As
tornadoes dance across the Midwest leaving wrecked communities and lives in
their wake, rivers overflow their banks in many states and wind-blown wildfires
scorch parts of California; even as coastal regions already devastated by
recent storm damage begin to plan for yet another looming hurricane season
ahead, I sit at my keyboard wishing I possessed the words to share with my
readers something of what I know first-hand is going on behind the television
scenes we all see. Much of my later life
has been spent as a trained and experienced Emergency Manager, working both in
the field with responders and in the darkened rooms where those who direct the
efforts join forces to coordinate a disparate range of people and resources –
the unseen and unsung heroes of disaster response and recovery.
My brain cells overflow with
memories of sharing the crammed interiors of Emergency Operations Centers
(EOCs) where hastily-rigged phone lines, radios and generator-powered laptops
link a raft of highly-trained Emergency Management specialists who organize and
oversee every facet of what the armies of responders in the field are doing. At
the center of this “madhouse” of voices, chalkboards and interplay is a
nationally-recognized system of functions
which must be performed, usually identified by a designated “ESF” number
(Emergency Specialty Function). People may come and go, but the function
remains manned and the position within the EOC occupied. Thanks to a high level
of cross-training, an individual might end up managing a handful of ESF
assignments – especially when personnel constraints conspire to take a toll on
people who may be working double shifts. In one situation where my usual
specialty had been managing volunteers and donations (a gigantic task all by
itself), I have also covered resource coordination and fuel deliveries, animal
control, and damage assessment – all critical ESF responsibilities - almost
simultaneously - sometimes with a phone in one hand and a mobile radio in the
other.
It is an “article of faith” in the
Emergency Management community, that there is always one person in charge, and
in hard-hit Hardee County, Florida during Hurricane “Charley”, where most
people working in the EOC in Wauchula had lost their own homes and had family
members at risk, the Commander at any particular time carried a hand-carved and
very distinctive “baton” as he-or-she walked around the upstairs room we
occupied; one of the few buildings still left standing in the county seat. The
“passing of the baton” as leadership changed was both visual and smilingly
symbolic.
In that particular situation, a high
degree of cooperation and communication between EOC staff was necessary: with
high temperatures and high humidity, I had to consult with Health & Medical
folks when I had volunteers bringing prepared food into the community, and
volunteer families bringing children might find worthwhile service for their
kids walking dogs and feeding pets at our makeshift sanctuary in the Fairgrounds
where we had up to 2,000 domestic pets to deal with at any given time. (Not
counting errant alligators which had to be corralled.)
With dozens of large borrowed
generators performing needed services at several public utilities, coordinating
diesel fuel deliveries and keeping track of it all was just one part of
resource management in a county which would not see power restored for weeks,
and “Damage Assessment” went on daily.
My admiration for such entities as
LOWE’S, PETCO, and WALMART went up several notches as I saw them set up distribution
points for trucked-in supplies at central locations. CAUTION NOTE: Plastic money doesn’t work in disasters and
cash is essential. Vehicle operation is
restricted, gasoline pumps don’t work, but flat tires are plentiful with nails,
screws and mixed debris everywhere. One of my personal pleasures was to drive
our official van into back streets where I would invite little kids to jump in
to enjoy ten minutes of air conditioning; the “Thanks” and smiles on their
mostly non-English-speaking faces was one of my special rewards.
Utah is one of many states that
participate in EMAC – the Emergency Management Assistance Compact – an
agreement which permits our E.M. people to offer help to stricken states when
needed, and I was grateful for chances to be deployed as a representative of
our state. I have worked with hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and wild fires, and
I have found that our Utah cadre are welcomed and respected everywhere for our
professionalism and sense of caring. Perhaps more than any other memory, I will
always cherish the sense of camaraderie which bonded together these makeshift
teams of dedicated professionals.
Hardee
County’s Emergency Operations Center from which 17 “functions” were coordinated
during Hurricane “Charley”. The desk in the foreground was the author’s
position when not alternating with partners in the field.
Finding
access into storm-ravaged buildings in search of trapped and injured survivors
in a region of widespread damage is a primary and dangerous undertaking. In the
author’s opinion, Florida – not surprisingly - has the most highly-organized
and best-coordinated Emergency Response master plan in the nation. Al Cooper Photos
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