undeRliRcs Posted September 9, 2005 Share Posted September 9, 2005 HARD TIMES IN BIG EASY EFFORTS INTENSIFY TO EVACUATE LIVING, RECOVER DEAD THE SCIENCE Thousands dead, 1 million evacuated. Katrina? No, a simulation run last year. David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, September 9, 2005 Government officials gathered in Baton Rouge a year ago to deal with a powerful hurricane bearing down on New Orleans. They faced a nightmare scenario. A flooded city, 1 million evacuees, 60,000 dead -- all the work of Hurricane Pam. The storm was not real. Staged with the help of a San Francisco company, Pam was a simulation designed to force government agencies to examine -- and possibly rethink -- their disaster plans. The exercise, conducted with the help of URS Corp., projected storm water surging over levees and pouring into New Orleans, forming a contaminated pool 10 to 20 feet deep. More than 500,000 buildings were destroyed in the scenario, coastal gasoline refineries were shut, and boats and helicopters were needed to rescue thousands of stranded citizens. In short, Pam looked a lot like Hurricane Katrina. "It's eerie how close it is," said Madhu Beriwal, founder and president of Innovative Emergency Management Inc., based in Baton Rouge. The company led a team of three firms, including URS, that created the simulation, working under contract for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA has come under blistering criticism for its slow response to Katrina. Beriwal said she isn't sure whether Pam shaped the way FEMA and state and local agencies responded to the real-life catastrophe. Those who participated in last year's exercise have copies of the recommendations it produced. "So people are looking at it," she said. "I don't know how much of it was used." Full story here: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c...TL&type=science Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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