Benchmark Assignment—Disaster Response, Part 2 Paper

HCS/350

EF-5 Tornado, Joplin, Missouri

On May 22, 2011, Joplin, Missouri experienced a supercell thunderstorm tornado that promptly intensified to generate EF-5 damage. The thunderstorm tore close to one mile path, which generated almost total destruction across the Missouri-Kansas state. The tornado caused the highest number of casualties in the American history of tornadoes. 162 people were killed thousands of other injured (Smith & Sutter, 2013). Furthermore, the Tornado picked up and carried away in excess of 15,000 vehicles including heavy tractor-trailers and buses for hundreds of yards. The National Weather Service reported that it found some vehicles completely rolled into balls of bent metals. The concrete barriers in parking lots that had been designed to stop cars, some weighing as heavy as 300 pounds, were plucked and tossed as far as 60 yards. The thunderstorm destroyed and damaged roughly 7,500 homes. Additionally, at least 500 businesses with property worth $3 billion were destroyed. It is the highest damage ever reported in America (The White House, n.d).

Emergency instances attract the attention of public and private organizations as well as individuals locally and internationally. While emergency response is usually led by respective government institutions, hospitals, non-governmental organizations, and the people come in overwhelmingly to support each other in the course of offering help. In the EF-5 tornado experienced in Joplin, Missouri, for instance, emergency rescue operations were led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA is an agency of the American Department of Homeland Security, which was created by the Presidential Reorganization Plan No.3 of 1978. FEMA had 820 employees who were supported by other personnel from 13 federal agencies. Joplin hosted numerous both state and non-state personnel who helped in the rescue mission. State and Federal emergency officials formed four joint task forces to take care of the arguably the largest recovery mission. They engaged in recovering critical infrastructure housing, schools, and removal of debris (The White House, n.d).

FEMA constructed about 15 temporary housing sites across the affected area, which housed 586 families. Furthermore, FEMA, with the help of both federal and state governments, provided at least $21 million in grant, which was directed to help victims take care of house repairs and other disaster-related needs (The White House, n.d). The state government further established a Multi-Agency Resource Center four Disaster Recovery Centers with a specific goal of necessitating a direct meeting between recovery specialists and those affected by the storm. More than 7500 individuals were reached through this initiative (Smith & Sutter, 2013).

Similarly, non-governmental organizations stepped in to demonstrate their support for the people of Joplin. Red Cross, for instance, stepped in with a diverse range of medical equipment to help the affected residents. It opened a shelter in the Missouri Southern State University gymnasium, which hosted displaced residents (Smith & Sutter, 2013). Besides, campuses around the affected areas hosted search-and-rescue teams while colleges were home to the Federal Mortuary Team, whose responsibility was to identify victims. The tornado completely destroyed the John’s Regional Medical Center, the only well-equipped medical facility in the affected area. In its place, several medical facilities teamed up and set up a temporary hospital to take care of surgical and other medicinal needs. The temporary medical facility was upgraded to a modular structure after three weeks (The White House, n.d). Nine months thereafter, it was upgraded to a component hospital with a 120-bed capacity.

The affected residents needed help even after the completion of the recovery mission. In this regard, several organizations gave long-term commitments to the people of Joplin. For instance, the Small Business Administration supported the business community that lost their shops by approving $41.3 million in low-interest disaster loans to help them rebuild their businesses. Similarly, AmeriCorps provided volunteers to oversee several long-term operations. AmeriCorps assembled more than 350 members from across America to serve in the Joplin community. Their core roles were removing debris, coordinating donations, helping homeowners with casework, and operating distribution warehouses. Additionally, that team has successfully coordinated a broader volunteer effort. The White House (n.d) reported that one year after the incident, at least 25 members of the AmeriCorps were still living in Joplin, helping the community with legal services and other efforts to rebuild.

Funding is always an important element in any emergency rescue operation. The success of such operations depends on the level of funding. The event of an emergency such as the tornado experienced in Joplin region initiates the implementation of legislative propositions regarding emergency funding (Smith & Sutter, 2013). For instance, the Missouri governor, Mr. Nixon Jay, in accordance with the state legislation on emergency funding, issued an executive order that allowed higher funding to assist response and recovery. Consequently, the State Board of Pharmacy and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services was given permission to suspend the operation of all statutory in order to serve the interest of the public health and safety. This executive order increased funding for purchase of medical equipment(The White House, n.d).

Emergency issues introduce unexpected scenarios that, in some instances, affected by legal provisions that were enacted without consideration of such adverse conditions. In such instances, it is the obligation of the state or federal offices to provide a waiver to some laws and regulations that are likely to hinder emergency rescue operations. In the Joplin case, for instance, the state government was forced to waive some laws and regulations. St. John’s Hospital was completely destroyed (Smith & Sutter, 2013). Consequently, the hospital was forced to move its operations to modular units and tents. As per the state law and regulations, the hospital needed several bureaucratic clearances to make such an adjustment. Nonetheless, the state provided a two-year waiver to run a psychological unit in a wooden building. The hospital staff further noted that the hospital got licensing clearance so easily because of the waiver.

The EF-5 tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, came as a surprise to the civilians and the weather department alike. Rescue operations kicked off immediately the storm was over. It started with federal and state departments and later joined by civilians and non-governmental organizations. It is notable that the support to the affected community did not after the rescuers completed their work. The state, federal, business community, and private entities continue to support the civilians for years after the incidents. The support given to the affected community was important in helping it recover completely (Smith & Sutter, 2013).

References

Smith, D. & Sutter, D. (2013).Response and Recovery after the Joplin Tornado: Lessons Applied and Lessons Learned. The Independent Review, 18(2), 1086–1653

The White House. (n.d). Joplin: One year later, Retrieved from: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/joplin