LSU: Operations Hub for Hurricane Katrina Relief
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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