Hurricane Pam
Hurricane Pam
Every community is faced with natural and man-made hazards that can best be addressed ahead of time by planners working closely with emergency management personnel to mitigate the threat and prepare for post-disaster recovery. Hurricane Pam was a simulated storm in New Orleans used to evaluate potential losses, improve response plans, and provide better coordination between agencies proactively. Hurricane Pam brought sustained winds of 120 mph, up to 20 inches of rain in parts of southeast Louisiana and storm surge that topped levees in the New Orleans area. This area included 13 parishes in southeast Louisiana-Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, St. Tammany Tangipahoa, and Terrebonne. The storm caused more than one million residents to evacuate and destroyed 500,000-600,000 buildings. A rough average of 100,000 people did not evacuate before the storm hit due to poverty, illness, or lack of transportation. Of the 100,000 that remained in the city, an estimated 25,000 to 100,000 would die. SLOSH (sea, lake, and overland surges from hurricanes) is used to identify the worst-case scenario of this storm by identifying the highest potential surges from this storm. SLOSH revealed that the levees would fail causing the city to flood and kill thousands due to drowning. These generalized assumptions caused emergency managers put their minds and resources into action to devise disaster response for areas such as search and rescue, medical care, sheltering, temporary housing, school restoration, and debris management. The debris team estimates that Hurricane Pam would result in 30 million cubic yards of debris and 237,000 cubic yards of hazardous waste. Landfills have been identified that have available storage space and disposal sites for hazardous waste have been located. In the event that Hurricane Pam resulted in more debris and hazardous waste transportation
Every community is faced with natural and man-made hazards that can best be addressed ahead of time by planners working closely with emergency management personnel to mitigate the threat and prepare for post-disaster recovery. Hurricane Pam was a simulated storm in New Orleans used to evaluate potential losses, improve response plans, and provide better coordination between agencies proactively. Hurricane Pam brought sustained winds of 120 mph, up to 20 inches of rain in parts of southeast Louisiana and storm surge that topped levees in the New Orleans area. This area included 13 parishes in southeast Louisiana-Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, St. Tammany Tangipahoa, and Terrebonne. The storm caused more than one million residents to evacuate and destroyed 500,000-600,000 buildings. A rough average of 100,000 people did not evacuate before the storm hit due to poverty, illness, or lack of transportation. Of the 100,000 that remained in the city, an estimated 25,000 to 100,000 would die. SLOSH (sea, lake, and overland surges from hurricanes) is used to identify the worst-case scenario of this storm by identifying the highest potential surges from this storm. SLOSH revealed that the levees would fail causing the city to flood and kill thousands due to drowning. These generalized assumptions caused emergency managers put their minds and resources into action to devise disaster response for areas such as search and rescue, medical care, sheltering, temporary housing, school restoration, and debris management. The debris team estimates that Hurricane Pam would result in 30 million cubic yards of debris and 237,000 cubic yards of hazardous waste. Landfills have been identified that have available storage space and disposal sites for hazardous waste have been located. In the event that Hurricane Pam resulted in more debris and hazardous waste transportation