The impact of a dirty bomb: lessons from Katrina Introduction As you read this, you may be asking: “Why are you worried about a dirty bomb?” Well, many people may not be aware of this, but a dirty bomb scenario is actually one of the foremost concerns in terrorism activity at this time in the US. During the 2004 campaign, Vice President Dick Cheney stated: “The biggest threat we face now as a nation is the possibility of terrorists ending up in the middle of one of our cities with deadlier weapons than have ever before been used against us - biological agents or a nuclear weapon or a chemical weapon of some kind to be able to threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans,” Cheney: Terrorists May Nuke US Cities, AP |October 19, 2004, By Andrew Welsh-Huggins Earlier this year, New York Times journalist Eric Lipton reported on the National Planning Scenarios – a basic ‘doomsday’ analysis of what threats face the US nation. He stated in this article: “The Department of Homeland Security, trying to focus antiterrorism spending better nationwide, has identified a dozen possible strikes it views as most plausible or devastating, including detonation of a nuclear device in a major city, release of sarin nerve agent in office buildings and a truck bombing of a sports arena.” US Report Lists Possibilities for Terrorist Attacks and Likely Toll, NY Times | March 15, 2005 Whether we like it or not, the threat is here and it is real. Planning and preparing for it is our only option, because as September 11th and Hurricane Katrina have shown us, preventing it may not be possible, and relying on government to provide for us is no longer practical. Preparedness responsibility Which governmental entities are responsible for preparedness planning and ensuring that a local entity is truly trained and prepared for a disaster event? Well, according to representatives of the federal government, that responsibility always has AND STILL DOES lie with local government. Most individuals outside the Department of Homeland Security are not aware of the fact that many hours of Congressional testimony has been given on this very subject. For example, Six months following the tragedy of September 11, 2001, then FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh testified before the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee regarding his 2002 goals and objectives, and stated: “Disaster mitigation and prevention activities are inherently grassroots.” (http://www.fema.gov/library/jma051601.shtm) Throughout the entire testimony, Mr. Allbaugh’s overriding theme was that of accountability and responsibility on the part of the state and local governments to be prepared. In fact, Mr. Allbaugh went so far as to state: “It is not the role of the Federal Government to tell a community what it needs to do to protect its citizens and infrastructure.” What does this mean for strategically critical/major cities? Let’s analyse just a few examples from the Katrina aftermath. No warning “Make sure your individual family preparedness plan is up-to-date.” This was a whole 72+ hours before the storm. New Orleans had plenty of time to evacuate its citizens. With a dirty bomb there will be no warning. Let’s repeat this vital fact – with a dirty bomb – nuclear, chemical or biological – there will be no warning. In the aftermath of Katrina, chaos, confusion and blame seem to be the order of the day. Yet, we knew it was coming. We had ample time to do something about the event. With no warning, albeit less destructive force, what would the potential reaction to a dirty bomb be? Are we prepared? Michelle Mittelstadt of the Dallas Morning News, wrote on Sunday, September 11, 2005 in an article entitled, ‘Four years after 9-11, Katrina reveals flaws in emergency planning’: Four years after the Sept. 11 attacks shattered America's sense of invulnerability, the federal government has spent more than $175 billion to secure the homeland and reshaped itself in the biggest transformation since World War II. Yet in recent days, Hurricane Katrina has badly rattled Americans' belief that the government is any better prepared to confront catastrophe – whether natural or terrorist – than it was on that September morning in 2001. The images of bloated bodies in the streets and of people trapped by floodwaters and the heart-breaking tales of suffering so foreign to the American experience have cast a harsh glare on the nation's disaster relief system. Though federal, state and local politicians are bickering over culpability, the botched early response to the Gulf Coast devastation has led to the inescapable conclusion that the system failed – and absent repair, it will fail again. "Hurricane Katrina was in one sense the most significant test of the new national emergency preparedness and response system that was created after 9-11, and it obviously did not pass that test," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn. In a dirty bomb attack, will the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) be able to respond effectively? Will State and Local response agencies, police, fire and emergency medical services be adequate to maintain order in the aftermath? If Katrina is an example, there may be some parallels that can be drawn and lessons learned that should be applied. Observations: Hurricane Katrina Response – Are you on your own? Reliance on federal, state or local governmental entities for communications, safety, protection or even food may not be realistic in this disaster scenario. So, the question that you may wish to posit is “Are we on our own?” Perhaps a better question would be to posit, “Whatever happened to personal preparedness and taking responsibility for one’s own safety and well being?” Michelle Mittelstadt’s article entitled, ‘Four years after 9-11, Katrina reveals flaws in emergency planning’ continues: While Congress readies hearings on the disaster relief effort, state executives and emergency management experts say they're afraid of what would happen if tragedy lands at their doorstep. "One of the unfortunate lessons from Katrina is that states cannot always count on the federal government for prompt disaster response and assistance," California state Sen. Nell Soto wrote Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, urging better disaster preparation for the earthquake-prone state. Asked if the US is better positioned now than before 9-11 to mobilise for a major disaster, George Haddow, a FEMA deputy director in the Clinton administration, offered a crisp answer: "We are worse off." Katrina has caused massive environmental damage to the Gulf Coast states. The toxic soup created by the combination of flood waters and industrial chemicals from the many chemical plants, refineries and other industrial facilities located in these states will take many years to clean-up. The effects of a dirty bomb could produce the same clean-up quandary, albeit on a smaller and more concentrated scale as far as the area of impact. Politicians, Business leaders and people at all levels should ask, “Can we count on contingency to work in our favour?” Katrina is demonstrating the potential long term effects and consequences of one of Mother Nature’s dirty bombs. “What if…” is not a question that we should be asking; “When…” is the question that we need to ask. In order to answer my earlier question “Are we on our own?” let’s take another look at Michelle Mittelstadt’s article entitled, “Four years after 9-11, Katrina reveals flaws in emergency planning” that continues: Federal officials spent more than two years writing a blueprint to handle catastrophes in a seamless capacity that weaves together local, federal and state assets. When then-Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge released the 426-page National Response Plan in January he described it as the playbook for the quarterback. The discordant response during the first use of the National Response Plan forces the question: Was the playbook flawed or did the team botch the plays? Are we a step behind? Recent articles allude to the need for personal and business preparedness as companies and government are faced with a myriad of issues to contend with: US Firms In Midst of Cybercrime Wave, Report Suggests CDC Makes Bioterror A New Priority Message To First Responders: Cooperate, Communicate and Coordinate Oil: Our Achilles Heel How prepared are we to deal with such pressing and vital issues? The harsh reality is that the answer may be ‘not very’. Concluding thoughts So, what can businesses do to prepare employees for personal survival following such a disaster? Making employees aware of the following personal protection checklist will help. Many of you will readily recognise the eight essential elements as embodying the incident management system: * Management – personal decision-making regarding how you will handle the event. No crisis ever goes completely according to plan. In a crisis people react in unexpected ways. We are no longer able to merely think about the plannable or plan for the unthinkable, but we must learn to think about the unplannable. Whether a natural or human induced disaster, surprise is the key element in the failure to anticipate effectively. * Planning – Short term and long term considerations for you and your family. Plan for long-term sheltering – avoid being herded into a Superdome situation. Assess the worst case scenario and work backwards to a preparation level you are comfortable with. * Operations – Identifying how you will function if your home or workplace is affected by an event. * Logistics – Identifying and acquiring essential and supporting logistics for survival. Assess your food and water situation in your home and your workplace – do not count on being able to leave your home or workplace. First aid beyond the norm – antibiotics, face masks, gloves, etc. Get shortwave or NOAA/FEMA radio and/or a ham radio that can communicate with local authorities. * Infrastructure – Identifying internal and external infrastructures that will support you and your family and developing a back-up for external infrastructures that may not be available (get that generator). * Administration – Keeping a current set of critical documents available in a secure location, to include a copy on electronic medium. Keep a log of the entire event for future potential litigation. * Finance – Keep some cash on hand and plan for short term dislocation and long term dislocation. * External Liaison – Communicate with others in your community and local government regarding current plans and considerations. If New Orleans is an example, human civility will deteriorate quickly; panic will be beyond what we saw with Katrina – in a dirty bomb scenario, you will potentially have injured people, people getting sick over a period of days, people wanting to leave but cannot because of quarantined conditions. Geary W. Sikich is the author of ‘It Can't Happen Here: All Hazards Crisis Management Planning,’ ‘Emergency Management Planning Handbook’ available in English and Spanish-language versions and, ‘Integrated Business Continuity: Maintaining Resilience in Uncertain Times,’ www.Amazon.com and over 150 published articles. Mr. Sikich is the founder and a principal with Logical Management Systems, Corp. This is an edited and abridged version of Mr Sikich's original article. For the full unedited article, including a full list of references, click here (PDF) Copyright© Geary W. Sikich 2005. World rights reserved.
•Date: 30th Sept 2005 •Region: US/World •Type:
Article •Topic: Terrorism |
