EDMG498 American Military University Discussion Group Six: Tornado Hit Discussion Group Six: Your community has been struck by a tornado at 7:30 am on a Se

EDMG498 American Military University Discussion Group Six: Tornado Hit Discussion Group Six: Your community has been struck by a tornado at 7:30 am on a September Wednesday. Right now you know that the school gymnasium, which was to be the temporary shelter was struck, but reports are at best sketchy. Right now power is out, people are confused and the phone is ringing off the hook. What would you do to bring order and assistance to your community in the first two hours of the emergency? Post this to both the Discussion Group Six folder and the discussion board (insure that you check off submit for grading) and reply to at least two other student’s postings. See the attached Rubric. Responses to Question
Student 1
Class,
This assignment is all too real for me. Last year, as Florence turned passed Virginia, my county got
struck with 7 tornadoes in one day (11 for the entire state that day). We had multiple
structures destroyed including a metal warehouse where one individual was killed in the collapse.
Here is how that day of events went down:
Initial reports of a possible tornado in the area were immediately followed by multiple calls that a
large metal building “just flew apart”. Our Emergency Communications Center immediately
dispatched Police and Fire Resources to the area to provide assistance. Police arrived on the scene
first and confirmed one fatality and complete loss of a building. A permitter was established and the
road was closed due to major debris in the roadway. Just as a Incident Command post was
established, a second tornado warning was issued and multiple funnel clouds were observed in the
area. All resources on scene sought shelter inside local buildings until the warning was lifted. At this
point the decision to open the county Emergency Operations Center due to the multiple impacted
areas. Through the EOC, communications were sent to news channels and through our mass
communication system to citizens advising them to avoid the impacted areas, as well as where to go
for shelter. We opened multiple libraries throughout the county to serve as shelters and staffed them
with CERT members. I would follow that same procedure as best as possible to address the incident
above.
Per our EOP, Sheriff deputies were dispatched to intersections without electricity to direct traffic.
Through the EOC, cleanup crews were coordinated to address blocked roads that impacted the
travel of emergency vehicles. We continued to communicate with our citizens through the news
media as well as out mass text notifications and cleaning up damages through EOC operations until
about midnight that evening. Damage assessments and debris cleanup continued for weeks after
the incident.
In the instance described in the above assignment, once the EOC is established, it is important to
immediately establish a new community shelter area for those impacted since the primary shelter
was impacted. This is a great opportunity to utilize the CERT team if one exists to help man the
shelter and reduce the stress on the professional resources. Establishment of an EOC is important
to get all key players in one location to ensure resources are acquired as quickly as possible.
Thank you all for another great course.
Jason
Student 2
First and foremost, stay calm (I know; yeah, right!). Phone lines are ringing like crazy, so they
work. Why not call the school’s principal—if the school is a potential shelter site, the school’s
leadership should be listed as a point of contact for reasons just such as this. If unable to reach the
school to assess its suitability for sheltering, send someone to check on it. It’s daylight at 0730, so
darkness will not be an immediate hazard to response operations. Send a scout with handheld radio
contact to assess the status of the temporary shelter, and consider alternatives that are sizeable
enough to conduct shelter operations. Churches, shopping centers, auditoriums, ballrooms, sports
arenas and other locations are possibilities. In fact, there should already be a list of alternative
shelters from emergency planning efforts during non-emergency times. Depending on the size of
the community, a series of alternate shelters should be considered in order to care for the expected
population that was affected by the emergency. The scout should report in via radio at prescribed
intervals to maintain accountability and provide updated status of shelter availability. The scout
should assess all suitable facilities enroute to provide additional alternatives, not just the target
school.
Simultaneously, execute the current emergency plan. Stand up incident command and the EOC.
Next, communicate with the public. They should calmly leave damaged buildings and find adequate
shelter. With power out, the giant voice system is likely dead, but radio, television and social media
broadcasts can be used to provide immediate instructions. Phone operators should be provided
easy to follow instructions to relay to distressed callers. Once the shelter situation is determined,
instruct call centers to direct the citizens affected to report to identified shelters. Depending on the
community’s size and the damage from the tornado, the scout’s assessment shouldn’t take more
than a half hour, unless the roads are blocked by downed trees and power lines. Radio contact is
important to maintain prompt communication as the situation develops.
Jeremiah

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