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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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October
2004
Volume 7
- Number 1 |
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Related Sites:
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Update on
Response Efforts to Hurricane Frances Bill
Fuller Response to the approach of Hurricane Frances began days before she reached the Florida coast. The military took action to prepare for Frances’ arrival by evacuating the U.S. Central Command and Special Operations Command from MacDill A.F.B. to an alternate location in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football stadium. Troops from Patrick A.F.B. were evacuated, and Navy and Air Force aircraft were ordered out of the area. Some military operations centered in Miami were on stand-by to be moved to Arizona if necessary, and NASA’s operations at Cape Canaveral were shut down and secured. The state of Florida evacuated sections of 16 counties and suggested evacuation to residents in 5 others. Evacuations went smoothly in part thanks to the slow approach of Frances giving residents extra time to leave (Federal Agencies…, September 2004). Among other preparations made by FEMA in response to the approach of Frances, the FEMA.gov website listed the following preparations: FEMA’s National
Emergency Operations Center, Emergency Support Team and Region Four
Regional
Operations Center operated around the clock, coordinating the
pre-positioning
of assets and responding to state requests for assistance. The U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, at FEMA's request, coordinated the staging of 100
truckloads of
water and 100 truckloads of ice. A first shipment of
30,000 tarps was moved to Atlanta, Ga., to be pre-staged for delivery
to areas
affected by Frances once the storm has cleared. FEMA worked to
provide 10 trailers of generators to be used to provide power to
critical
facilities affected by the hurricane. Four Urban Search and
Rescue Teams were deployed. Four Disaster Medical
Assistance Teams (DMAT) and one Veterinary Medical Assistance Team was
deployed
to sites in Georgia and Florida to support medical facilities and
hospitals
that would not be fully operational following the storm. Seven additional
teams were placed on alert. (DMATs comprise doctors, nurses and medical
technicians trained to handle trauma, pediatrics, surgery and mental
health
problems. DMATs bring truckloads of medical equipment and supplies with
them.) Five pharmaceutical
caches, containing emergency medical supplies, were pre-positioned in
Atlanta
and Tampa. FEMA's Mobile
Emergency Response Services communications units were made available to
provide
telephone, radio and video links in support of response and recovery
efforts.
(Federal Preparations…, September 2004) Over 350 shelters were identified and 8 reception areas opened by the Red Cross. This was the largest response ever initiated by the Red Cross to a natural disaster in the U.S (Federal Agencies…, September 2004). Hurricane Frances made landfall on the Florida coast near St. Lucie as a category 2 hurricane at about 1am on Sunday, September 4th. After a 30 hour crossing of the Florida peninsula, she moved into the Gulf of Mexico and then made landfall again on Florida’s northern coast (National…, September 2004). Six deaths were attributed to the hurricane and somewhere between $2 and $10 billion in damages (Florida…, September 2004). References “Federal Agencies Respond To Hurricane Frances -- And Continue To Address The Needs Of Hurricane Charley Victims.” Monday, September 6, 2004. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13783 “Federal Preparations Accelerate For Hurricane Frances.” Friday, September 3, 2004. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13724 “Florida cleans up after Frances.” Tuesday, September 7, 2004. http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/06/hurricane.frances/ “National Situation Update: Sunday, September 5, 2004.” http://www.fema.gov/emanagers/2004/nat090504.shtm |