Section 7: Emergency Preparations in Minneapolis Following the attacks on the World Trade Centers in 2001, Minneapolis Minnesota began to incorporate many disaster-mitigating defenses, including necessary steps should the city experience a major disaster, including bridge collapse. Minneapolis experienced a successful recovery effort following the I-35 bridge collapse. This success is largely due to the investments the city has made to strengthen public safety in the area. These emergency response improvements involved funding to improve critical infrastructure and emergency personnel which also included additional training to help emergency responders work across organizational boundaries. Listed are a few of the steps that Minneapolis had taken prior to the bride collapse. • The state practiced snap assembly of an emergency operations center, where agencies could quickly coordinate their immediate response to a tragedy • Minneapolis studied where to place massive amounts of debris following a disaster • Most local law enforcement officials had updated radio systems, allowing them to talk to each other in emergencies. This was found to be an issue during the recovery efforts after 9/11 • The Minnesota Department of Transportation developed traffic plans in case a bridge failed • The bridge disaster was the first major test of state emergency response systems developed after years of practice and special urgency following Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina The public safety community completed the following plans prior to the I-35 Bridge disaster: • Deployed an 800 MHz Protocol Project 25 (P25) trunked LMR radio system that was shared across local, county and state agencies. • Invested in a $5.2M dollar computer-aided di... ... middle of paper ... ...he chances of additional collapse. When instability was suspected, fire Command made an appropriate decision to evacuate responders from the bridge until the area could be deemed safe enough for continued operations. • All but one of the patients who survived the bridge collapse and were transported to a hospital, survived to discharge from the hospital. The one patient who was pronounced dead at the hospital experienced cardiopulmonary arrest on the scene and had little to no chance of surviving. • Local EMs plans worked well. The Metro EMS Incident Response Plan (IRP) was used success- fully by all EMS personnel who responded as mutual aid providers. (Mutual aid agreements are not managed through the IRP.) • EMs response was rapid and in sufficient quantity. Units approached the scene from different directions allowing for a rapid, 360-degree scene assessment.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the state practiced snap assembly of an emergency operations center, where agencies could quickly coordinate their immediate response to a tragedy.
- Explains that most local law enforcement officials had updated radio systems, allowing them to talk to each other in emergencies. this was an issue during the recovery efforts after 9/11.
- Explains that the bridge disaster was the first major test of state emergency response systems developed after years of practice and special urgency following sept. 11, 2001, and hurricane katrina.
- Explains the deployment of an 800 mhz protocol project 25 trunked lmr radio system that was shared across local, county and state agencies.
- Explains that they invested in a $5.2m computer-aided dispatch system capable of mapping all emergency response vehicles with global positioning service (gps).
- Explains that the national incident management system (nims) training was extended to all employee levels to help ensure that emergency responders understood their respective roles during a disaster, acted collectively and shared necessary information with designated decision makers.
- Explains that special operations teams were developed at a cost of $8m, which included hazardous materials, collapsed structures, and bomb teams.
- Analyzes how the timeline of events demonstrates that emergency resources were mobilized quickly and effectively during the disaster.
- Explains that minneapolis earmarked $20 million to purchase new 800 mhz radios. minneapolis was ranked as one of six leading cities in tactical interoperability communications.
- Explains that the city spent $5.2 million on a state-of-the-art computer-aided dispatch system that has the capability to map the location of all emergency response vehicles equipped with global positioning systems.
- Explains that minneapolis needed specialized teams with technical skills that would be used in various disaster situations. the city created three special response teams at a cost of $8 million.
- Explains that minnesota now has a comprehensive plan for storing and distributing pharmaceuticals in the event of widespread disease.
- Reports that all individuals on the bridge and next to the water have been rescued. the rescue phase of operation is now complete. recovery operations will officially begin at dawn on 8/2.
- Reports that 50 patients have been transported to various hospitals by ems. 61 units including 31 ambulances have responded. 110 people will require treatment at hospitals or emergency clinics.
- Explains that local leaders had taken fema's integrated emergency management course and credited it as a major factor in their level of preparedness.
- Explains that the new 800 mhz radio system streamlined communications and enabled successful connections among a variety of organizations and agencies.
- Explains how technology played a major role in managing the response and recovery efforts, from real-time situational awareness provided by site video cameras to the web-based geographic information system (gis) common operating picture and traffic management systems.
- Explains that first-responder units arrived quickly and established their incident commands based on ics principles that affix responsibility for specific functions to subordinate command officers.
- Explains that engineers and bridge contractor personnel moved rap- idly to size up the stability of the bridge and to evaluate the chances of additional collapse. when instability was suspected, fire command evacuated responders.
- Explains that all but one of the patients who survived the bridge collapse and were transported to a hospital, survived to discharge from the hospital.
- Explains that the metro ems incident response plan (irp) was used success-fully by everyone who responded as mutual aid providers. mutual aid agreements are not managed through the irp
- Explains that ems response was rapid and in sufficient quantity. units approached the scene from different directions allowing for a rapid, 360-degree scene assessment.
- Explains minneapolis' disaster-mitigating defenses after the 2001 attacks on the world trade centers, including necessary steps should the city experience a major disaster, such as the i-35 bridge collapse.
- Describes the interagency disaster training exercises held in advance of an actual event to determine the effectiveness of their overall strategies, which allowed the public safety community to identify problems before the disaster.
- Explains the impact of the i-35 bridge collapse on businesses in the minneapolis area. a business continuity plan allows businesses to prepare for unforeseeable events that could impact their business.
- Reports that minneapolis fire department dispatched to the bridge for a reported bridge collapse. dispatch received data from bridge cameras confirming extent of damage.
- Describes how the emergency operations center (eoc) opened and staffed 24 hours a day for next four days. hennepin county sheriff’s office supervisor arrives on scene and assumes command of water rescue activities.
- Opines that the i-35w bridge collapse represented one of the most challenging events a city can face.
- Analyzes how the minneapolis emergency services community's cooperation between first responders, mutual-aid resources, and state and federal partners was outstanding.
Related
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- Final Projectexplanatory essaySection 5: I-35W Bridge Collapse Case Study On August 1, 2007 at approximately 6:05 p.m. 1,064-foot section of the 1,907-foot long I-35W highway bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River. This catastrophic failure of the main bridge span resulted in the death of 13 people and injuring 145 others. In total, 111 documented vehicles were on the bridge at the time that it collapsed. Included in this total are 25 construction vehicles.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the weight over the gusset plate caused strain and contributed to the collapse of the bridge.
- Explains that there is no policy requiring permission to stage materials on the bridge. had a permit been required, they may never have been staged.
- Explains that the same people who provide oversight for bridge instruction are tasked with inspecting the bridge at a later point. cross-training these instructors would enable them to assess the condition.
- Opines that a check after the increase in the dead weight of the bridge would have provided more realistic understanding of its load capacity.
- Explains that the designs for the bridge were meant to be preliminary. clearly marking them as preliminary may have prevented them from being used as the official designs.
- Explains that without load rating calculations, the state of minnesota was left more in the dark regarding the viability of the bridge.
- Opines that an analysis of the capacity of gusset plates may have tipped off officials to potential problems.
- Explains that gusset plates were not considered as part of the load rating in this incident.
- Explains that gusset plates are capable of supporting other parts, but when they are not properly sized, this may not happen. verifying their strength would be useful.
- Opines that listing them separately would lead to an individual, discriminatory look at this essential part.
- Explains that the 1,064-foot section of the i-35w highway bridge collapsed into the mississippi river, killing 13 people and injuring 145 others.
- Explains that the i-35 bridge collapse in 2007 was due to a miscalculation by the original design team, sverdrup & parcel and associates.
- Explains that training on the strength of gusset plates would have mitigated those assumptions with expertise. minneapolis addressed many of the necessary steps required following 9/11 and developed an extensive response plan for catastrophic events.
1434 wordsRead More - 1994 Northridge Earthquakeexplanatory essayThe 1994 Northridge earthquake was a disaster, as it “involved an entire community” (Edwards, 2013). The earthquake resulted in extensive damage to the infrastructure of the community and localized, long term, multidimensional negative effects to the surrounding communities (Edwards, 2013). While the earthquake had many characteristics of a catastrophe, it did not include “significant damage to the disaster response assets and deaths or injuries to emergency response personnel” (Edwards, 2013). The earthquake required assets from outside the community, such as Caltrans and the FHWA. Also, the damage and disruption was “confined to a sufficiently narrow geographic area” (Edwards, 2013).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the 1994 northridge earthquake was a disaster, as it "involved an entire community" and resulted in extensive damage to the infrastructure of the community.
- Explains that california has taken multiple steps to mitigate potential damage and loss of life from a severe earthquake. retrofits to buildings with unreinforced masonry helped reduce losses.
- Explains that earthquake preparedness and planning occurs at all levels: personal, local, state and federal.
- Explains that agencies with l.a. county developed a plan for immediate response after an earthquake disaster, called the earthquake emergency operational plan.
- Explains that the investments in preplanning and disaster preparedness yielded exponential returns in terms of lives and property saved.
- Explains that caltrans's intelligent traffic system traffic management center (tmc) was able to "mange the impact on the community’s traffic circulation system effectively."
- Explains that the caltrans tmc was staffed 24 hours a day with caltrans and california highway patrol personnel. extensive traffic management capabilities were already in place on most of the major freeways well before the earthquake.
- Describes how the city and county of los angeles' emergency operations centers were activated, fema responded, and government officials began making decisions on what should happen next.
- Explains that california has experienced major earthquakes in the past, including the 1989 loma prieta earthquake in san francisco bay area.
- Explains that california is constantly preparing for the big one. city, county, and state agencies are all working together to create an emergency response plan and system that mitigates potential effects, plans and prepares for all eventualities.
957 wordsRead More - The Cause of the Devastation of Hurricane Katrinaargumentative essayThe historical event of Hurricane Katrina, a category three hurricane with winds ranging from 111-130 mph, in August 2005 revealed major structural failures in the levee systems of New Orleans. Though not all structural failures are as catastrophic, the breeched levees led to loss of life, homes, businesses, highways, and left a trail of destruction that is still being repaired today. The result of this failure led to lawsuits, conspiracy theories, and court cases. Hurricane Katrina had a major effect upon our country and those results are still rippling on today. Though a city once devastated, major improvements to the failed system have been made and leave the city feeling safe once again.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how hurricane katrina, a category three hurricane with winds ranging from 111-130 mph, revealed major structural failures in the levee systems of new orleans.
- Explains that hurricane katrina flooded new orleans because of poor engineering, which could have prevented two thirds of the tragic flooding.
- Explains that after hurricane katrina, the congress ordered a congressional inspection of the federally build levee system. they discovered flaws in the actual engineering.
- Explains that once the speculations of a faulty levee system were proven correct, the blame fell upon the federal company of the u.s. army corps of engineering.
- Explains that the levees didn't follow design specifications, there were incomplete sections, surrounding soil gave way, substandard construction, and warning signs were ignored.
- Explains that sections of the wall that were incomplete and cracked prior to the hurricane were the first to fall. the safe load for the canals was designed to hold around fourteen feet of water flow.
- Explains that after hurricane katrina, many changes were made to the protection system. levees were reconstructed with deeper steel pilings, superior materials were used, and the overall construction designs were improved.
- Explains that thousands of lawsuits have taken place due to the effects of hurricane katrina.
- Concludes that hurricane katrina had devastating effects on the city of new orleans. they believe the blame was portioned correctly onto the heads of the engineers responsible for building the levees.
926 wordsRead More - Hurricane Katrinaopinion essayThe initial response or lack thereof, to the widespread disaster in the Gulf Coast, caused by Hurricane Katrina, demonstrated high levels of incompetence and disorganization by government officials. Images of desperate individuals awaiting rescue on their rooftops, and masses of people packed together in deplorable conditions in the Super Dome, circulated the globe. There was no hiding from the painful reality and the obvious inaction or inability of those responsible to care for these individual in the wake of this catastrophe. (12, 791)
In this essay, the author
- Explains that disaster relief is often thought of as a form of social insurance against natural catastrophes. the national response plan granted the department the legal authority to bypass standard procedures and deliver aid without detailed or complete assessments.
- Analyzes how president bush kept his speaking engagements as hurricane katrina approached new orleans. governor blanco passed the responsibility of evacuating the city to mayor nagin.
- Explains that michael brown was called to testify before congress in september 2005. he admitted that fema was "bad at logistics", and that they were often unable to track their emergency supplies.
- Opines that fema could consider a hierarchical approach to address this issue.
- Opines that emergency management reform will require local governments to take greater responsibility and assume greater accountability in preparation for, and management of, major natural disasters.
- Opines that states need to have greater control over the national guard to better respond in the wake of disasters.
- Opines that addressing the mental health needs of the survivors should be an integral part of emergency management reform.
- Analyzes how the initial response to hurricane katrina demonstrated high levels of incompetence and disorganization by government officials.
- Explains that the san francisco earthquake killed 478 people and left over 250,000 homeless. president carter created fema in 1979 to consolidate existing programs and improve the nation's level of preparedness.
- Explains that hurricanes are rare events that overwhelm the capacity of normal public organizations.
- Analyzes how wal-mart's response to hurricane katrina was managed by its emergency operations center located in arkansas.
- Explains that the areas hit hardest by katrina were already considered to be "medically underserved" and became crisis zones after the disaster.
2601 wordsRead More - How Has 9/11 Impacted Our Societyexplanatory essaySeptember 11th, 2001 was the day the United States changed forever. A total of nineteen terrorists hijacked four planes, two of which crashed into the World Trade Towers. The third plane managed to destroy part of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The terrorist attacks killed around an estimated two-thousand and nine hundred people. The nineteen men belonged to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. Unfortunately, due to the severe damage, the two towers collapsed within thirty minutes of each other.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that september 11th, 2001 was the day the united states changed forever. nineteen terrorists hijacked four planes, two of which crashed into the world trade towers.
- Explains that the world trade center towers has resulted in the largest emergency service response in united states history.
- Explains that the incident commander created a breakdown of the tasks that needed to be taken care of, including logistics, safety, communications, transportation, triage, morgue, and treatment.
- Explains that communication between hospitals and coordinators at the scene was almost nonexistent due to the early disruption of its communications tower and, later, the office of the oem itself.
- Explains that chaos was an appropriate word to describe the scene management due to a high number of factors that contributed to so many unfortunate deaths.
- Explains that it was difficult to pinpoint the moments that went right and according to plan on september 11th because there was not a plan in place if an attack such as four planes being hijacked by terrorist was ever to occur.
665 wordsRead More - The Downward Sprial of the United States Economyanalytical essay“ASCE Assesses Infrastructure Crisis.” Professional safety 52.11 (2007): 6-. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that if the us closed off borders to foreign trade, the transportation industry would suffer economic hardships and jobs would be lost.
- Argues that if the us closed off its borders to foreign trade, it would increase its standard of living and make america more profitable.
- Opines that americans should be thinking about the positive aspects of foreign trade instead of closing international trade borders.
- Analyzes how asce assesses infrastructure crisis. proquest research library. lugar, dick. the story of oil: top 10 questions about the history, development, and problems of
905 wordsRead More - The Pros And Cons Of Hurricane Katrinaanalytical essayIn response, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and lacked a plan of action. Even President George W. Bush seemed oblivious to the severity of what happened, the amount of people stranded or missing, how many buildings were damaged, and how much help was needed. The people remained desperate in their desolated communities as the government seemed to take a relaxed approach to the emergency. In desperation, tens of thousands of people broke into the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center looking to discover a glimmer of hope in the form of food, water, and shelter. Meanwhile, it was nearly impossible to leave New Orleans despite the evacuation that was put in place. Poor people who wished to leave did not have anywhere to go, nor a car to transport them. Others who tried to escape by walking over the Crescent City Connector bridge were rudely met by police with shotguns forcing them to turn back ("Hurricane Katrina."). The controversial reaction was highly publicized, causing officials from federal, state, and local agencies to blame and state accusations. For example, critics blamed an aging and disregarded federal levee system and a slow state and local response following the disaster for the unreasonably high loss of life and damage. Also, residents ignoring initial warnings to leave, strained the effectiveness of the rescue operations (Zimmermann). In defense of the importance of efficient response and evacuation, strong levees will ultimately continue to break because water has no way of escaping the below sea level regions. Evacuation is better because damage will happen anyways, so continuing to build extensive levees is a waste of money and resources. In the event of a major storm, levees will help, but prioritizing evacuation will same more lives. A better evacuation procedure will benefit
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the army corps of engineers built levees and seawalls during the 20th century, but their primary focus was containing the mississippi river.
- Argues that new orleans needs to be held accountable to a hire standard by improved monitoring and instruction.
- Explains that the second response to the catastrophe includes better evacuation and response plans. ray nagin issued the city's first-ever mandatory evacuation order the day before katrina hit.
- Analyzes how the federal emergency management agency (fema) took days to establish operations in new orleans, and lacked a plan of action.
- Explains that hurricane katrina's severe weather pattern led to flood waters, loss of power, and a breeding ground for mosquitoes. health concerns are indirect, lingering aspects of the storm.
- Explains that hurricane katrina's damage is inexcusable due to the lack of levees, procedures, and response. new orleans is already at a disadvantage given its sea level.
- Describes how hurricane katrina struck the gulf coast on august 29, 2005 and caused a disastrous sequence of events.
- Opines that although it was an extremely powerful storm, strengthened protective measures and response would have limited the damage and limiting future destruction.
1805 wordsRead More - .... The lessons learned from the many events will provide an extensive knowledge base and benchmark that all emergency managers can draw from to better position citizens for survival of large scale evacuations and sheltering events.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that evacuations are necessary to protect people's lives from hazards and disasters. the san diego wildfire in october 2007 caused a large scale evacuation.
- Explains that wildfires started as an annual and seasonal occurrence in the south western region of california since the early 1930's due to the hot dry summers and turbulent santa ana winds.
- Explains that several fires spanned the county and created the devastation. the first fire dubbed the harris ranch fire started 9:23 am october 21, 2007.
- Describes how the tactical firefighting operation, mass notification process, evacuation plans and emergency operations command and control were readied by noon of 21 october, after timing estimates of the rapidly growing fires showed them fast approaching city limits.
- Explains that the rapid fires required the activation of numerous shelters. the united states ship, uss mercy, was requested and stationed off the coast so that two local hospitals could evacuate patients.
- Explains that the region had many exercises, drills, plans, and preparations from many prior events, but there were a number of lessons to be learned.
- Recommends that there should be more volunteer recruiting and training of these particular skill sets to fill this need to assist them in possible future events.
- Recommends that hospital staff maintain a paperless system, secure portable computer hardware, and backup the files to these devices regularly.
- Opines that communities cannot effectively respond to or recover from disasters without strong cooperative partnerships with the private sector.
- Opines that people will have to sometimes evacuate to safer shelter during time of disaster. the lessons learned from the many events will provide an extensive knowledge base and benchmark that all emergency managers can draw on to better position citizens for survival.
- Cites the san diego fire aar main document and federal emergency management agency's national housing strategy.
960 wordsRead More - The Northridge California Earthquakeexplanatory essayHazards pose risk to everyone. Our acceptance of the risks associated with hazards dictates where and how we live. As humans, we accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live our daily lives. From time to time, a hazard becomes an emergent situation. Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in California are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with. This paper will examine one hazard that caused a disaster requiring a response from emergency management personnel. Specifically, the hazard more closely examined here is an earthquake. With the recent twenty year anniversary covered by many media outlets, the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California earthquake to date is the most expensive earthquake in American history.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that humans accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live their lives. tornadoes in the midwest, hurricanes along the gulf coast or earthquakes are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with.
- Explains that the northridge earthquake was an important geological event. the crust and upper portion of the mantle make up the surface layer of earth.
- Explains that the northridge earthquake left a lasting impression on anyone who survived.
- Explains that the northridge earthquake struck at 4:31 am local time. the response to the event occurred quickly.
- Explains that los angeles was prepared to respond to an earthquake and did so quickly. the recovery and reconstruction plan assigns primary responsibility for 300 separate tasks to at least one city agency or department.
- Opines that fema's response was no less important or immediate than that of the city, county or state.
- Opines that fema's assistance to displaced families didn't end there. it worked with the state of california and housing and urban development to relocate one hundred and thirty thousand families.
- Explains that the small business administration (sba) offered assistance to businesses and individuals. the sba issued loans totaling about four billion dollars to replace real estate damaged in the disaster.
- Explains that earthquakes have no early warning system unlike hurricanes or tornadoes, so no watch or warning was ever issued for the northridge earthquake.
- Analyzes how the northridge, california earthquake, the most expensive disaster in american history, left scars on the landscape and in the minds of those who lived through it.
- Summarizes the northridge earthquake: 1994 quake still fresh in los angeles minds after 20 years.
- Explains gordon, k., and emerson, j. governing through a disaster: lessons from the 1994 northridge earthquake.
1129 wordsRead More - How To Create A Disaster Recovery Plancomparative essayThe events of September have made disaster recovery planning rise to the top of every organization's IT department priority list. Until the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993, few companies had even invested in shared data backups. Raging Wire Telecommunications, a California disaster recovery firm, estimates that the 1993 bombing put half the 350 companies in the World Trade Center out of business because of the disruption. Thanks to improvements in disaster recovery planning, more tenants of the recent World Center disaster will be spared, according to Raging Wire. However, about 82 percent of all companies still don't have adequate disaster recovery plans in place, according to Raging Wire.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the objectives and the course of action of the organization.
- Explains that the disaster recovery planning team should perform this step to identify which business departments, functions, or systems are most vulnerable to potential threats.
- Explains that the disaster recovery planning team should work with the organization's technical and security person to determine the probability of each functional business units' critical systems becoming severely disrupted and document the amount of acceptable risk the business unit can tolerate.
- Explains that the steps outlined here provide all of the components necessary to perform a recovery. steps one through four apply to functional business units that manage technology systems to process critical functions.
- Explains that the disaster recovery planning team should perform this task to provide for a current backup of critical program and data.
- Opines that disaster recovery should perform the task of looking for a location, other than the normal facility, used to process data and conduct business.
- Explains that the disaster recovery plan defines the resources, actions, tasks, and data required to manage the recovery in the event of an interruption.
- Describes the emergency response procedures to occur during and after an emergency is declared for that business unit, and checks the building before allowing individuals to enter.
- Recommends documenting notification procedures for alerting unit all senior management executives, disaster recovery team members, and business unit executives.
- Explains that testing a plan helps the disaster recovery planning team see how their recovery plan and procedures work in practice.
- Explains that the events of september have made disaster recovery planning rise to the top of every organization's it department priority list.
- Recommends that the disaster recovery coordinator, working with the appropriate team leaders, perform steps 3 to 7. senior executives will perform the first two steps.
- Explains that disaster recovery plans can have a shelf life between six to 12 months depending on changes in the organization's procedures, systems, and personnel.
1851 wordsRead More