Emergency Planning: Washington, DC
Emergency planning entails planning carefully for every type of hazard that may affect a particular area. It involves forecasting and developing a plan to deal with natural, manmade and technological disasters.
Washington, DC's emergency planning has of course changed entirely since September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks that left the entire country stunned and scarred had a particularly strong impact on Washington, DC. The center of America's political structure and a strong financial base, Washington continues to be a prime target for terrorists, one that will always be on a "short-list," so to speak, of cities that may yet again have to endure a terrorist attack of mammoth proportions.
One of the primary concerns for Washington, DC emergency planners is Reagan National Airport. The airport is so close to the most important landmarks and population centers in downtown Northwest Washington, DC, that it poses a continual threat. The reaction time for realizing that a plane has been hijacked and is off course is very low since the airport is so close.
After September 11, National Airport was shut down for the longest time of any airport, and flight patters were changed to give air traffic controllers and Air Force...
Emergency planning will, in this case, involve a lot of education of the masses. Citizens will have to be taught the difference between various chemical agents, and various methods of dispersal of those agents: what to do health-wise, where to go, when to panic, when to stay calm, etc.
In the case of a terrorist bombing or an aircraft hijacking and crashing, citizens will know precisely what to do: run away from the scene. Whereas, in the case of a biological attack, there is no knowledge base for action. City emergency planners will have to educate citizens carefully and thoroughly.
But it takes more than education: emergency planners will actually have to put together a plan of response: which hospitals will serve as trauma centers, how doctors and nurses will be mobilized and protected from the chemical agents, how government officials will be safeguarded, how news will be disseminated.
In America, we thankfully have never had to deal…
