Case Study : Super Storm sandy in 2012
2012 Super Storm SANDY
No regional plans or efforts could have prepared the region and SuperStorm SANDY in 2012. Yet the public/private relationships that were developed under RCPGP (Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program) and other projects became operational to quickly respond in support of government and private sector response efforts as indicated below:
All of these solutions were made possible through trusted relationships with the private sector owner operator and vendor community. Not a single agreement or MoU was signed. Most of all of this support was provided via pro-bono services donated by the private sector. The Consortium provided the enabling framework and facilitated the trusted relationships to make this happen quickly.
Much of this resulted from the RCPGP Grant and the AHC’s Integrated Planning Initiative w/Private Sector between 2010-2012. The relationships built with the private sector would not have been possible without the continuous involvement with the AHC and its states via the AHC's Regional Integrated Planning Framework.
How were each of these solutions developed?
No regional plans or efforts could have prepared the region and SuperStorm SANDY in 2012. Yet the public/private relationships that were developed under RCPGP (Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program) and other projects became operational to quickly respond in support of government and private sector response efforts as indicated below:
- Locating Citizen and Worker Housing - identified potentially thousands of housing units to support workers and citizens
- Citizen Protection - provided a pro-bono social media service (provided by Cyveillance) that alerted New Jersey EOC/Fusion Center and 50+ companies to information that saved lives, rescued stranded citizens and protected property
- Regional Rail Security - regional rail alerts were provided by AAR (Association of American Railroads) which kept states and owner operators informed of rail related incidents and operating status
- Power/Utility Fleet Movement - expedited utility fleet movement through toll stations via a simple, jointly developed process created by state and private sector
- Daily Private Sector Resource Availability Reports – provided daily open/closed status reports on thousands of food, fuel, pharmacy, and hotel locations to support response efforts
All of these solutions were made possible through trusted relationships with the private sector owner operator and vendor community. Not a single agreement or MoU was signed. Most of all of this support was provided via pro-bono services donated by the private sector. The Consortium provided the enabling framework and facilitated the trusted relationships to make this happen quickly.
Much of this resulted from the RCPGP Grant and the AHC’s Integrated Planning Initiative w/Private Sector between 2010-2012. The relationships built with the private sector would not have been possible without the continuous involvement with the AHC and its states via the AHC's Regional Integrated Planning Framework.
How were each of these solutions developed?
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1) Locating Citizen and Worker Housing The Consortium reached out to their private sector housing database partners that they have been working with under the RCE PGP grant. These partners quickly provided data that was furnished to New Jersey to enable the identification of available housing units. Within three days, the consortium and its partners identified 2850 Properties representing over 400,000 units that could potentially be used to house citizens and relief workers. 3) Regional Rail Security
The Consortium and NJ OHSP have been working with the rail sector for over 18 months on a regional rail initiative started by WMATA ( Washington Metro Area Transit Authority). As a result of this relationship built with Association of American Railroads (AAR), regional alerts were sent from AAR to the Consortium and other states to provide information to a law enforcement, private sector and emergency management on the status of rail service and events |
2) Citizen Protection
Working with NJ EOC, 50+ private sector companies, and a sophisticated social media analytical service provider the Consortium quickly extended the New Jersey Social Media Trend Reporting Pilot Project for an additional seven days to identify citizens that were stranded, looting, and many other issues related to SANDY. The reports and alerts were provided to the New Jersey Fusion Center/EOC along with dozens of private sector companies who had facilities and employees in affected areas. This service saved lives and property according to feedback from government and private sector. 4) Power/Utility Fleet Movement
The Consortium, along with DHS and 30+ utilities had been working on a regional initiative called the Multi-state Fleet Response Working Group focused on expediting the movement of utility vehicles across state borders during emergencies. Leveraging the private sector relationships, the Consortium facilitated discussions with the power sector and New Jersey officials to develop a simple process to move trucks faster through toll gates. The process was agreed to by several states and began implementation immediately. Later that month, the display signs on I-95 indicated this process was being used by FEMA to support their relief convoys. |
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5) Daily Private Sector Resource Availability Reports for Fuel, Food, Pharmacy, & Hotels
Again, working with private sector partners, the Consortium began issuing daily private sector resource reports on an Excel spreadsheet attached to emails. The data came from point of sale systems being monitored via satellite dish and or DSL links and covered thousands of fast food restaurants, pharmacies, hotels, and fuel/gas stations across all nine of the consortium states, but primarily focused on New Jersey and New York. This private sector data became one of the central data feeds in the early stages of the storm and was recognized by FEMA as one of the single most important data sources they had during the first week in the NRCC (National Response Coordination Center). On several occasions, this report data was used to brief the White House as part of their daily briefings on SANDY. |