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Hurricane Katrina Megashelter
Operations
by Lt. Joseph J. Leonard, Jr.
Area Commander
Houston Megashelter Operations
A Security
Perspective
Several months ago, I wrote about the National Incident Management System. Many of you may have received training in it since I wrote that piece, while others may be familiar with the basic concept. Late last summer, those of us residing in the Houston area had an opportunity to see how the National Incident Management System, or NIMS, works for a large event that none of us had any experience with�
We are all aware that Hurricane Katrina struck a devastating blow to the Gulf Coast last August, creating the largest and most costly disaster in the history of the United States. While the death toll did not approach that experienced by Galveston in the Great Storm of 1900, the human exodus was far greater.
On the morning of 30 August, Judge Robert Eckels was tasked by the Governor of Texas to assist with this wave of humanity by turning the Astrodome into a �shelter of first resort� for those individuals who had evacuated to the Superdome. The Grand Old Lady of Houston�the Astrodome�had not had any significant use in years, so this was something of a daunting task. Remember, the goal was not just to find these fellow citizens a place to sleep, but to provide all basic and essential services. This included the shelter itself, food service, medical services, and social service needs. In effect, we were tasked with building a city for 25,000 people.
Did I forget to mention that we had to have this done in 24 hours?
Okay � so where do you start? Well, American Red Cross personnel are the recognized experts in shelter management. Even though they have never run a shelter of this size, they had the most experience, so they had the lead there. SMG runs Reliant Park, with Aramark as the food service contractor. Good, that helps�now all we have to do is get them to increase the number of meals served on a daily basis to around 30,000-32,000 per meal (to cover all the residents and the responders). In this endeavor, SMG and Aramark did yeoman�s service (though it will be a very long time before I ever eat potato salad again�). Medical services had two major components. Ambulance services were provided jointly by the Houston Fire Department and a mutual aid compact of ambulance services from Harris County and the surrounding counties. A hospital, with literally everything short of a surgical center was also established in the Reliant Arena. This enabled us to properly triage all the incoming evacuees and provide treatment services for the residents while they were living within Reliant Park. At the height of activity, the hospital was seeing over 150 persons per hour, a number that puts it on par with any of the major hospital emergency rooms in the United States. Social Services managed the disbursement of funds via the American Red Cross, FEMA, the Social security Administration, other federal agencies, and insurance companies. Long-term housing solutions, donations, and travel services to other areas of the United States were also managed by our Social Service Branch.
But how do you manage all of these activities, in a small area, with 25,000 people who quite literally, arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs?
First off, let�s understand that throughout the 22 days of operation, over 38,000 evacuees called the Houston Megashelters home. In addition to a daily response force of 3,000-5,000, there were over 60,000 volunteers there to assist. As all of the displaced persons could not possibly fit in the Astrodome (the number there was capped at 17,100), several other large shelters were opened. These included the Reliant Arena (capacity of 8,000), the Reliant Arena (capacity of 4,000), and the George R. Brown Convention Center (capacity of 8,000). We also had access to two cruise ships, but these were not utilized.
Now we being to see how expansive this entire operation was becoming�Now let�s get back to the Superdome for a minute�
We can all remember the initial reports about all the madness and mayhem that was transpiring there and at the Morial Convention Center� This was all the information we had to go on when planning for our incoming population. This is not the way you want to start populating your city that is still in the process of building, so we had to have another key component of the overall incident management system. Our Security Branch filled that niche, and this was later supported by the Texas
In-processing Center. Because of their dedicated efforts, there were only 96 reports of criminal behavior during the course of the mass-shelter operations, and the vast majority of these were misdemeanors.
Security Branch
My first directive as Area Commander was quite simple. �Let�s be clear about two things�One, this is not the Superdome�and two, failure is not an option.� Sorry, but I live in Houston and that second part seems to be a usual line around here�But I was quite serious. We could not afford to let that perceived level of lawlessness to be present at our facility. We immediately turned to our local law enforcement agencies for assistance.
This included the Houston Police Department, the Harris County Sheriff�s Office, the Metropolitan Transportation System Police, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. They were supported by Reliant Park/SMG�s own security personnel. In addition, the Texas Army and Air National Guard also provided �visible presence� to further assist with overall security.
In the command post, 24/7, I had one captain from the Houston Police Department, and a lieutenant or sergeant from the Harris County Sheriff�s Office and Metro Police. In addition, I had an Assistant Chief from the Houston Police Department on the premises at all times. These were supplemented with another 150-220 law enforcement officers and another 150-200 security guards outside and throughout the complex.
Outside, law enforcement officers and security guards staffed all gates leading into and out from the Reliant Park Complex and the George R. Brown Convention Center several miles away. This ensured that only authorized personnel, volunteers, and residents were permitted access. It also proved very critical when the citizens of Harris County and the City of Houston demonstrated their determination to bring donations to Reliant Park.
Shelters are typically NOT the place for donations to be brought to, but we were unable to control the generosity of our fellow citizens, so we had to come up with a plan to support it. While a Donations Group was formed to bring all the donations into the Reliant Center, sort them out, and distribute them, law enforcement officers tackled the challenge of ensuring that traffic continued to flow on the busy Kirby Drive.
Texas In-Processing Center
It soon became evident that we were going to receive well over the 25,000 persons initially envisioned for the Astrodome. Again, going back to our concerns on the potential lawlessness, we had to develop plans to address this issue before it got out of hand. The Texas In- Processing Center was initially part of the Security Branch, but the operations grew so big that we soon made it a separate command.
Implemented and commanded by Lieutenant Gary Scheibe of the Houston Police Department, the Texas
In-processing Center was the first stop for anyone arriving for mass-shelter services at our facilities. As all arrivals were by bus, it made it somewhat easy to control (so long as we did not have too many busses at one time). As the bus came to a stop, a law enforcement officer would board the bus and greet the new arrivals. He would explain how the process would work.
Amongst the first things that they new arrivals would see would be the �Amnesty Box.� This was a large box where they could put ANYTHING at all that was considered contraband in nature. We wanted to give our incoming residents the opportunity to avoid any potential lawlessness with this simple tool. Throughout the event we would find large quantities of medicines (legal and illegal), weapons (including knives, brass knuckles, and guns), and drug paraphernalia. This immediately set the tone to ensure that the new arrivals understood we would not tolerate the levels of lawlessness that the media was stating occurred in New Orleans.
Next, all new arrivals would have the chance to use restroom facilities that were set up on site. After that, they received immediate triage from our on-site medical staff. Those in need of hospital support were taken to local hospitals for assistance. Those with medical issues that could be handled on site were directed to our Medical Branch. In all cases, families were kept together. We felt this was critical to reassuring the distressed arrivals. Those in need of new clothing were also provided hospital scrubs at this time.
Following this phase, those wishing to stay with relatives or friends were placed in a holding area while they awaited their rides. Others were assigned to one of our four shelters and transported accordingly. All residents were then wrist banded to indicate which facility they would have access to (volunteers and medical service providers also had wrist bands while the Incident Command Post personnel and the media had badges to indicate their access capabilities).
Conclusion
This incredible operation worked for a few very simple reasons. First, the key participants new and understood how to employ the National Incident Management System (in fact, many of the key staff are actually part of the team that conducts training within Harris County). Second, security operations were taken very seriously. While these actions were based on reports of activities at the Superdome later proven to be unfounded, they were necessary to assure proper safety for all residents and responders. Judge Eckles of Harris County said during the event that, �Leadership is doing what is right�Not what you have the right to do.� The dedicated professionals and volunteers ensured success through their energetic efforts in doing what was right.
Author: Lieutenant Joseph J. Leonard, Jr. is the Chief of the Response Department for Marine Safety Unit Galveston. He was selected by the FEMA Administrator/Principal Federal Official to serve as Area Commander for the Houston Megashelter Operations and managed all activities for 22 days.
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