NCJ Number
125362
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 57 Issue: 9 Dated: (September 1990) Pages: 26,28-33
Date Published
1990
Length
7 pages
Annotation
On September 18, 1989, the Charleston County (South Carolina) Emergency Services Division notified the police department that a hurricane had been declared.
Abstract
From that point on, all departmental planning and activities were based on the worst-case assumption that the storm would hit Charleston with its most powerful front. A series of actions were set in motion: staff and personnel briefings were held on the situation; a personnel recall was implemented, including members of command staff as well as communications and emergency preparedness personnel; interagency planning meetings were held with other local law enforcement agencies; careful evacuation plans were devised and implemented; and positive media relations were cultivated. Pre-storm provision plans were thoroughly prepared and implemented, communications patterns and procedures were outlined clearly, and personnel were briefed. A command post site was selected, and pre-positioned sites for personnel allocation and deployment were established. The circumstances under which requests for emergency assistance would be made were identified. The long-term response to the storm is described; recovery efforts were hampered by the tremendous level of destruction which occurred. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance is also described. It was apparent both during and after the storm that, though errors had been made and some adjustments were needed, police department plans were viable under the circumstances.