DHS and D.C. Department of Human Services Test Disaster Planning Using RFK Stadium as a 'Mega-shelter' for 'Displaced Residents'

The number of people arrested in London rose to 922 since trouble began on August 6th, with 401 suspects charged. The huge number drew notice. Peter Tapsell, a veteran Conservative Party lawmaker, called on Cameron to draw inspiration from the response of U.S. authorities to anti-Vietnam protests in the 1970s. Tapsell said he recalled law enforcement in Washington, D.C., rounding up demonstrators and imprisoning them in a sports stadium. He did not elaborate, but authorities in 1971 set up an emergency detention center next to Washington's RFK stadium to hold demonstrators after the largest mass arrest in U.S. history. Tapsell asked Cameron if Britain's Wembley Stadium, the country's showpiece soccer arena could be used. Cameron insisted the stadium would be used only for "great sporting events," not the detention of rioters. - UK to Deploy Military, Grant New Police Power, Restrict Social Networking, and Use Facial Recognition to Hunt Rioters and Looters, August 11, 2011

D.C. Tests Disaster Planning in City-wide Drill

September 28, 2011

WTOP.com - Hurricane Zoe, a Category 2 storm, damaged a large number of District homes, caused major roads to flood and left more than 87,000 D.C. residents without power.

That fabricated scenario was the setting for a full-scale exercise performed by D.C.'s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency Wednesday, allowing a wide swath of District agencies to practice their response to a massive city-wide emergency.

On the grounds of RFK Stadium, members of the Metropolitan Police Department, D.C. Fire and EMS and the D.C. Department of Human Services were on hand to perform various drills in order to coordinate and execute emergency operations, gathering data to refine the city's procedures in the event of a real emergency.

In the concourse of the stadium, the D.C. Department of Human Services was in charge of a "mega-shelter" that filled with volunteers mimicking the roles of displaced residents.

Representatives from DHS and the D.C. Department of Health were on hand to assist "residents" with food, communications and medical problems as they entered the facility.

Randy Moses, an emergency management officer with DHS, says no matter what situation the practice scenarios involve, his department gains the necessary experience needed to deal with the fallout should a real emergency occur.

"We don't get nervous when the real thing happens," Moses says. "The training keeps up sharp, keeps us prepared, keeps us on the ready."

In the parking lots surrounding RFK, other D.C. emergency agencies assembled and operated a temporary morgue, cleared overturned cars, gathered trash and operated a temporary pet shelter.

Millicent West, director of the D.C. HSEMA, says Wednesday's exercise allows the city to examine flaws in its emergency operation and invest in ways to fix issues as they arise.

"If there are challenges in making sure that things aren't working, we let people know where the redundancies are so that they can know immediately, if this is not working, this is my trigger to say 'I need to do something else,' " West says.

The exercise was the not the first time D.C. has tested its emergency response. In May, the city ran a drill centered around a "man-made" catastrophe. West says the May exercise exposed the need to have a number of organizations outside the realm of public safety trained on how to react in the wake of a disaster.

"What we want to do is not focus on folks who do this every day, but folks who are dealing with residents every day for other human service needs," West says.

West says that focus will better prepare the District no matter what situation arises.

"If you can understand how to respond to a flood, you can understand how to respond to an earthquake, you can understand how to respond to a hurricane, you can understand how to respond to a man-made event," she says.

Elsewhere in the city as part of the response drill, a wide array of District and federal agencies -- along with area utilities -- were in communication with each other as if Hurricane Zoe actually occurred.

D.C. HSEMA says the District will continue to run exercises similar to Wednesday's event, including two planned drills in March and September of 2012. West says smaller ward-based drills focusing on resident interaction also are scheduled.

The Superdome in New Orleans after Katrina was meant to be a hurricane refuge, but those who sought shelter there described it as a lawless "concentration camp." "People were locked in the dome like prisoners," said a 13-year veteran of the New Orleans police force who asked not to be identified. Much of the frustration voiced by the evacuees concerned the lack of information. People were prevented from leaving the arena and were desperate for news of what had happened to their friends, neighbors, family members and homes. Many blamed the officials for failing to give them any updates on the situation. "We were treated like this was a concentration camp," said Audrey Jordan of the Superdome. "One man couldn't take it. He jumped over the railing and died." - Stadium Hurricane Refuge Like a 'Concentration Camp', Agence France Presse, September 2, 2005

The Superdome During Katrina

A disaster medical assistance team, DMAT, from San Francisco area, CA-6, served in the Superdome during the Katrina Hurricane. Conditions were horrific.

Greta Van Susteren of Fox interviewed Dr. Charles Burnell, an emergency room physician who was providing medical care in the Superdome. Asked about the level of violence among the 20,000 displaced residents who sought shelter inside the giant stadium, Dr. Burnell said: "We had three murders last night. We had a total of six rapes last night. We had the day before, I think, there were three or four murders. There were half-a-dozen rapes that night. We had one suicide last night. We had one military policeman shot." Dr. Burnell described the Superdome situation as "very unstable, very high tension, a very dangerous environment." While National Guardsmen were on hand for protection, he said that "every time there was an incident that broke out, they had to tend to that, which left us uncovered." Burnell said the task of treating people inside the stadium became impossible after they ran out of supplies. "We did not have oxygen, we did not have any medications to speak of," he said. But what forced the New Orleans doc to finally abandon the giant evacuation center was the threat of violence. "Until I can insure that I'm not putting my life in any significantly dangerous situation — as I was before — I will not be back in the Superdome," he told Fox. - Doc: 6 Murders, 12 Rapes Inside Superdome, Newsmax.com, September 1, 2005

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