Transcript LSU: Operations Hub for Hurricane Katrina Relief

LSU in the Eye of the Storm:
A University Model for
Disaster Response
Mary G. Parker, Director
Office of Student Aid and Scholarships
Louisiana State University
SWASFAA Annual Conference
November 09, 2006
Purpose
 Provide information to Financial Aid
Administrators that will assist with
the development of disaster
preparedness plans for their
institutions, financial aid offices and
professional associations
LSU’s Katrina Experience
 Setting the Scene
 Katrina Comes Ashore
 LSU Responds
 Facilities, Volunteers &
Partnerships,
Communications,
Housing & Dining,
Security, Technology
 Top Lessons Learned
Calm Concern Before
the Storm
“Even as we were
scurrying around
buying gallons of
bottled water, in the
back of my mind I
thought Katrina would
be like Hurricane Ivan
was for New Orleans:
much ado about
nothing. If only.”
LSU Art Professor
 5 am, Sat., Aug 27, Katrina
declared Cat 3 storm
 Low-lying areas evacuate
 Special Needs Shelter
opens at LSU
 Announced cancellation of
Monday (Aug 29) classes
and public events
The Hurricane Grows
Preparations continue
LSU Leadership Team
continues to meet twice a
day on campus
New Orleans under
mandatory evacuation
Katrina now a Cat 5 storm,
max sustained winds, 175mph, gusts to 216-mph
Katrina Comes Ashore
 Mon., Aug. 29, makes
landfall at Buras, LA
 Worst natural disaster in
U.S. history
 Millions of people in 7 states
affected
 Tue, Aug 30, classes and
public events cancelled until
Tue, Sep 6
 Wed, Aug 31, began
admitting and registering
displaced students
Our Mission:
Serve the Victims
 Chancellor’s charge: Serve human needs first
 Ask for help
 Eliminate red tape
 Break rules if necessary
 Think creatively
Nothing Normal About
Katrina: Challenges We Faced
 No communication; phones down, no cell
service
 Extremely hot weather
 Power out in most places
 Constant struggle to maintain updated info
 Stress & depression, little sleep
 Huge demand for housing, ice, gasoline
 Need to manage intense media interest while
maintaining patient privacy
Support for Agencies
 FEMA, National Guard, DHH, Red Cross, FBI, SBA,
US Forestry Service, surgical teams, police,
Homeland Security
 Installed 200 additional phones, phone lines,
network connections, computers, fax machines &
printers
 Housed & fed 950
relief personnel
 Provided showers for
1,000 workers
 Housed 1,287 pets
Conversion to
Medical Facilities
 Largest deployment of public
health officials in U.S. history
 Some agencies involved: DHH,
FEMA, U.S. Public Health
Service, CDC, LSUHSC, State
emergency response teams,
USAF, Army, Coast Guard,
National Guard, Navy, Marines,
LSU Athletic Department
 Largest acute-care field
hospital ever created in
U.S. history
Conversion to Medical
Facilities
 Operated 800-bed field
hospital, 250-bed SNS
 Triaged 15,000 evacuees
 Treated 6,000 patients
 Filled 2,000 prescriptions
 Utilized 1,700 volunteer
medical personnel from
12 states
 PMAC open 9 days
Volunteers & Partnerships
 3,000 faculty, students & staff volunteered
 800 mattresses donated, collected & delivered to
area shelters
 100 laptops donated by IBM
 Developed volunteer registry with Microsoft
LSU Information Center –
 70 LSU volunteers manned
13-day, 24-hour hotline,
received 6,495 calls
More Help Arrives
 LSU Police Department
 Provided site safety & security at PMAC, SNS &
Animal Shelter
 Escorted evacuee transports
 Information & Technology Services
 Provided telephone & data connectivity
 Created Dr/pt/police/volunteer registry
 Modified electronic admissions process
 Created computer accts for visiting students
 Restored mission critical apps for UNO & LSUHSC
 Opened servers to certain displaced businesses
Managing Deluge of Media
 Times Picayune sets up at Manship School of Mass
Communication
 WWL-TV broadcasts from Hodges Hall
 Washington Post, NBC News, ESPN, Chronicle of Higher
Education, BBC, Discovery Channel, National Geographic,
New York Times, Good Morning America & dozens of others
visit campus
 Public Affairs
 Operated 24-hour public info hotline
 Managed media requests for experts and info from around the
globe
 Handled internal communication
 Broadcast e-mails, Town Hall meetings
 Maintained LSU.edu throughout crisis, beyond
 Chronicled University’s activities
Flexibility 101
(Breaking the Rules)
 Moved/rescheduled
football games
 Modified academic
calendar (three times)
 Admitting students
without records
 No application fee
 Paying tuition and
fees?
Displaced Students,
Families & Institutions
 Housed 500 newly
registered students
 Reactivated 2 off-line
residence halls
 Matched displaced students
& families with housing
provided by LSU faculty,
staff, alums & friends
 700 instructors offered
teaching support
 Added 80 new class
sections
 Increased class sizes to
room capacities
Admission and Registration
in 10 Days
Applied for enrollment
3,832
Admitted
3,768
Completed registration
3,121
Enrolled on the census
date (14th day of class)
2,700
(2,387 undergrads;
313 grads)
Important Lessons Learned
 Remember that Communication is key
 Have an emergency and evacuation plan ready
beforehand (pre and post disaster planning)
 Develop a specific plan for the financial aid office
 Know what resources you have & how they can be
used
 Maintain inventory of services/facilities, technology,
materials & equipment, housing, experts & people
trained as emergency responders
 Look in unconventional places for experts.
Important Lessons Learned
 Consider remote servers for key info
 Develop a plan for data storage and
retrieval plans
 Know where your back up data is located
and how it can be accessed
 Have electronic access to P&P manuals
and governmental reference materials
 Monitor IFAP, State Agencies, NASFAA for
news releases and announcements
Important Lessons Learned
 Be a part of the institutional disaster planning (Need
to be able to stress importance of FA regulations in
regards to administrative capabilities
 Make sure that you have a call plan for your staff in
the event of a hurricane
 Cross training is vital not only within your office but
within your enrollment management unit
 Think creative, be strategic and manage how your
university is used
Important Lessons Learned
Communication is Key! Be prepared to be
creative and have alternate methods of
communication
 Constantly update info internally & externally
 Use your Web site & don’t forget radio(KLSU)
 Have a good communications assets that are
functional and available (e.g., cell phones,
Blackberries, etc.)
 Each department needs an emergency list (know
who to contact and who will contact you)
Important Lessons Learned
 Be prepared to support students & families
 Have a plan to evacuate students from your campus
if that becomes necessary
 Create necessary data bases ahead of time; update
them periodically (LSU uses Microsoft Sharepoint)
 Write an emergency academic response plan to
admit/register new students
 Be flexible with scheduling issues
 Develop courses that could easily go online
 Be willing to do any job – “It is not in my job
description” does not work.
 Get back to core business as quickly as you can.
Important Lessons Learned
 Seize leadership opportunities
 Communicate effectively
 Practice self awareness and awareness of
others
 Be flexible and prepared to make decisions
outside of the “rules”
 Document, Document and Communicate
Emergency Operations
Center
 Forecast of 20+ years
increased hurricane
activity
 Chancellor directed
permanent 24/7 “all
hazards” EOC be
established
 Equipment
 Training
 Exercises
The Calm After the Storm &
Coping with Katrina
 Continue to develop EOC (Plan,
Train,Practice)
 Road to recovery is long
 We are grateful to those who came to our
aid in time of need
 We were humbled by outpouring of
support from around the world
 We are providing leadership to help rebuild
Louisiana & the Gulf Coast Region
Thank you for your time
and your interest.
Mary Parker
[email protected]
www.lsu.edu
www.lsustorm.com