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It happens when least expected, often with little or no warning. From a deadly tornado to a chemical spill, there are a variety of potential emergencies posing severe threats to the people and the economy of our region. Do we know the risks? Are we prepared?
Bi-state residents who have watched other regions cope with major disasters may have lingering doubts as to this region's ability to deal with such incidents. Watching news stories residents are aware that in a mega-disaster emergency responders will not be able to instantly administer relief to all affected areas. They want to know what is needed to sustain themselves and their families until assistance arrives.
After a year of deliberation and research, On September 11, 2007, the FOCUS St. Louis Regional Disaster Preparedness Task Force released a report to the community assessing the region's state of preparedness and offering nearly 20 recommendations pointing the way to a safer, better prepared region. The report also includes compelling data regarding the likelihood of specific disasters for this region, the potential effects of these disasters, and research displaying the lack of synergy among our numerous governmental, private/business, communications, education, and emergency response systems.
Commenting on the work of this task force, Nick Gragnani, executive director of the St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS) says, "This study is crucial in that it reminds us that disaster preparation needs to be a consistent part of our habits and routines. It's a matter of planning not just once, but of regularly re-visiting plans and adjusting them as needed."
Joe White, CEO of the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter adds, "Many of the lessons from this FOCUS St. Louis report apply not only to mega-disasters, but to smaller scale emergencies as well. One of the report's themes can't be stressed enough to civic leaders: Thinking and working cooperatively are essential to regional readiness. No municipality or neighborhood can prepare in a silo…"
The task force report shows us ways to be better prepared for disasters. We owe this to ourselves, our children and our communities. Gary Dollar, CEO of the United Way of Greater St. Louis said, "We can save untold lives and dollars by heeding just some of the recommendations of the FOCUS St. Louis disaster preparedness task force. The investment we need to make in both time and dollars is miniscule when you consider the potential savings in lives and money."
For more information on the work of the Disaster Preparedness Task Force, contact Policy Director Reggie Williams at 314-622-1250 x105 or reggiew@focus-stl.org..
Background
Hurricane Katrina: A Wake Up Call
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina tore up the Gulf Coast, devastated many Mississippi cities and damaged New Orleans before things turned much uglier—before the flood protection system in New Orleans failed in 53 different places. Nearly every levee in metro New Orleans broke as Hurricane Katrina passed east of the city. Subsequently, 80 percent of the city and areas of neighboring parishes were under water for weeks.
At least 1,836 people lost their lives during Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since 1928. Katrina is estimated to have been responsible for $81.2 billion (2005 U.S. dollars) in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Criticism of the federal, state, and local governments' reaction to the storm was widespread and resulted in an investigation by the United States Congress and the resignation of FEMA director Michael Brown. The storm also prompted Congressional review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the failure of the levee protection system. In the years since the disaster, recovery efforts for the region continue, though many people have chosen to start over elsewhere, some here in St. Louis.
Many St. Louisans watched the news coverage in the days following the levee breaches and thought, “What if something like that happened here?” “Would we be safe?” Hurricane Katrina became a wake up call. It became symbolic of the chaos and confusion that we fear might occur if a large scale disaster was to strike the St. Louis metropolitan region.
St. Louis Power Outages of 2006
In July and December of 2006, St. Louis experienced storms which wreaked havoc on the region, its citizens, and its institutions. Neither storm was a large-scale “regional disaster” though each was serious enough to leave hundreds of thousands of residents without power for days, some for more than a week.
The power outages from the July storm left many citizens without air conditioning in the sweltering summer heat, including a 93-year-old St. Louis woman who died in her home due to the lack of cooling. Many struggling citizens sought refuge in alternate housing establishments. According to AmerenUE, 15,000 hotel/dorm room nights were used to house the displaced individuals.
During the December ice storm, as many as 500,000 homes were without power for some period of time. Utility crews working around the clock struggled to return power within days of the onset of the storm. Many utility crews were brought in from out of state, yet progress was slowed by the steady stream of falling trees and branches knocking out more power lines as others were fixed. These outages were most damaging to the region’s elderly, disabled, and disadvantaged populations. Sixteen people lost their lives, and many more were hospitalized including 38 people who suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning due to the use of unsafe heating methods.
These storms, the lives lost because of them, and the disruptions to the lives of average citizens throughout the bi-state region served as galvanizing forces for the task force. The group (then in its beginning stages of work) became even more committed to and energized about better preparing the region to face a major regional disaster.
The Formation of the St. Louis Regional Disaster Preparedness Task Force
By spring of 2006, the Board of Directors of FOCUS St. Louis decided that the issue of disaster preparedness would be at the heart of its next task force initiative. FOCUS chose 30 task force members to represent a range of perspectives and skills from across the region. In September 2006, this group of experts began regular meetings. Barrett Toan, retired CEO of Express-Scripts, and Richard Mark, Senior Vice President of Energy Delivery at AmerenUE, served as the task force co-chairs.
The task force was charged with answering the following questions:
The questions were chosen to best harness the organizational strengths of FOCUS St. Louis and to keep the task force as productive as possible. Also, the task force did not want to duplicate work already being carried out by expert disaster preparedness organizations in the region such as the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter and the St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS.)
Regional Disaster Preparedness Task Force Research
The Regional Disaster Preparedness Task Force handled examination of critical disaster readiness issues, crafted policy recommendations to address these issues, and is creating an implementation committee to take action.
Initially, the FOCUS St. Louis Regional Disaster Preparedness Task Force spent a considerable amount of time identifying the most relevant potential disaster events for the bi-state region. They researched the disasters’ key risk components and indicators of preparedness. The task force heard from panels of emergency professionals representing the St. Louis region, collected and analyzed data, and engaged in extensive deliberation.
Most deliberation was conducted in small work groups focusing on how specific sectors would be affected and respond to a disaster. The work groups then developed the recommendations for that sector. The work groups were:
The next step was a comparative evaluation of the various types of disasters. This step of comparative analysis involved phone interviews and a focus group discussion among the subjects of the phone interviews. Dr. Doug Owens, Professor of Medicine and Health Research and Policy Director at Stanford University, facilitated this discussion. Dr. Owens produced a summary of the various risks facing the region. The focus group members were:
In the spring of 2007, the task force came together to share work group and focus group outcomes and deliberate over the final recommendations of the task force. In June of 2007, the FOCUS St. Louis Board of Directors voted unanimously to support the task force recommendations.
For more information on the task force call 314-622-1250.
- Joe White, Chief Executive Officer, American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter
- Patricia S. Thornton, Director of Human Resources, United Way of Greater St. Louis
- Roy J. Joachimstaler, Deputy Chief Bureau of Patrol Support, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
- Maggie Hales, Deputy Executive Director, East-West Gateway Council of Governments
- Jim Palmer, Geologist, Missouri Division of Geology and Local Survey
- William Brandes, Fire Chief, Creve Coeur Fire Department
- Gary Christman, Emergency Management Director, City of St. Louis
- Dr. Jeffrey Lowell, Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine
- Mike Williams, Assistant Director, St. Louis County Health Department
- Transportation
- Utilities
- Public Safety
- Health Care
- Social Service
- Communications/Governance
- Business Interruption
- How ready is the region for a major disaster?
- How do we ensure an effective communications process and a technological system that will disseminate region-wide information?
- Who will be in charge if a disaster crosses jurisdictions?
- Are we using the existing resources to the best of our ability? How should we allocate resources?
- How do we improve individual and family preparedness?