Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management

Crisis and Emergency Management

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April 2008                                                                                                   Volume 14 - Number 3

    

 

Perspectives...

     

 

How a Chicken House Survived Tropical Storm Isabel

By Rob Benedict

 

During the summers in between college semesters, I worked at an all you can eat Crab house in the eastern shore of Maryland in order to build up my spending reserves for the year to come.  The restaurant, although located in the small town of Whitehaven, MD and over twenty minutes from what most would call civilization, was widely known around eastern shore. Its success was attributed to its extremely high quality crabs, which were bought from local Chesapeake Bay distributers, and its unique atmosphere – a chicken-house which had been completely gutted and remodeled to create the restaurant.

 

Through the subsequent summers I became friends with the thirty something owner, and following my graduation from Wake Forest with Bachelors of Science in Biology, I worked a part time job at the restaurant.  It was beneficial to both parties involved; the owner got a hard-working employee who knew the internal operations of a restaurant, while I received a steady paycheck while searching for that elusive full time employment and a start to a career. Although I didn’t know it at the time, the events that unraveled during my final summer of employment at the local restaurant would prove to be beneficial in my future career and foreshadow my course of study in graduate school at George Washington University. 

 

On September 19th, 2003, the Eastern Shore of Maryland was hit by Tropical Storm Isabel.  Although the storms path was far west of this portion of Maryland the effects were felt throughout the region, and specifically in the town of Whitehaven, the home of the restaurant.  Whitehaven, Maryland is a town of only 1059 residents, is the home to many older and historical buildings and is only three feet above sea level. [i], [ii]  The storm surge felt by the area peaked at eight feet and flooded most if not all of the small town.[iii]  As a result, the community was devastated. However, the restaurant was saved from the same fate as its community by the resourcefulness of its owner. Through his independent emergency preparation and mitigation, the restaurant owner not only preserved his own livelihood, but boosted his business both during and after the recovery efforts and ultimately increased his standing in the area.

 

Prior to the storm the restaurant owner, recognizing his position of vulnerability with his close proximity to the water and outdated structure, planned ahead for such events.  Structural improvements were made to the chicken house that kept intact the charm of the restaurant while reinforcing the structure to face storms.  More importantly, a generator was installed to keep his equipment running in the event of an extended power outage.  Finally, prior to the storm under the owner’s supervision the employees moved valuables to higher ground and out of harms way.  During the storm three feet of water filled the restaurant and power was lost temporarily.  Immediately following the storm, after the waters receded fans, powered by the generator fans were brought in to dry out the restaurant and the valuables were returned.  Not only was the restaurant able to reopen with full operations only one day after the worst of the storm passed, but the generator from the restaurant was used to power much of the small town until the utility company could respond to downed lines.

 

Five years later working in the emergency management field and taking class towards my Masters in Engineering Management with a focus in Crisis, Emergency, and Risk Management I still remember this event as my first introduction to real life emergency management.