By J.R. Labbe
ARLINGTON, Va. — "Many of the lessons from 9-11, bought at such a terrible price, are becoming apparent. But they have not yet been learned."
Tom Kean, co-chairman of the 9-11 Commission, spoke those words during a November 2003 public hearing leading up to the release of the commission’s final report.
Emily Walker, a London-based international banker who served as a commission staff member, repeated them Thursday at a workshop on private-public sector collaboration to enhance community disaster resilience. But she added that surprisingly little progress has been made toward disaster preparedness and response in the almost six years since Kean first made the statement.
It was disquieting information to hear while sitting in a conference room at the National Science Foundation, so close to the Pentagon, on the eve of the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Teachable moments don’t last long, as Washington State Director of Emergency Management Jim Mullen said.
There’s been no dearth of teachable moments in the United States and around the globe. Whether the product of Mother Nature’s mood swings or the work of evildoers intent on throwing civil society into chaos, disaster happens.
Florida and all Gulf Coast states — including Texas — are hurricane magnets. The Midwest — including parts of Texas — lies in Tornado Alley. The Southwest — including parts of Texas — is a wildfire wind tunnel.
Not preparing is the ultimate in obliviousness.
One of the conclusions of the 9-11 Commission’s report was that "homeland security and national preparedness begins with the private sector," meaning anyone and everyone at any level who doesn’t work for government.
Yet eight years after 9-11, four years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and one year after Hurricane Ike, how many Texans still haven’t taken ownership of their own emergency response? How many households have 72 hours’ worth of food, water and batteries on hand? That’s how long it may take for what people think of when they hear "first responders" — police, fire, utility company folks, road-clearing crews — to reach you.
Does your family have a plan and a realistic understanding of what outside responders will be able to do? In the face of widespread disaster, public safety officers aren’t going to be at your door within days, much less hours or minutes.
What’s your family plan if an event occurs when the kids are at school or at a friend’s house? What if you are at work? How will you contact each other? How will you reunite?
Does your business or employer have an evacuation plan? Have you ever actually practiced it? What if there’s no power? For multistory structures, most staircases are internal. What if there’s no light? Are there glow strips on the stairs and flashlights readily available in every office? Is going up the stairs a viable option for rooftop rescue if the way down is blocked, or are the rooftop doors locked, like they were at the World Trade Center towers on 9-11?
Where do employees — or, in the case of multiple companies in one building, tenants — assemble post-event so they can be accounted for? Does someone know from day to day who’s in the building and who isn’t?
For many corporations, the business continuity lesson learned post-9-11 was redundancy in records management systems. A focus on the human factors isn’t as prevalent.
People have two opportunities to take control — before and after disaster strikes. During isn’t the time to try to figure out a game plan.
Arif Alikhan, assistant secretary for policy development at the Department of Homeland Security, cautioned workshop participants that Americans, known for their spirit of working together in times of crisis, can’t help anyone else if they aren’t prepared themselves. That goes for families, businesses and communities. "You must be able to stand up your own organization," Alikhan said.
September is National Preparedness Month. Make it a teachable moment.
Jill "J.R." Labbe is editorial director of the Star-Telegram . 817-390-7599
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