Lessons in preparedness from the response to Hurricane Katrina
Abstract
In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina forever changed the face of emergency response and business continuity. Disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs) were deployed to aid victims of the storm as part of the National Disaster Medical System. The response, which included deployment to the New Orleans Superdome, the Louis Armstrong International Airport and West Jefferson Medical Center, provides the basis of this paper. With an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 people seeking refuge in the Superdome, the DMATs set up a triage/treatment area in the basketball/ice arena for an estimated 3,500 special needs (eg elderly) and medical patients. Based on those experiences and the following four weeks of response in New Orleans, this paper addresses business continuity by preparing the individuals and communities of an organisation to be self-sustained, thereby enabling the organisation to focus better on corporate response and recovery. The paper will address corporate emergency preparedness and the areas of communications, command and control, and training.
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Brandon Bond is a certified business continuity professional, with 12 years of experience in fire and emergency medical services. He serves as a safety officer and hazardous materials specialist on the US Department of Health and Human Services, Bay Area Disaster Medical Assistance Team. His part in the response to Hurricane Katrina included deployment to the New Orleans Superdome, The Louis Armstrong Airport (field hospital/air evacuation) and West Jefferson Medical Center. He also participated in tsunami relief efforts in Sri Lanka. Within the private sector, Mr Bond’s work has included providing emergency preparedness, crisis management programme development and training to clients such as Cisco Systems, Applied Materials, Yahoo and Compaq. Mr Bond holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s of science degree in industrial and technical studies from Cal Poly State University.
Citation
Bond, Brandon (2007, August 1). Lessons in preparedness from the response to Hurricane Katrina. In the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, Volume 1, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.69554/MTWB5127.
Publications LLP