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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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January
2004
Volume 5
- Number 4 |
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Related Sites:
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Update of Costs of the Attack
The
impact of natural, technological and conflict hazards is felt by all
sectors
and segments of society, as demonstrated by the tragic events of
September 11,
2001. Even today as the recovery
efforts continue, all levels of government, the business community,
political
leadership, community activists and individuals are working to improve
preparedness and reduce our vulnerabilities to future attacks. Likewise, the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (also known as the 9/11
Commission) is
attempting to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances
surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including
preparedness for
and the immediate response to the attacks. In
the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the massive response and recovery
efforts
undertaken by federal, state and local governments have been nothing
less than
amazing. From initial response and
compensation efforts to infrastructure restoration and economic
revitalization,
a significant challenge has been accounting for costs associated with
the
response and recovery efforts, quantifying these efforts and
determining
economic impacts to the regions affected. Although
much has been quantified about September 11th,
it is
extremely difficult to demonstrate the total impact of the terrorist
attacks. Therefore, the scope of this
project focuses on providing statistical data and information related
to the
following:
Specifically,
this project provides a historical context from which to view
terrorism,
updates statistics about the 2,976 victims that died as a result of the
attacks
on the World Trade Center (WTC) and Pentagon, details economic impact
to the
airline industry and accounts for the $18.5 Billion in federal
assistance
provided to NYC. As
we continue to examine the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and
compile the
statistics, it is important to remember that firefighters, emergency
technicians, police, medical personnel and emergency planners at the
local
level still require resources to prepare for the future.
Once the resources are provided they must
apply all the available resources, knowledge and lessons learned to the
discipline of emergency management so that our communities are better
prepared
for the next attack. Additionally, they
must adopt an all-hazards systems approach to all phases of emergency
management (mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery). I
truly believe that preparedness is a deterrent to terrorism and is
necessary at
all levels to minimize the impact of future terrorist events. Without preparedness, terrorist groups will
continue to take advantage of what they perceive to be our weakness and
the war
on terrorism will continue. 2.0 GLOBAL TERRORISM STATISTICS FOR 2002The
State Department’s 2002 annual report on Patterns of Global Terrorism
shows the
total number of international terrorist attacks from 1981 to 2002. It should be noted that these statistics do
not include intra Palestinian violence because such incidents do not
fit the
definition of international terrorism. The
table below depicts the total international terrorist
attacks from
1981 to 2002.
In
addition, the State Department’s 2002 annual report on Patterns of
Global
Terrorism shows the total number of Anti-U.S. Attacks in 2002. There were 85 U.S. targets attacked in
2002. The table below depicts the types
of U.S. targets attacked in 2002.
3.0 REVISED STATISTICS
ASSOCIATED WITH SEPTEMBER 11th
There
are several Internet based web sites dedicated to the tragic events of
September 11, 2001. September11victims.com
provides a database of statistics
on loss of
life. According to this database, the
death toll from September 11th is 2,976.
It should be noted that in a CNN.com news article on
October 29,
2003, New York City (NYC) reduced its official death toll by 40 victims
as a
result of fraudulent claims (Hirschkorn, 2003). The
table below depicts the total number of victims as of October
29, 2003.
Of
the 2,628 WTC victims, 319 were firefighters and 50 were police
officers
(September11victims.com, November 27, 2003). In
addition, the table below lists the 82 countries that
lost citizens
in the attack on the WTC (September11victims.com, December 03, 2003).
A
November 2001, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review
report,
titled Measuring
the effects of the September 11 attack on New York City, details
financial and
statistical data about the September 11th attack on the WTC. According to the report, “the major
components of New York City's public and private physical capital stock
in
Lower Manhattan that were destroyed or damaged in the World Trade
Center attack
were as follows:
The
impact of 9/11 to the airline industry has been devastating. As a result, Americans have been slow to
return to pre 9/11 travel patterns. The
Melbourne Airport News published an article showing the affects of 9/11
on the
airline industry and the table below summarizes the impact to six major
airlines.
Furthermore,
in conducting research for this project numerous statistics were
uncovered and
several are summarized below.
4.0 FEDERAL ASSISTANCE AND
ASSOCIATED COSTS
An
October 2003, General Accounting Office (GAO) report titled September
11:
Overview of Federal Disaster Assistance to the New York City Area,
details the
federal disaster assistance to the NYC area to help it respond to and
recover
from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Approximately
$18.5B in federal disaster assistance was
provided to the
NYC area. The table below depicts the
types of assistance provided to the NYC area.
4.1
Initial Response Efforts
Initial
response efforts included efforts to search for and rescue victims and
clear
more than a million tons of debris. $2.55B
was provided in federal assistance from the Federal
Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Transportation (DOT) and
Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The
table below shows the amount each agency provided for
initial
response efforts.
4.2
Compensation For Distaster-Related Costs And Losses
Approximately,
$4.81B was provided in federal assistance to compensate state and local
organizations, individuals, and businesses for disaster-related costs. The table below shows the amount each agency
provided for compensation for costs and losses.
4.3
Infrastructure Restoration And Improvement
Approximately,
$5.57B was provided in federal assistance to restore and enhance
elements of
the transportation system and utility infrastructure supporting lower
Manhattan. The table below shows the
amount each agency provided for infrastructure restoration and
improvement.
4.4
Economic Revitalization
Approximately,
$5.54B was provided in federal assistance to aid in revitalizing the
lower
Manhattan economy. The table below
shows the amount provided to the lower Manhattan area for economic
revitalization.
5.0 CONCLUSION
In
the aftermath of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the
continuing
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and the
potential link
between them remains the greatest direct threat to United States
interests at
home and abroad. To counter this threat
and prepare for the unexpected within the borders of the United States,
emergency management preparedness has become increasingly important for
ensuring the safety of citizens living in communities throughout our
country. At all levels of federal, state
and local
government, emergency preparedness has become increasingly important. The issue today is how to apply all the
available resources, knowledge and lessons learned to the discipline of
emergency management so that our communities are better prepared for
the next
attack. Preparedness is a deterrent to
terrorism and is necessary at all levels to minimize the impact of
future
terrorist events. Without preparedness,
terrorist groups will continue to take advantage of what they perceive
to be
our weakness and the war on terrorism will continue. ANNEX A – ACRONYMS
AA
American
Airlines B
Billion CNN
Cable
News Network DOT
Department
of Transportation FEMA
Federal
Emergency Management Agency GAO
General
Accounting Office
HUD
Department
of Housing and Urban Development NYC
New York
City PATH
Port
Authority Trans-Hudson US
United
States WTC
World
Trade Center ANNEX B – REFERENCES
Bram,
Jason, et
al. Measuring the effects of the
September 11 attack on New York City. Federal
Reserve Bank of New York
Economic Policy
Review, November 2002. Cable
News
Network (CNN). “Project Phoenix:
Pentagon offices rise from rubble,” September 4, 2002, http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/09/04/ar911.pentagon.reconstruction/index.html. Dart,
Bob. “Counting the Costs,” The Atlanta
Journal
and Constitution. December 9, 2001. General
Accounting Office. “September 11:
Overview of Federal Disaster Assistance to the New York City Area,” October
2002,
GAO-04-72. Hirschkorn,
Phil. “New York reduces 9/11 death toll
by 40.” October 29, 2003,
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/10/29/wtc.deaths/index.html. September11victims
web site, (n.d.), http://www.september11victims.com/september11victims/STATISTIC.asp. The
Melbourne
Airport News. “State of the Airline
Industry Affects Marketing Program.” November/December
2002. U.S.
Department
of State. “2002 annual report on
Patterns of Global Terrorism,” (n.d.), http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2002/
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