The Boston Marathon – Unplanned but not Unprepared
Yesterday started out like any other Monday – I made a pot of coffee and sat down to catch up on emails and prepare for a weekly conference call. While I was online, I checked my Facebook page and saw that a peer of mine was running their first Boston Marathon. I was excited for them and quickly commented on his “live feed” post to send encouragement as he made his way along the 26.2 miles. I really didn’t think much more about it until the breaking news hit regarding the bombings at the finish line. I quickly logged in and tried to reach him. No posts had been made on his page for some time and I was frantic to know if he was ok. Fortunately, he contacted a friend saying that he was okay but had intermittent data and cell connectivity due to the crisis.
After a huge sigh of relief it hit me – anger, fear, disbelief? What could I do to better prepare for events like this (after all, I’m a disaster recovery planner!). Truth is we can’t always prepare for random acts of violence. But as I watched the never ending loops of video coverage, I was soon drawn to the effectiveness of the response teams and amazed at the precision of their actions! The lessons they unwillingly presented yesterday can be incorporated into all emergency response plans!
Preparations:
Look carefully at the video coverage of the event. High capacity crowds and a world renowned athletic event set the stage for city planners to deal with hundreds of risk scenarios. Within seconds, yes seconds folks – police, fire and military personnel were engaged in recovery efforts. Why? Not because of some foreseeable or credible threat, but because as planners, their job was assess the potential risks and do everything possible to mitigate. Some areas I feel were particularly effective in preparations were:
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