It isn't glamorous, it isn't exciting, but it is something we all need and need desperately. All countries, states, and localities need to have emergency management contingency plans in place in case of a catastrophe. We have seen what the lack of contingency planning looks like. Think of Hurricane Katrina. Think of so many of the earthquakes overseas-in China, India, Iran. There were so many more killed in these disasters because of a lack of resources and emergency management planning.
The volcano Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland has spewed ashes high into the atmosphere over much of Europe crippling its airspace for days. This has brought an economic tsunami to the region. There has been lost revenue due to airfares that will have to be refunded, business that was not able to be conducted, hotel rooms that sit vacant, restaurants void of patrons, taxis that sit idle; there are also secondary victims like department stores and Mom and Pop shops that rely on tourist dollars to thrive. There are now shortages of food that is traditionally imported to Europe from other parts of the world, like South American fruits for example and fish that is usually flown in from Asia.
One would think that Europe, made up of countries with modern economies and lifestyles would have mighty emergency management plans in place in case of a catastrophe. They have, after all, recently experienced terrorist attacks. Maybe they do have plans, but apparently they just didn't figure on a volcano closing their air space for days. When I think of Europe, I always think about all of the other modes of transportation they use instead of relying on cars the way we do. They have many more trains, water taxis and hydrofoils, a Chunnel connecting Britain to France, ferries. They use cars far less than we do because gasoline is so much more expensive there, so they rely more on public transportation.
So lets see now, we have throngs of people stuck at the airport with seemingly no way to get from point A to point B in Europe and out of Europe. It is really hard to believe that the train systems are unable to add extra cars to get people out of the ash stricken areas and into other countries that do have open air space. Not everyone in the ash stricken areas was looking to fly across the ocean. Many were just trying to get to another European destination or to Asia. At one point I read that the British Navy was going to use some of their vessels to ferry passengers from Great Britain to the European mainland so they could make alternate travel arrangements.
I find it hard to believe that any reputable emergency management plan didn't take into account what would happen if air space was shut down for a few days. That factor seems like a major player in the emergency planning process.
All we have to do is look back to our own volcano, or should I say hurricane, Katrina. Even though we have an agency dedicated to emergency management planning and disaster relief, FEMA, it was an unmitigated disaster when it unfolded and we were left holding the bag. Here we had the city of New Orleans that is largely at or below sea level, protected by a system of old levees, and a category 5 Hurricane was barreling toward it. The federal and state government knew for days that it was coming, they knew even if the intensity diminished it would still be disastrous. The Governor of Louisiana didn't force a mandatory evacuation until the day before it struck! They had the means to get people out of the danger zone for days before-by train and by school bus, but they didn't force them to go until the last minute and even then many many people refused to go! This left thousands in the direct path of the disaster. It made FEMA's rescue and recovery efforts infinitely harder and costlier. It also cost over 1,800 lives.Even though Katrina ultimately struck the Gulf Coast region as a category 3 storm, We were woefully unprepared to deal with all that this meant.
We didn't even know where to begin to help those that had stayed behind. For a few days, it felt like nobody was in charge. George Bush came on TV telling "Brownie", FEMA director Mike Brown, that he was doing a good job with the rescue/recovery efforts. We all scratched our heads with that statement. It didn't really seem like he was doing a good job. I remember the scenes of Geraldo standing outside the Superdome begging for help, for food, for water for the people that were taking refuge inside. That place became a living hell. The restrooms were unable to operate because of power outages and non functioning sewer systems. The flooding was so bad that the water table made sewage function impossible. So you had over 26,000 people that got food and water and needed to use restrooms. The halls of the Superdome became makeshift bathrooms. I will not elaborate but you can imagine the horror that created.
There had been a fleet of school buses in a parking lot in New Orleans that were not ultimately utilized for evacuation of residents. There were plenty of images of those hundreds of buses under water after the flooding.
Then there were all of those photos of people on rooftops looking for rescues. There were individuals and coast guard, along with other armed services members that went around in motor boats scooping up survivors as best they could. There were helicopter airlifts for some. It was to the spectator, disorganized and chaotic. There was rampant looting. People broke into stores and took large screen TVs and appliances. They did take food, water, health supplies too. There was a "wild west" feel to the situation in downtown New Orleans. It took a while and a coordinated effort to get things back under control and get people back onto the right side of the law. This hurricane was the costliest on record to the USA ($86 billion in recovery and repairs).
When you think about it, we suffer hurricanes almost every year. We know what damage they can cause and what the survivors will need in the aftermath. Why did Katrina go so wrong? Was it because it was so much bigger than any we had ever experienced? Not really . Hurricane Andrew hit Southern Florida as a category 5 storm in 1992 and brought massive destruction, but somehow, recovery and clean up seems to have gone smoother. Before that storm, over 1 million people were forced to evacuate the area, and 1,500 National Guard troops were stationed nearby to combat any looting that might occur in the aftermath. As a result, 65 people were killed in Hurricane Andrew versus 1,836 in Katrina. I guess the mandatory evacuations really help to save lives. The levees in New Orleans were not able to withstand the flood waters. That seems to be the crux of the problem, yet instead of coming up with another solution, we have simply repaired the levees ahead of the next potential disaster.
One other major factor here is that people need to take responsibility for their own safety. When you are told to evacuate or you will die, you should evacuate immediately. When you stay behind despite these warnings you not only put yourself in danger, you endanger those that have to come and look for you and rescue you. I kept hearing about how poor the residents of New Orleans were. Poor or rich, if someone offers you a ride out of the danger zone, you take it! Worry about where you are going or what will happen when you get there after you leave the imminent danger. Poor does not have to mean stupid.
Back to the European volcano and its aftermath. It is impossible for anyone to say with certainty how long this volcano will continue to erupt and put the ash cloud into the air over Europe. It could go on indefinitely or it could end today. That is the tricky part. One would hope that even though Europe seems to have been woefully unprepared for this magnitude of disruption in air travel, that they are learning as they go along how to cope and how to move the people to where they need to go by alternate means. This learning curve could help prepare them for a future volcanic eruption, or dare I say terrorist attack on an airliner.
Being prepared is not fun, it is not trendy, and it costs a lot of money. Emergency Management agencies have large budgets and a lot of employees. But in the long run, they save lives, save money and could save an economy from tanking once again when another disaster comes along.
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