Hurricane Wilma A Social Work/ACS Perspective Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico October 2005 Don Kilburg Front-loaded Conclusions – Things that were remarkable: The power of the hurricane and the scope of the damage How quickly some AmCits got angry, whiney, & “clever” How “improvised” our response was (for better & worse)

Front-loaded Conclusions – Things that were remarkable:

The power of the hurricane and the scope of the damage

How quickly some AmCits got angry, whiney, & “clever”

How “improvised” our response was (for better & worse)

Trajectory Emerged in Caribbean Landfall at Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen, and Cancun Across Florida, up the Atlantic

Emerged in

Caribbean

Landfall at

Cozumel,

Playa Del Carmen,

and Cancun

Across Florida,

up the Atlantic

Size Category: 4 (131-155mph) 200 Miles in Diameter Went from “ Tropical Depression” to “Tropical Storm” to “Hurricane” in 4 Days (10/15-10/18)

Category: 4 (131-155mph)

200 Miles in Diameter

Went from

“ Tropical Depression”

to “Tropical Storm”

to “Hurricane” in 4 Days

(10/15-10/18)

Conditions & Impacts 150 MPH Winds Waves 15-24 Feet High Hit the Coastline Rainfall Exceeded 23 inches $28 Billion USD in Damage Overall 63 Total Deaths (In Mexico: 8 Mexicans, no Americans)

150 MPH Winds

Waves 15-24 Feet High Hit the Coastline

Rainfall Exceeded 23 inches

$28 Billion USD in Damage Overall

63 Total Deaths

(In Mexico: 8 Mexicans,

no Americans)

Primary Tasks Faced by US Mission Mexico 12,300 Incoming Calls 25,000 Americans to Evacuate 180 Medical Cases

Primary Sources of Tension Before Hurricane : Tourists, Hotels, Airlines, and Embassies didn’t want to cancel. After Hurricane : Everyone wanted tourists home, but airlines didn’t want to return . Embassies had to intervene—to push the airlines to come back, to push the hotels to let tourists stay as long as necessary, and to enable tourists to get on flights.

Immediate Challenges Faced Who will tell us to go? Who will go? When can we go? ( Spinning Wheels at Embassy) Where will we go? Where will we set up? Where will we stay? (Consular Agency unusable, no power , no phones , no hotel res.) How will we get there? How many people per team? ( No flights , roads flooded/blocked , too few people for big area) When will we know what to do when? (Making a plan, dividing up tasks/zones, assigning teams) How will we get around? How will we communicate? (Mission cars, rental cars? Internet, Sat phones, landlines, etc.) What will we tell tourists? How will we communicate updates to them or address their problems? Where will we have them go? (Liaise with: Tourists, Family in US, Hotels, Airlines, Hospitals, etc.)

Who will tell us to go? Who will go? When can we go?

( Spinning Wheels at Embassy)

Where will we go? Where will we set up? Where will we stay?

(Consular Agency unusable, no power , no phones , no hotel res.)

How will we get there? How many people per team?

( No flights , roads flooded/blocked , too few people for big area)

When will we know what to do when?

(Making a plan, dividing up tasks/zones, assigning teams)

How will we get around? How will we communicate?

(Mission cars, rental cars? Internet, Sat phones, landlines, etc.)

What will we tell tourists? How will we communicate updates to them or address their problems? Where will we have them go?

(Liaise with: Tourists, Family in US, Hotels, Airlines, Hospitals, etc.)

Damage all Around Power Lines Down Foliage Off and Down Building Facades and Roofs Caved In Cars and objects displaced

More Damage Beds etc. blown out of hotel rooms Windows shattered Flooding Sand washed away, high water

Command Ctr., Lodging, Eating Command Center: Mex Red Cross Map Board, etc. Laptop, dial-up modem Hotel, no power, no cust.serv. Chinese food make-shift chow-line

What we mainly did Staffed Call Center in Mexico City (2-6 peo.) Staffed Command Center in Cancun (1-3 peo.) Swept zones in 2-person teams in rental cars Had 2-person teams at hospital, airport, central hotel, college Assisted in evacuation, urgent care, and some traditional ACS work Communicated between Cancun, Mexico City, Washington, and directly with tourists and their relatives in the US Total time spent on ground after hurricane: 6 days (10/24 to 10/30) Total Mission Staff on the ground: from 2 to 16 people

Staffed Call Center in Mexico City (2-6 peo.)

Staffed Command Center in Cancun (1-3 peo.)

Swept zones in 2-person teams in rental cars

Had 2-person teams at hospital, airport, central hotel, college

Assisted in evacuation, urgent care, and some traditional ACS work

Communicated between Cancun, Mexico City, Washington, and directly with tourists and their relatives in the US

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda More advance preparation on who would go, when they would go, how they would go, where they would stay, and what they would do Better communication tech , better transportation setup, better direction from leaders Better communication with tourists earlier and more often Advance agreements with/about airlines, cruise lines, hotels, rental cars, charters, tour groups, airport More Mission staff, sooner OVERALL: A “ Qualified Success”

More advance preparation on who would go, when they would go,

how they would go, where they would stay, and what they would do

Better communication tech , better transportation setup, better

direction from leaders

Better communication with tourists earlier and more often

Advance agreements with/about airlines, cruise lines, hotels, rental cars,

charters, tour groups, airport

More Mission staff, sooner

OVERALL: A “ Qualified Success”