The Impact of Hurricane Rita on an Academic Institution: Lessons Learned.

The Impact of Hurricane Rita on The Impact of Hurricane Rita on an an

Academic Institution: Lessons Academic Institution: Lessons LearnedLearned

Hurricane Rita Case Study Analysis

Dominic Beggan

Introduction of the Case Larry Osborne

Damage Caused Cliff Woodruff

Lessons Learned Emerging Technologies and Trends

Larry OsborneDamage Assessments

Initial Damage Prioritizing Damage Assessments Outreach efforts to the community, faculty, staff

and students

Early Decisions

Initial Damage

Damage to 80+% of buildings Loss of 20 major roofs 870 Dorm rooms with water infiltration, also

classrooms 8th Floor of Library devastated Trees uprooted throughout campus No power for 8 days Initial band-aid 23m University closed 25 Days

Prioritizing Damage Assessments

4 Police remained throughout began initial assessments

President returned Sunday to coordinate repair and recovery effort

Command post and damage assessment setup By Monday afternoon contractors, roof workers

and disaster recovery consultant engaged (400) Prioritize repairs, emphasize dorms, library,

academic facilities, Montagne Center

Outreach Efforts to the Community, Faculty, Staff and Students

Kept community informed via Blog on alternate web site

Created pictorial history (“Before & After”) Kept local news sources informed

Early Decisions

Pay Faculty, Staff, Students for Duration Refund dorm rent, meal plan costs Full tuition refunds for withdrawal due to

hurricane impact Develop alternate academic calendar

scenarios – Goal to finish the Fall semester

Cliff WoodruffLessons Learned

General Lessons Technology Specific Lessons

General Lessons

Satellite phones no land/cellular lines Establish command post facility with adequate cooking,

washing and sleeping facilities Establish a list of necessary local contractors (hvac,

roofing, telecommunications) Top off fuel supplies, purchase/rent additional generators Evacuation site for students Encourage staff/faculty and students to remove all

valuables (Empty Refrigerators)

General Lessons

Identify a triage list of necessary staff (Recovery Teams to return in waves)

Marshal Law: access cards Replication and distribution of data sets Pictorial account of the disaster

Technology Specific Lessons

Backup mirror/dark Internet service on sister campus

Cover all computers Ceiling tile problems Avoid automatic activation of generators Establish alternative communications

systems (conference bridges, standby hotline, off campus e-mails)

Emergency Response

Emerging Technologies and Trends Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) Design considerations for Human-

Computer Interaction Decision Support Systems (DSS) Developing Online Forums Open Source Emergency Management

Systems

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

ICT for emergency use is being integrated the UN and will be used when completed for part of a worldwide effort to respond to disasters including hurricanes and tsunamis. 

Examples of these applications can be viewed at www.unicttaskforce.org and www.ictliteracy.info

Design considerations for Human-Computer interaction

More effective and efficient interaction needs to be addressed in designing Computer/human interaction with regard to emergency management systems

User requirements should drive the technology as a result of lessons learned 

Decision Support Systems (DSS)

DSS could be applied to emergency management

To integrate communication and visualization aids

To build a collaborative understanding of what is happening

To create shared mental models among the management team

Developing More Effective

Online Forums

Such forums tremendously enhance communication efforts

Created a means for sharing and learning in a more rapid manner

These forums allow those who are far from the disaster to become involved

Citizen generated information is usually the only information immediately available to the public immediately after a disaster

Open Source Emergency Management Systems

Such systems are being developed that are low-cost to deploy, and adaptable. 

SAHANA has already been used in the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan and the 2006 mudslides in Philippines and the 2006 earthquake in Indonesia. 

These systems apply a synchronization framework that allows individuals to go to the field with a snapshot of existing data and later synchronize with the central SAHANA server when Internet connectivity is restored.  The data is exported in XML format and stored on a USB removable memory device allowing for manual transmission at locations were there is no connectivity