Automatic Identification and The 72 Hour World of Hurricane Emergency Preparedness

Introduction: The Legacy of Katrina

One of the most overused management axioms in all organizations is that “people are our most important asset.” However, over the course of the past few years, this statement has been put to the absolute test for state and local government officials throughout the Gulf Coast region of the United States. A litany of previously innocent names – Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike – are now indelibly burned into our collective memories as the monikers of killer hurricanes that have impacted all across the Gulf Coast. Each has been devastating, exacting billions in property damage and a horrible loss of life.

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The current year’s Atlantic hurricane season has been one of the quietest on record. In late August 2005 however, Hurricane Katrina became the real-world test for many years of emergency preparedness planning efforts. An estimated one million people evacuated the southeastern part of Louisiana in anticipation of Katrina’s landfall. However, approximately 25,000 residents of the city did not evacuate. Many chose to stay to protect their homes and personal property, while others simply were unable to leave due to their immobility, a lack of transportation, or just their belief that in the end, they would be “all right.” In fact, many stayed due to the fact that in the years leading-up to Katrina, mandatory evacuations had been ordered for Hurricanes Georges (1998) and Floyd (1999), both of which fortunately passed east of their forecasted paths, causing little to no damage to the New Orleans area itself. Yet, Katrina did closely follow its projected path, striking just to the east of New Orleans. As we now know, for all too many of these individuals, Hurricane Katrina produced tragic results. In the end, an estimated 1,600 to 1,800 lives were lost from the storm in New Orleans alone.

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Evacuation Planning