By Paula Wethington
This story at USA Today does not surprise me in the least: Survey finds holes in U.S. disaster preparation.
A snippet:
In a disaster such as an earthquake or terrorist attack, nearly two-thirds of U.S. parents would disregard orders to evacuate and would rush to pick up their kids from school, according to a new survey.
The survey found that 63% of parents would ignore orders to evacuate and instead attempt to reunite with their children, possibly hindering rescue efforts by adding to traffic congestion.
The authors of the study, released Thursday on the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, said that despite years of government efforts to enhance disaster preparedness, schools need to do more to plan for disasters and parents need to be made aware of the plans.
Yes, I’ve had conversations with other parents as to what to do in case of an emergency at the school — specifically an evacuation that might result from a problem at the Fermi 2 power plant.
One mother informed me she would wait along Monroe Street to wave down her daughter’s school bus if necessary. I told her my family had made other plans during an emergency - which included picking up my daughter at the designated evacuation site.
Is the decision I made as a parent cold? Heartless? Unkind?
No, it’s realistic and practical.
My husband and I knew as soon as the daughter started kindergarten in Fremont, Ohio, what would happen during an emergency situation.
There would be times when she would just have to stay at school and pay attention to her teachers.
When my daughter started school, I worked as a newspaper reporter in Fremont. My husband, her stepdad, worked at the Fremont radio station.
Should anything happen in the community that involved a disaster scenario, both of us parents would be busy relaying critical details to the public.
I could arrange for one of the other relatives to pick up my daughter at school. Realistically, this would take a bit of time to set up.
What should she do in the meantime?
“Stay put and pay attention to your teachers,” I told her. “They will know what to do. They train for things like this.”
Furthermore, I assured my daughter that we would pay close attention to where the students were - and where they might be evacuated to.
“We’ll know where you are at,” I added. “We’ll come get you.”
This was not an idle promise. We really did put those words to the test.
Do you remember the Columbine High School shootings in spring 1999? In northwest Ohio, several schools went under security alerts and lockdowns in the days and weeks after Columbine.
I remember calling my husband on the cell phone as I was en route to yet another high school evacuation. “Here’s where I’m going, and why. I may be late coming home,” I said.
I also told him to tell the news anchor at his radio station what was going on.
It was only a few minutes before the noon news headlines. The news anchor had just enough time to confirm my report with the proper authorities so he could make an announcement while taking the microphone.
Where was my daughter?
At a grade school in another neighborhood. Safe and secure.
We let her be.
When we moved to Monroe, we learned that the disaster preparations for local schools not only included the snow closings / delays and tornado threats that we were used to in Ohio … but also a Fermi 2 evaucation plan.
If the evacuation ever had to go into effect, my daughter would be transported to Bedford High School in Temperance.
“Here’s where you will be taken,” I explained to my daughter. “If we can’t get you, one of your grandparents will pick you up.”
I wrote on her emergency notification paperwork the names of four grandparents and stepgrandparents who lived in Toledo or Fremont, Ohio, and could get to Bedford High School should that become necessary.
What if a local disaster scene becomes really chaotic? I knew that in such a case, the American Red Cross would be on the scene. “Find the American Red Cross staff or find a police officer,” I told her. “They’ll keep track of where you are, and then I can find you.”
Then there was the day known as Sept. 11, 2001.
It was the last disaster my husband was involved with in the news media business.
Although we had moved to Monroe in 2000, he worked at the radio station in Ohio until 2002.
My husband arrived at the radio station shortly after the first plane hit the World Trade Center. He saw the television broadcast as the second plane hit.
For the next few hours, my husband was responsible for keeping the national news feeds on the air.
For the next few hours, I was helping The Monroe Evening News get its special edition published.
Where was my daughter?
She was at Cantrick Junior High School here in Monroe, in a lockdown situation.
I knew other parents were picking up their children and calling the schools.
I also knew it would take at least an hour for any of our relatives to arrive in town.
In a lockdown situation at school, my daughter was as safe as she would be at home.
As it turns out, my daughter did call me when school was out to check in. She had heard some of the news already. I gave her a quick update and told her when I’d be home.
My husband also got home at his usual time, having turned over the studio by that point to another broadcaster.
Then a couple of years ago, there was the day when Monroe High School students were evacuated to the football stadium.
My high school daughter checked in via cell phone.
Some parents tried to pick up their students at the gate, but I stayed in the newsroom. Another Evening News reporter was on scene. There was no need for me to go. I knew my daughter was safe enough, given the circumstances.
My daughter called me a couple more times with details from the students’ perspective.
We joked about her being the newspaper’s “on the scene” reporter.
Yes, I left my daughter at school during all those security alerts.
And she was all right.
