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.