What happens when the people you depend on during a disaster are suddenly without power, staff, internet, transportation or even a building to work from?
This was the unprecedented challenge when the Aug. 11 storm knocked out power across Northwest Indiana. Some of the people answering the Region’s crisis calls suddenly had no power, internet or safe place to work.
So the Crisis Center in Gary did something it hadn’t planned quite this way. The center’s power was out for 12 days. Its two generators, thanks to a Lilly Endowment grant, never stopped.
The center brought its remote workers into the building and created workstations throughout its administrative offices. The calls were handled. People were helped. The 24/7 operation continued.
A less visible vulnerability
The devastating storm exposed a less visible vulnerability in Northwest Indiana’s disaster response: The organizations people depend on most when something goes wrong can become disaster victims themselves.
Crisis centers, nursing homes, food providers, nonprofits, health care organizations and government agencies may suddenly face the same problems as the residents they’re trying to help — no electricity, disrupted communications, missing employees, damaged facilities and transportation problems.
The question isn’t simply whether they have an emergency plan. It’s whether that plan still works when nearly everyone around them is having the same emergency.
“The August 11 storms truly tested the systems and partnerships Lake County relies on during a large-scale emergency,” said Paul Petrie, deputy director of Lake County Homeland Security/Emergency Management Agency.
“When virtually the entire county is experiencing the same problem, however, many of the organizations we normally depend upon are simultaneously dealing with their own power failures, staffing challenges, communications problems, transportation issues, and facility concerns,” he said. “That is where emergency planning, redundancy, and relationships become especially important.”
‘Blue sky days’
Lance Bella, director of Porter County Government Emergency Management, said each year his staff meets with healthcare organizations such as nursing homes, renal facilities, etc. to look over their emergency plans.
“We advise them on ways they can strengthen their plans. We always encourage facilities to not only have emergency generators, but to also have a backup plan in case their generator goes out,” Bella said. “We obviously do not have enough to go to everyone, but answer as we are called upon.”
“We encourage them to have suppliers both locally and out of the area in the event the entire area is affected.”
This is the uncomfortable reality of limited resources during a county-wide outage or disaster.
“This is why blue sky days are really important, so when something bad does happen, it doesn’t feel like it’s happening for the very first time,” said Courtney Page-Tan, an assistant professor at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University in Indianapolis.
Her extensive research focuses on helping communities better plan for and recover from emergencies, including extreme weather, public safety threats and economic disasters. Our corner of the state now fits this profile.
‘Bonding, bridging and linking’
Disaster preparedness hinges on maintaining relationships and building trust before a crisis occurs. It depends on social capital.
“If those connections are already viable, you know the trust is already established,” Page-Tan said. “You know who to call. You know who their name is. You’ve talked to them before.”
Know your neighbors. Know your community partners. Know the people in government who can unlock resources — before the next storm or crisis hits.
When the worst happens, people need different kinds of connections to get through it.
For example, “bonding” is when neighbors, families and coworkers help each other; “bridging” is different groups or organizations working together; and “linking” is connecting those local people and groups to government agencies and larger systems that can provide resources, possibly through FEMA’s Voluntary Agency Liaisons.
The stronger those connections are before a crisis, the better a community can respond when something goes wrong.
“When the agencies that normally care for vulnerable residents are themselves damaged, short-staffed, without power, displaced, or unable to operate, Lake County Homeland Security/EMA’s role becomes especially important,” said Robert Walker, director of Lake County Homeland Security/EMA.
EMA generally should not try to replace those organizations. Instead, it should function as the countywide coordinator, resource broker, information hub, and escalation point that keeps the vulnerable-population support system operating, he noted.
“This is particularly relevant to the August disaster in Lake County,” Walker said.
Most important disaster-preparation tool
The backup system is supposed to work in layers: a primary provider, a backup provider, mutual-aid organizations, county resources and, if necessary, state and federal assistance.
As a state agency, Indiana Department of Homeland Security mainly works directly with county EMAs and government entities when responding to a disaster.
“Lake County can build on existing infrastructure rather than creating a separate system,” Walker said. “When the normal service agency loses its capability, EMA coordinates redundancy.
Petrie added, “The August storm reinforced that planning for a short-term outage differs greatly from planning for a widespread outage that may last several days.”
No master plan can anticipate every circumstance, but the most important disaster-preparation tool may not be sitting in a warehouse, according to Page-Tan.
It may be a phone number.
A person you already know.
Or a new relationship established on a blue-sky day, before the next storm arrives.
“The relationships you build before a disaster are often what carry you through the disaster,” she said.
Contact Jerry at Jerry.Davich@nwi.com. Find him on Facebook and other socials. Opinions are those of the writer.
