Bigfoot exercises

There's a series of emergency exercises going on this year entitled "Formidable Footprint" -- which sounds like euphemism for Bigfoot. Some individual exercise names are:

Operation Acorn Drop
Outbreak Anarchy
Pandemic Pandemonium
Accommodating Accommodations

Campus Whirlwind [reap it!]
Felonious Fog [arrest it!]
Extreme Exposure [Mountain Dew and skateboards?]
Mailstrom Mayhem [spam attack?]
Rumble In The Rubble [wrestling event?]

Alien Hail

I thought the Weekly World News went out of business, but apparently they still exist online. Good thing: as they describe themselves, they are "the world's only reliable news."

ALIENS BALLS FALLING ON U.S.

Large metallic balls dropping across the U.S. (and Africa). NASA and the U.N. confirmed the alien balls are from Planet Zeeba.

The hollow balls with a circumference of between 4 and 10 feet have been found all across the U.S. in the last forty-eight hours, according to authorities with NASA and the United Nations Panel on Extraterrestrials.

With a diameter of 3 to 6 feet, the balls have a rough surface and appear to consist of “two halves welded together.”

Preparing for Tsunamis in the U.S.

After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) added to its tsunami sensors so they now ring most of the Pacific Ocean. As a result, Hawaii was warned about the recent Japan tsunami 7 hours before it reached them.

Sensors are also in the Atlantic. It's highly unlikely one will happen there -- but one possible scenario could dwarf what happened in Japan.

CAPSHIELD 12 - Day 2

Today we spent hours scouring semi-collapsed buildings looking for survivors, and hauled out seven people on stretchers -- which we then carried 100 yards. As one of 4 litter bearers, my share of the weight was 40-50 lbs for each. It wasn't that bad, but I was exhausted by the end.

We'd found every body in every building, and transported all the survivors... but then they told us to do an eighth, just for show, because VIPs were watching. This one was from decon: 200 yards, mostly uphill. Ugh.

Finally, we wrapped for the day, had some pizza, and went home to nurse our own injuries.

CAPSHIELD 12 - Day 1

Soldiers sat around the clearing, some having a smoke, others trying to catch a few winks. The lonely sound of a harmonica floated in the breeze. "Hmm hmm hmm hmm-hmm-hmm, hmm hmm hmmm-hmm-hmmm" ("Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam...") They weren't in uniform; add a campfire and they could be cowpokes.

Except for the simulated blood, lacerations, embedded glass fragments, and impalements. Also, the Old West ambience was spoiled by the guy entertaining us with Chewbacca noises before going back to typing on his phone.

War is hell.

They told us the scenario: a Cat 3 hurricane hit, leaving downed trees and power lines, etc. "That's it?" I thought. "So we open some shelters. Big deal."

But wait, there's more. "There are protesters... (damn occupy-Wall-Streeters!) AND terrorists attacks, with both shootings and bombings. The terrorists post a viral video threatening more." (Not a tape like Osama bin Laden; a YouTube video that lots of people share. To which my reaction, of course, was "what, no Twitter?")

The Montgomery County CERT (including DisasterMan) jumped into action. It was the annual CAPSHIELD exercise, practicing with the military to respond to mass casualty incidents. Once again, photographer Matt Laur got some great shots.

More at: CAPSHIELD - Day 2

Live-Blogging Hurricane Irene

I'm managing a Red Cross shelter, mainly for people whose power was knocked out by the storm. We have 12 senior citizens and 3 kids.

Dinner was courtesy of the Dept. of Corrections. Only the best for us: bologna & cheese on white bread. Anyone vegetarian, allergic, or keeping kosher? Let them eat cake! (Or cookies, in this case, the only other thing they sent.)

They're providing breakfast too. At least I can get something from the snack & soda machines. Oh, wait: can't have those, schoolkids need to eat healthy! (D'oh!)

When I was their age, the school sold us jelly donuts, and we turned out OK.

Sort of.

Virginia 2011 Earthquake

Today, I felt a vibration in my apartment. At first I thought it was a fan, then I realized it was an earthquake. Cool! We never get those around here -- except one last year. Oddly, that one centered in Gaithersburg, MD, where there is no fault. This one, however, happened in central Virginia, an area known to be seismically active.

Last year's was only 3.6 on the Richter scale, barely enough to be felt. (I slept through it.) This one was a 5.8, and could be felt as far away as New York. It was the worst in Virgina in a century.

As it happens, I participated in a risk assessment of a Virginia shore site a few years ago that concluded:

BWI Airport Emergency Exercise

No mass casualty incident (MCI) exercises in more than six months! Don't want to get rusty. Fortunately, BWI airport had one on May 7th.

After five of these, you can tell what's good and what's not so good. Good: Their moulage (simulated wound) artists were excellent. They worked without rubber prosthetics, and didn't just smudge on some powder. See the photo gallery for examples.

Not so good: I've never seen an MCI exercise with less of a rush to treat and transport. One firefighter broke into a trot, and another said, "Joe*, it's not that big a deal." Um... really? It will be when the real thing happens, so it might be good to practice that.

[* Not his real name.]