PreparednessOfficials say D.C. prepared for disasters following earthquake and snowstorm

This year a massive snowstorm and earthquake left D.C. residents stuck in traffic for hours as they attempted to leave the city, but emergency officials say they are better prepared for future disasters because of those incidents.

In January a quickly moving powerful snowstorm left some commuters caught in traffic for as long as twelve hours, while the earthquake in August also led to similar traffic jams.

Washington is a commuter city with its population nearly doubling each workday as roughly 490,000 people stream in for work. In the event of disasters or mass evacuations, the city’s streets and public transportation, already strained on an average day, are quickly pushed to their absolute limits.

Testifying before the ad hoc Senate Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Intergovernmental Affairs, officials assured the senators that policy changes had been put in place to prevent future transportation nightmares.

Dean Hunter, the deputy director for facilities, security, and contracting at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), said the agency had recently added a shelter-in-place option for its dismissal guide to federal employees in the area.

“The intent is for it to be used really in extreme circumstances along the lines of chemical and biological threats,” Hunter said. “There could be a very short-term utility for a snow event.”

To prevent another incident like the January snowstorm, Hunter said OPM will urge employees to work from home or take leave if the predicted weather is bad. In addition, the agency will also stagger departure times.

Terrie Suit, Virginia’s secretary of veterans’ affairs and homeland security, noted that OPM must be “careful about messaging” as the agency needs to distinguish between “staying in place” and “sheltering in place” in the event that going outside would prove to be dangerous.

“Staying in place has more of a temporary connotation,” Suit said.

Senator Daniel Akaka (D – Hawaii), the chair of the hearing, asked officials if the region was hindered by a lack of decision-making authority to which several officials responded that emergency response is most efficient when handled “from the ground up.”

“We never manage the emergency on the ground from a central decision-maker’s office from on high,” said Suit. As evidence, she pointed to the Arlington, Virginia fire department which was the first to arrive at the Pentagon after the 9/11 attacks where it managed the response from there.

Following the hearing, Senator Akaka said he was encouraged by the improved coordination between local and federal officials.