In the Eye of the Storm

1
In the Eye of the Storm
Emily Palmer Texas Department of State Health
Services 1100 W. 49th Street, M-631 Austin, TX
78756 512-458-7400 National Public Health
Information Coalition October 17, 2005
2
The Superheroes
Where are they when you need them?
3
No Such Thing as a Perfect Storm
4
Headline Expectations

• Evacuation not perfect, but a success
• Response to storm not perfect, but better

5
We are all in the eye of the storm.
6
For Texas A series of major events

• Full-Scale Strategic National Stockpile exercise
  Early August
• Hurricane Katrina
• Late August
• Hurricane Rita
• September

7
The SNS Experience

• Four-day real-time exercise
• Seven counties, five hospitals
• 10,000 volunteers
• Multiple partners
• Year of planning

8
On-the-job training

• Learned Incident Command System
• Opened the DSHS Emergency Support Center

9
Katrina Opening the Doors
10
Katrina Mass Shelter

• Texas received a total of 245,000 evacuees from
  Hurricane Katrina
• 180 shelters in 42 Texas counties set up
• Houston hosted up to 11,500 evacuees in a complex
  that got its own ZIP code
• Information needed for evacuees and for those who
  were to help

11
(No Transcript)
12
Waiting for the Storm
13
Rita Hunkering Down
14
At Home with Rita

• Evacuation 2.7 million people moved inland
• Shelter sites from El Paso to San Antonio
• Flood and wind destruction 17 counties hit
• Special needs physical and mental health
• Reunification finding families
• Repatriation getting people back home

15
Finding Shelter
16
Finding Comfort
17
Finding Help
18
PIO Duties That Worked

• Maintaining constant presence in the Emergency
  Support Center 24/7
• Establishing hurricane-specific Web site
• Participating in conference calls
• Staying for shift change reports
• Reading the Web EOC reports
• Maintaining the DSHS PIO e-mail site

19
PIO Duties That Need Work

• Maintaining media contact reports
• Monitoring media reports
• Methods of news dissemination
• Staying in touch with local PIOs
• Juggling ESC, SOC, JIC, JFO needs
• Going paperless
• Relieving stress

20
(No Transcript)
21
You know you live on the coast when

• You have FEMAs number on your speed dialer.
• You can rattle off the names of three or more
  meteorologists with the Weather Channel.
• Ice is a valid topic of conversation.
• Having a tree in your living room does not
  necessarily mean it is Christmas.
• You can wish that other people get hit by a
  hurricane and not feel the least bit guilty about
  it.