California's Emergency Preparedness - Blog Post 1

California Emergency Preparedness – Blog Post 1

During the 1989 World Series , a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the bay area. The quake left 63 people dead, 3,757 people injured, and 12,000 people home less. Two years later, a fire broke out in the Oakland Hills leaving 25 people dead and destroying thousands of homes. Presently, in the year 2009, it is said that California is due for another big catastrophe. In this next disaster people will be left without basic municipal services. Medical services will be overwhelmed with the number of calls for assistance and law enforcement will be spread thin across the state. When thinking of natural disasters, preparing for it with training is not enough. In analyzing past incidents, it is fair to conclude that the blame for problems during the disasters does not rely with the relief workers but the people who are managing the relief workers.
2005 Hurricane Katrina stands as a perfect example of how poor management lead to problems with the government. This hurricane left 1,836 people dead, and lefts millions of other people displaced or missing. Two days before the event, President Bush issued a state of emergency for Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, knowing that these states, especially Louisiana could face massive flood problems due to their weak and deteriorating levee system. At this time, it is easy to conclude that the president had far more information than what was known by the public. Orders should have been issued weeks before the hurricane hit to evacuate everyone. In that way, maybe the death tool of 1,836 people could have been avoided.
Another fault that can be placed on management, is that of the enactment of FEMA during the days after the hurricane hit. Despite cries for help by the Louisiana governor, days after Hurricane Katrina hit, President Bush refused to enact the services of FEMA or Federal Emergency Management Agency. Days after the Hurricane hit, Local law enforcement and rescue services were stretched very thin. Most officers instead of manning a patrol car, left the city of Louisiana and abandoning their jobs. Those who stayed work 24 - hour shifts pushing their effectiveness at keeping the peace to their limits. Blame for this part of the disaster lies with local and state agencies. Not only should evacuation order should have been issued prior to the hurricane but drills to manage personnel should have been issued so the local and state hierarchy would not fall apart. In short, stricter laws and orders should have been issued for law enforcement and rescue personnel so chaos would not ensue after the earthquake.
Besides all the physical preparations of emergency drills, preparing a disaster preparedness kit, and updating equipment, law enforcement and rescue crews should development better training programs for leaders and managers. Similar to Louisiana, California has an extensive network of fragile levees bordering densely populated areas. There is nothing worse in a disaster when order falls apart and because of the lack of experienced personnel. Noting only should training be done to prepare for disaster but training should be conducted to manage people in that disaster.


References
• Renteria, Henry. The California Mass Fatality Mangement Guide:
A Supplement to the State of California’s Coroner’s Mutual Aid Plan . CA: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, September 2007.
• Hurricane Katrina . 2009. US Departments of Health and Human Services. 13 September 2009. [http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/emergency/naturaldisasters/hurricanes/katrina/index.html]