southeast Missouri, and northeast Arkansas.

James Medling, the Dyer County Emergency Management Director, told those gathered that the new system would benefit everyone. "This network will provide information to and from our neighbors. It will help us to keep up with what is going on and what is coming toward us," Medling said, citing an example of severe weather in Poplar Bluff coming toward Dyer County and the ability of emergency management officials in Poplar Bluff to contact officials here in a timely manner.

Jim Belles with the National Weather Service in Memphis commended the effort. "I am incredibly impressed. At the National Weather Service, we get the opportunity to see what is going on in a lot of states, and we don't see this kind of cooperation often," Belles said. "So often people aren't concerned if it doesn't affect their community. This teamwork represents this area's ability to see the big picture, not just what affects you. We live in the most dangerous area of the United States for severe weather. The question is not if, it is when."

The importance of amateur radio operators was also discussed. "Emergency Operations Centers need to know how many amateur radio operators there are in the area and how to contact them," said Tommy Thompson, who is part of a Memphis amateur radio club. "The abilities of ham operators should be included in your disaster plan." Thompson added that amateur radio operators can spot and report current weather conditions, provide damage assessment after a disaster, provide backup information services when normal means of communication are not working or are overloaded, and provide relief for emergency dispatchers. "We should break the city, county, and state boundaries and share information with others in surrounding areas. Most weather systems come from the west to the east. It makes sense to alert counties where the weather is heading," he said. "We should forget governmental boundaries when a threat occurs."