# Presentation: 590918

## Hurricane Katrina:  Mitigation, Response and Recovery

**Robert Laird**
**Director, Division of School Safety**
**Mississippi Department**** ****of Education**

## Introduction 

**Provide an overview of events leading up to landfall.**
**Provide a listing of critical tasks executed by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE).**
**Provide information regarding response operations with critical infrastructure destroyed.**
**Provide information regarding recovery efforts to restore education operations.**
**Cite lessons learned to date.**

## Hurricane Katrina Facts

**The most destructive hurricane in recent history based on material damage, deaths, and population dislocation.**
**Category 5 (Catastrophic).**
**Winds in excess of 184 MPH.**
**Storm surge of 33 Feet.**
**Most destruction focused from New Orleans to Biloxi.**
**All 6 coastal counties had received crisis response training and plan development 180 days prior to the hurricane.**

## Friday, August 26, 2005 (2:00 PM)

**MEMA calls meeting of all key state agencies to discuss planning for the storm response.**
**State Agencies are warned to stand by for activation of the State Emergency Operations Center (EOC), no later than Sunday, September 28, 2005 at 7:00 AM.**

## MDE Actions:

**Put the Crisis Response Team on standby to man the EOC.**
**Communicated the following information to school districts:**
**Current weather forecast information and probable impact on education operations.**
**Advised districts to implement the hurricane/flooding/ tornado aspect of district and school crisis response plans.**
**Provided guidance regarding school cancellations.**
**Reviewed district assets for possible MEMA taskings.**
**Initiated liaison with MS Dept. of Human Services, Red Cross, and Salvation Army regarding shelter taskings.**

## Saturday, August 27 (7:00 AM)

**Katrina shifts to the north with projected landfall in the vicinity of New Orleans.**
**Wind speed 145 MPH.**
**MEMA EOC activated at this time and all agencies report.**
**Warning tasking for school buses and drivers for evacuation issued by MEMA.**
**Warning tasking for school shelters issued by MEMA.**

## Contra-flow of I-59 and I-55 for New Orleans evacuation begins at 3:00 PM per request of LEMA and New Orleans.

**Voluntary evacuation of all coastal counties begins.**
**Mandatory evacuation of all costal counties begins at 4:00 PM.**
**Governor declares state of emergency.**
**Governor requests presidential declaration of emergency  (Granted by President Bush immediately).**

## MDE Actions

**Schools begin to open as America Red Cross or state shelters.**
**Bus assets identified and on standby.**
**School closings identified.**
**Schools notified telephonically of updated weather forecasts and warned "this is not a normal hurricane."**
**MDE Crisis Response Team on permanent MEMA assignment.**

## Sunday, August 28, 2005 (6:00 PM)

**Landfall predicted at New Orleans.**
**Winds projected at 160 MPH.**
**Storm surge projected at 22 feet.**
**10-15 inches of rain projected.**
**100+ mph winds 150 miles in front of and up to 250 miles either side of the storm.**
**All six coastal counties under mandatory evacuation.**
**Contra-flow terminated at 6:00 PM due to lack of traffic.**

## 23 school based shelters opened and operated by either the ARC or Department of Human Services.  

**Total school based shelter capacity 7500+ by 4:00 PM.**
**Municipal and county School Resource Officers (SROs) return to agencies of origin.  Some district SROs drafted by local agencies.**
**State EOC settles down to wait with quivering anticipation!**

## MDE Actions:

**Crisis Response Team reviews response and recovery protocols.**
**Insufficient evacuees for school bus deployment.  Buses remain standing by.**
**Final e-mail communication with school districts advising contact numbers and requesting damage assessments ASAP.**

## Monday, August 29, 2005(8:00 AM)LANDFALL!

**7:17 AM: rescue calls start.**
**9:19 AM: Jackson County EOC floods.**
**10:51 AM: Hancock EOC destroyed with 35 coordinators trapped.**
**Massive flooding along all coastal counties.**
**Total of 93 shelters statewide with population of  12,697.**

## Initial Reports/ReactionsMonday, August 29, 2005 (8:00 pm)

**All communications lost with districts south of Jackson due to tower damage.**
**Partial communications restored via School Resource Officers' radios.**
**Total devastation throughout southern and eastern central Mississippi.**
**Total destruction of all buildings and infrastructure between the beach and railroad tracks (1/4 mile inland).**

## MDE Actions

**42 school shelters open.**
**School shelter population is 4,631.**

## Lessons Learned (State Level)

**The state education agency (SEA) should be a component of the state emergency management agency.  The normal emergency services function for education is shelter and transportation.**
**The SEA should have a representative at the state emergency operations center (5 trained emergency operations specialists for 24 hour manning).**
**The SEA should have survivable contact with all superintendents (Satellite phones).**
**The SEA should have home, cell, pager, business, and alternate phone numbers for all school district key staff, as well as e-mail addresses.**
**School Lunch Director should prepare to release school and USDA stocks pursuant to MEMA tasking to shelters.**
**The SEA and LEA can task as well as receive taskings.**

## Lessons Learned (Local Level)

**The local education agency (LEA) should be represented at the local emergency operations center (EOC).**
**Mitigation should begin as soon as possible and should include:**
**	****a.  Contingency plans for key employee contact post incident.**
**	****b.  Protection of critical school infrastructure such as:**
**	****	****1.  PCs, routers, electronics (Move to vault)**
**	****	****2.  Vehicles **
**	****	****3.  POL supplies**
**Relocation locations of key staff (Where did they go?).**
**Four level chain of command for district and school.**
**Consider the school board declaring a state of emergency before evacuation.**
**Formally activate the crisis response plan for subsequent FEMA claims.**

## Lessons Learned (Local Level)

**Schools should only open as shelters pursuant to a local or state EOC tasking or thru the American Red Cross.**
**Only operate as a shelter with security present.  Do not anticipate gratitude from refugees.**
**Park evacuee vehicles away from the shelter area and restrict refugee access.**
**Schools should anticipate losing SROs.**
**You can use school lunch stocks to feed refugees in a shelter with a state authorization.  In the event of power loss, all frozen foods can be released to local EOC control.**
**Use the local EOC for needs in accordance with state EM law.**

## Slide 18

## Response: Rescue OperationsTuesday, August 30th thru Sunday, September 4th, 2005

## Slide 20

## Slide 21

## Slide 22

## Slide 23

## MDE Actions

**Attempted damage assessment.  Efforts hampered by lack of communication.  Utilized SRO radio contact thru law enforcement.**
**Expanded Crisis Response Team to deal with recovery issues.**
**Prepared Damage Assessment and Recovery Teams (DART) for deployment.**
**Since education was not actively involved in response/rescue operations, we examined projected issues for recovery.**

## MDE Issues to be Addressed

**Issues the SEA needed to address:**
**Damage to infrastructure:**
**Buildings**
**Damage assessment, construction costs, structural safety**
**Access, flood damage**
**Technology**
**Router systems and phone systems for internet access**
**Damaged or flooded computer systems for payroll, time and attendance, and supplies and inventory**
**Cafeteria**
**State utilization of food service facilities**
**Food distribution and USDA issues**
**Continued feeding of the dislocated citizens**

## MDE Issues to be Addressed

**Transportation**
**Bus damage, taskings, POL spills and issues**
**Materials**
**FEMA public assistance issues**
**Dislocated staff**
**Dislocated students**
**Payroll issues**
**Out of district enrollment issues**
**Student immunization and vaccination issues**
**Student records**

## Why is this Important?

**Research by NOVA indicates that school has an emotionally stabilizing effect on juvenile refugees. Having a regular school program, even if it is not ideal gives refugee students at least one aspect of their lives in a shelter situation that is stable and predictable, which can assist in developing emotional stability.**
**Resuming even minimal education operations provides parents with a secure location for children while they deal with activities of daily survival.**
**Students with indications of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be more easily identified and helped when in a central group setting.**
**According to a United Nations study, shelter facilities that have a school continuation program experience less crime than those that do not.**

## Disaster Assessment and Recovery Team (DART)

**DART is composed of a multidisciplinary team that will deploy upon request of the district superintendent in accordance with the provisions of Section 37-3-93, Mississippi Code of 1972, Annotated to furnish recovery assistance to help the district resume minimal education operations.**
**The DART will deploy only on order of the Director of Healthy Schools.**
**The DART will only deploy in state vehicles.**
**The DART will **_**NOT**_** deploy to unsecured areas.**
**Meet with the superintendent immediately upon arrival unless otherwise directed.**
**Assure the superintendent that MDE will not assume control of any operations and can only furnish technical assistance, advice, and attempt to locate state assets.**
**Deploy team members with their district counterpart.**

## Technology

**Restore cell and phone communications.**
**Restore power.**
**Reactivate routers and internet.**

## Cafeteria

**Feed refugees.**
**Get reimbursement for expended food supplies.**
**Allocate food.**
**Feed students in restored schools.**
**Obtain equipment.**
**Maintain records.**

## Transportation

**Damage Assessment.**
**POL Issues.**
**Environmental Issues.**
**Fuel Stocks.**
**Distribution.**
**MEMA Mission Taskings.**

## Materials

**Establish "wish list."**
**Establish "donor" list.**
**Pair up donors and recipients.**
**Coordinate and allocate resources with MEMA.**
**Cleaning supplies.**
**Logistics.**
**Storage.**

## Dislocated Staff

**Locate staff in shelters or with friends.**
**Notify schools of staff locations.**
**Disseminate payroll information.**
**Disseminate district information.**
**Keep staff informed.**

## Utilization of School Property

**Schools may be used by law enforcement, national guard, or FEMA responders.**

## Slide 35

## Dislocated Students	

**Determine locations and numbers in shelter.**
**Design an out of district enrollment system.**
**Immunization data.**
**Student record exchange.**
**Liaison with other state shelters.**

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## Slide 38

## Slide 39

## Recovery: Counting the Cost 

**Total destruction of 16 of 87 schools in the coastal counties.  **
**Severe damage (<75%) of 24 of 87 schools in the coastal counties.**
**Moderate damage of 64 schools.**
**Minor damage to 124 schools.**
**245 buses destroyed.**
**75%  of the entire state of Mississippi loses electrical power.**
**Non emergency MDE staff cannot get to work due to traffic problems.**
**Existing fuel supplies exhausted.  MEMA seizes fuel stocks to include school district stocks.**
**Local law enforcement seizes fuel trucks.**
**565 people missing/ 151 Children missing/220+ deaths.**

## Damage Assessment

**Internet**
**Telephonic**
**DART**
**MEMA**

## Lost Days

**Out of 152 School Districts:**
**13 districts missed no class days.**
**65 districts missed 1-5 days.**
**47 districts lost 5-10 days.**
**31 districts lost 15-30 days.**
**2 districts lost 45 days.**

## Considerations for USDOE

**Consider formulation of a departmental crisis response team.  The mere appearance of USDOE staff at the state and local level is overwhelmingly comforting to LEAs and SEAs.**
**The deferment of actual crisis response operations to FEMA is adequate, effective and efficient.**
**Consider funding for SEA crisis response team and plan development. **
**The Crisis Response Planning Grant works:**
**All schools in the coastal counties received crisis response training and plan development within six weeks of Hurricane Katrina.**

## Lessons Learned (SEA)

**You can't do recovery until response is complete.  Too much competition for resources.**
**Prepare to receive more offers of assistance than you can handle.**
**Work thru the chain of command at the state and national level.  Going outside merely slows down the recovery process.**
**Screen damage reports.  The situation is never as bad as it is portrayed.**
**Be prepared for everyone to find fault with what you are doing to respond.**
**One of the jobs of the SEA is to act as an advocate for the LEA.**
**Establish an emergency operations center in the SEA in addition to one at the state to handle critical issues statewide.**
**Begin the legislative process early.**

## Lessons Learned (SEA)

**Be prepared to address student transfer issues.**
**Be prepared to address lost school days.**
**Be prepared to address:**
**Loss of ad valorem tax base.**
**Loss of sales tax revenues.**
**20-30% decrease in ADA for affected districts.**
**Up to a 10% increase in non affected district enrollment.**

## Lessons Learned (LEAs)

**Take crisis response planning seriously.  It probably won't happen to you; but it is a statistical certainty it will happen to somebody somewhere.**
**Have a good crisis response plan and update it annually.**
**Begin the FEMA claims process when you declare an emergency.  Mitigation is reimbursable.**
**Consider hiring an insurance consultant to represent the school district.**
**Document, Document, Document!**
**Don't contract immediately, check into contractor references.  Contactors will descend like locusts.**
**Don't be overwhelmed with the damage you see.  The situation is NEVER as bad as it appears to be initially.**

## Lessons Learned (LEAs)

**FEMA only pays after insurance claims are filed.**
**Prepare to receive more offers of assistance than you can handle.**
**Work thru the chain of command at the local, county, and state level.**
**Screen damage reports.  The situation is never as bad as it is portrayed.**
**Use all staff for cleanup and recovery.  The salary is reimbursable and staff can be kept on the payroll.**
**Take care of your staff.  Will they get paid for lost time and how?**
**Be prepared to take in additional out of district students.**
**Loss of revenue issues.**

## Mission:  Restore minimal education operations as soon as possible.

**The last Mississippi school resumed operation on November 1, 2005.   **

- ACCOMPLISHED!

## The Mississippi Department of Education would like to express its appreciation for the following entities that provided data for this presentation:

**Mississippi Emergency Management Agency**
**Project Alert I (Harrison County School District)**
**Project Alert II (Picayune School District)**