Is the Baltimore disaster plan effective in meeting different natural disasters such as earth quakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, nuclear accidents and chemical spills? Why or Why not? What needs to be done?
Does the class have a copy of the Baltimore Disaster Plan? Is it available online somewhere? If so... could someone post a link to it?
I believe that Coppin has a disaster plan, that spells out different activities to be done depending on the specific disaster... Ah, here is a link to Coppin's "Emergency Management Plan" (http://www.coppin.edu/Emergency/)
How Prepared Are we For Disaster? How prepared is Baltimore for a natural disaster. That’s a good question to ask. As I read the chapters and look at the websites you sent to us, I don’t think we are. Most cities in America aren’t and that really doesn’t surprise me. Most cities like Baltimore have aging infrastructures that could pose problems in the event of major flooding or evacuation. Baltimore’s water system is over 100 years old and because of its’ age we have been experiencing water main breaks and periodic flooding whenever there is a major rainfall or storm. Our roadways and bridges are in need of repairs. Several years ago there was a major bridge collapse in Minnesota were lives were lost. The problems in New Orleans may have been prevented if t Budgets are tight but neglecting roadways and bridges in an effort to save money is unwise. Old and aging equipment is another area that needs to be addressed. During last years blizzard city equipment was unable to manage the job of cleaning up the city and clearing the roadways. Yes we saw a larger than normal snowfall, but equipment should be able to at least keep the main streets clear. Until we started talking about disaster preparedness I never gave thought to living so close to the railroad tracks. Trains don’t travel as much as they did in the past, but trains carrying cargo still use these tracks. What steps would be taken if there was a chemical spill, train derailment or for that matter an explosion? This leads me to believe that a city is as prepared as its’ people. Most cities are inhabited by large numbers of marginalized people who can just afford the bare essentials. Asking them to have three days worth of supplies on hand is asking a dead horse to rise again. Like me most people don’t have the faintest idea on what to do in the event of a disaster. If there was a major disaster in Baltimore, we would resemble New Orleans with people in the streets without the means to survive. Monies need to spent to address the issues with aging infrastructures. Just because we have not faced earthquakes, category 5 hurricanes, we must ensure that no matter what the disaster we are prepared and people lives face minimal risk of harm. We must education people on how to prepare. They need to be taught what to do, where to go and who to call in the event of a disaster. I remember as a child in school we had air raid drills. We were taught in school what to do in the event we heard the sirens. We knew to drop to the floor and get underneath something and remain calm. So we must educate, educate, and educate. Natural disasters can’t be avoided, but hopefully we can stop the next one from turning into a social disaster.
Does the class have a copy of the Baltimore Disaster Plan? Is it available online somewhere? If so... could someone post a link to it?
ReplyDeleteI believe that Coppin has a disaster plan, that spells out different activities to be done depending on the specific disaster... Ah, here is a link to Coppin's "Emergency Management Plan" (http://www.coppin.edu/Emergency/)
Nadean Paige
ReplyDeleteUrban Studies
How Prepared Are we For Disaster?
How prepared is Baltimore for a natural disaster. That’s a good question to ask. As I read the chapters and look at the websites you sent to us, I don’t think we are. Most cities in America aren’t and that really doesn’t surprise me. Most cities like Baltimore have aging infrastructures that could pose problems in the event of major flooding or evacuation. Baltimore’s water system is over 100 years old and because of its’ age we have been experiencing water main breaks and periodic flooding whenever there is a major rainfall or storm. Our roadways and bridges are in need of repairs. Several years ago there was a major bridge collapse in Minnesota were lives were lost. The problems in New Orleans may have been prevented if t Budgets are tight but neglecting roadways and bridges in an effort to save money is unwise. Old and aging equipment is another area that needs to be addressed. During last years blizzard city equipment was unable to manage the job of cleaning up the city and clearing the roadways. Yes we saw a larger than normal snowfall, but equipment should be able to at least keep the main streets clear.
Until we started talking about disaster preparedness I never gave thought to living so close to the railroad tracks. Trains don’t travel as much as they did in the past, but trains carrying cargo still use these tracks. What steps would be taken if there was a chemical spill, train derailment or for that matter an explosion? This leads me to believe that a city is as prepared as its’ people. Most cities are inhabited by large numbers of marginalized people who can just afford the bare essentials. Asking them to have three days worth of supplies on hand is asking a dead horse to rise again. Like me most people don’t have the faintest idea on what to do in the event of a disaster. If there was a major disaster in Baltimore, we would resemble New Orleans with people in the streets without the means to survive.
Monies need to spent to address the issues with aging infrastructures. Just because we have not faced earthquakes, category 5 hurricanes, we must ensure that no matter what the disaster we are prepared and people lives face minimal risk of harm. We must education people on how to prepare. They need to be taught what to do, where to go and who to call in the event of a disaster. I remember as a child in school we had air raid drills. We were taught in school what to do in the event we heard the sirens. We knew to drop to the floor and get underneath something and remain calm. So we must educate, educate, and educate. Natural disasters can’t be avoided, but hopefully we can stop the next one from turning into a social disaster.