October 22, 2006 – Conducted at the New York City College of Technology
in Brooklyn, the HurrEx Sheltering Full-Scale Exercise tested
the sheltering component of the City’s Coastal Storm Plan
(CSP). The drill, which was managed by the Office
of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Department of Homeless
Services, called for setting up an evacuation center and training over 900
City employees to run a shelter and manage evacuees.
The
scenario: Gale force winds from Hurricane Liberty,
a Category 3 storm, are expected to make landfall near New York City
approximately 24 hours from the start of the exercise. As the City makes
preparations for the impending storm, the general population residing within
Evacuation Zones A, B, and C is ordered to evacuate.
The exercise: HurrEx focused on the sheltering portion of the Costal
Protection plan. Around 130 City employees from 20 agencies that would manage
sheltering in a real coastal storm emergency absorbed over 700 mock evacuees in
a central evaluation center. The players screened evacuees
who reported medical complications, organized family re-unification and pet care
staging areas, and bused evacuees to two hurricane shelters. By filtering
the evacuees through a central point of control, the staff made special
arrangements for medical conditions and spread its human resources more
efficiently by opening shelters as needed.
The previous drills: This
drill was the third in a series of exercises designed to determine the
effectiveness of the City’s Coastal Storm Plan and identify areas for
improvement. A discussion-based decision-making exercise
in June 2006 kicked off the series by tracking a hurricane from 120 hours before
landfall until the decision to evacuate. Players in this exercise included over
60 City, state and federal agencies, non-profit organization and private sector
partners. The second exercise, covering 72 hours to 48 hours before the storm
makes landfall, focused on the evacuation of patients from various healthcare
facilities. Representatives from 37 hospitals, 21 nursing homes and 15 ambulance
service providers gathered in the City’s Emergency Operations Command (EOC)
center in July 2006 to participate.
List of Participants in Sheltering Full Scale Exercise:
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
American Red Cross of Greater NY
City University of New York
NYC Community Emergency Response Teams
NYC Administration for Children’s Services
NYC Department for the Aging
NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services
NYC Department of Design and Construction
NYC Department of Education
NYC Department of Environmental Protection
NYC Department of Finance
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
NYC Department of Homeless Services
NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development
NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications
