The University’s Emergency Operations Center is planning to release an “After-Action Report,” which will include an evaluation of the University’s responses to hurricanes Gustav and Ike.Chancellor Michael Martin will review the report, presented by the EOC Core Committee, a group of campus representatives that manages the EOC.”The purpose of the After-Action Report is to identify lessons learned including the stand-out positives, opportunities for improvements and other observations,” said D’Ann Morris, EOC interim director, in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille.One possible change is the addition of a fourth energy source for the University to rely on during hurricanes, said Eric Monday, interim director of Student Life. The University’s three power sources include Entergy, a co-generation plant and a two-megawatt generator. All three failed during Hurricane Gustav. The EOC is looking into ways to communicate with students by working with the office of Public Affairs, Student Government and other University organizations.”Handouts to students as well as desktop alerts to University computers such as those in labs are being considered as new ways to inform students, faculty and staff about emergency situations,” Monday said. Four emergency text messages were sent to students signed up to receive them during the days following Gustav. Morris said the University doesn’t have the ability to determine how many received the messages.One of the messages was sent Sept. 12 notifying students classes were canceled at noon because of Hurricane Ike. Savana Abbott, animal science freshman who is signed up to receive emergency text messages, didn’t receive the message. “I had to find out by word of mouth,” she said. “You could go all the way to class and not know it’s canceled until you get there.”Other students, like Lane Davis, undecided sophomore, were pleased with the University’s response.”[The text messages] answered all my questions about when classes were canceled and when to come back,” said Davis, who spent about four days at his parents’ powerless house.The report will use notes taken by the EOC’s two “teams,” Morris said. During the recovery process, a Gold Team and Purple Team each worked 12-hour days.”Each team is made up of University personnel, with jobs on campus, tasked and trained over the past couple of years to deal with emergencies like hurricanes,” Morris said.—-Contact Kyle Bove at kbove@sureveille.com
EOC to release ‘After-Action Report’
September 25, 2008