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"The Nisqually (Seattle) Earthquake - 2001
Regional Lessons Learned"
By Gennie Thompson, VP and Regional Manager
Bank of America Business Continuity Event Management
The February 28, 2001 Nisqually (Seattle) Earthquake
was a frightening experience for many people in western Washington, but
still not the "Big One" we are all still expecting to happen when damages
and impacts to life safety will be much more devastating.
FEMA has attributed over $1 Billion dollars
in damages to the earthquake and declared a disaster in 22 counties. As
it often happens in earthquakes, damages were experienced in numerous
areas far from the epicenter. Although the Northwest is very earthquake
conscious, and many citizens and businesses are prepared - there are always
lessons learned that can improve our ability to respond and recover better
next time. Following are some of the lessons we learned:
Schools
throughout western Washington have established and practiced earthquake
programs that include procedures, supplies and drills. Parents are aware
and often involved, so when the earthquake happened during a school day,
parents knew the safety of their children was being addressed by school
personnel.
It
was evident to everyone that prior mitigation, preparation, and training
really paid off in fewer injuries, less damage, less emotional impacts
and improved our ability to recover more efficiently. This included successful
and ongoing efforts of various city and county Project Impacts, the ongoing
seismic mitigation of bridges and highways, government agency earthquake
response plans, home preparedness and business recovery plans.
People who had been trained to "Drop, Cover and Hold" reacted quickly
and correctly, preventing additional injuries. Some people who had not
been trained in recent years, still tried to use doorways as protection,
even though people are advised not to do this now. Also, there was confusion
on when or whether to evacuate a building. Normally, it is best to stay
inside the building unless it is dangerous. Running outside of a building
after an earthquake can be more dangerous, especially in downtown or urban
areas, due to falling glass, walls, building facades, live electrical
wires, etc. Some buildings and schools who have large adjacent open spaces
selectively plan to carefully evacuate to this open space after the shaking
stops. In a region wide disaster, 911 responders often have more than
they can immediately handle, so it is important to have people with first
aid and rescue training who can assist others until professional help
is available.
Building Impacts
Because of the distance and depth of the earthquake epicenter from the
major cities, most buildings and homes were undamaged, although a significant
number were as evidenced by the accumulated 1 billion dollars in losses.
Many people were surprised by the impact to their buildings. While the
earthquake lasted from 40 to 47 seconds, the 42 story office tower I work
in shook violently, swayed as designed and didn't stop moving for two
and a half minutes. Pieces and sides of old non-retrofitted buildings
continued to fall hours and days after the initial earthquake.
Although everyone expects telecommunications to be impacted by disasters,
we found this to be a frustrating challenge for several hours following
the quake. The telephone system was overloaded, suffered some damages
and functioned sporadically. Cell phones did not work. Blast page groups
were the most effective way to quickly communicate, although in this instance
their success was limited because many pagers did not work or transmit
messages for several hours. Web based communications seemed to work well.
Having pre-established telephone conference bridgelines proved extremely
valuable in connecting key personnel together, assessing corporate wide
damages and researching the well-being of employees. Alternate means of
communication should be evaluated and in put in place before another disaster
happens.
Media The media
was of great value in providing information on known damages, impacts,
response actions and transportation delays and closures issues. They quickly
had reporters and cameras trying to report live from throughout the region.
Their challenge is to be the conduit of updated information and instructions
from the city and county emergency management agencies, police and fire
departments, the Dept. of Transportation and others who need to relay
updated information to the public and to businesses. Their future challenge
is to avoid dwelling endlessly on the first photo ops, but to seek out
and relay new, broader information.
The
two largest airports in western Washington, SeaTac Airport and Boeing
Field, both suffered major damage to their runways, control towers and
were closed. This proved to be a hardship for commercial flights, airfreight
and cargo transportation and for all the businesses (Fed Ex, Airborne
Express, manufacturers, banks, importers, exporters, etc.) who suddenly
had to try to divert their flights through their backup airport(s). These
much smaller regional airports were overwhelmed by the additional activity.
Recovery plans should reflect these air transportation challenges and
include multiple means and locations to take care of incoming and outgoing
personnel and materiel.
Not all bridges and vulnerable highway sections have been seismically
mitigated yet. So some sections of major highways and their on/off ramps
and transportation corridor bridges were damaged and closed. Some were
closed for days and a few for over three months. This caused detours and
congestion throughout the region. Figuring out alternative travels routes
ahead of time to use as needed following a disaster will ease everyone's
stress level.
Recovery is difficult and possibly doubtful without prior careful planning
whether at home or at a business. Home preparation for disasters, such
as smoke alarms, exit pathways, seismic mitigation, flood insurance and
having a family response plan are important safeguards. Having a well-thought
out, current and immediately available business disaster recovery plan
is essential to ensure an efficient and effective response and recovery.
The business recovery plan should be known to all employees and should
be exercised at least once each year. Families who had prepared themselves
and their homes were better able to cope with the earthquake's effects.
Businesses who had current response and recovery plans and contact lists
were able to quickly put their plans into action and deal with the situation.
Final words of wisdom:
• Disasters are inevitable … Survival isn't …
• Prepare because you care.
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