Tornado Drill Creates Lessons Learned

Tornado Drill, University of Virginia, March 18, 2008

The University of Virginia (UVa) held a tornado drill, which included our library, on March 18 at 9:45 AM (see this site for more information). The drill had been announced two days before it was scheduled to occur. Overall, our library’s plan functioned well, but the drill definitely served its purpose, as it tested the systems and the knowledge of staff, and effectively showed the areas that need to be improved. Our Library Director held a drill de-briefing meeting this morning, so that we could share information/observations about the exercise and what we need to do to improve our planning and training. Lessons learned from the drill:

–in our library, staff followed procedures for sheltering-in-place. Patrons were given the option to participate in the drill or not, and only one person took shelter with our staff.

–we realized that our shelter-in-place plans need to be clarified so that everyone realizes the differences between sheltering-in-place for tornadoes and sheltering from a biochemical/hazmat situation or an active shooter

–a goal of the drill was that it be completed in 3 minutes. We found that this is adequate time if the overhead PA system is working. However, if power is off when a tornado is sighted, staff will have to warn patrons in person. We have a bullhorn with a siren, and have moved it to Circulation for use in making announcements if necessary.

–we had already contacted the Office of Emergency Preparedness at UVa to request help in verifying the best shelter locations in our library, so we look forward to having their guidance

–we are investigating the purchase of signs to designate shelter-in-place spaces in the library, once our sites are verified by UVa’s Office Emergency Preparedness

Points to Ponder: MSU Library’s Flood

Michael Boer posted a second article about the water damage at the Montana State University’s Library (see the Comment below the “Water Damage…” post). Here are some points to ponder that we can glean from the article and hopefully use as “lessons learned” in our own disaster planning.

• this is the second burst pipe incident in a week, and library staff have already spent a week trying to clean up and salvage the rare materials that were damaged a week ago. Lesson: we all need help sometimes. Two incidents in a row, with the second being worse than the first, is beyond what most of us plan for or are equipped to deal with.
• Library Dean, Tamara Miller said that they began recovery immediately, and that “getting organized was my first thought.” Lesson: get organized before you start the process–have a plan in place, have supplies on hand, know who to call for help with salvaging and clean up.
• MSU’s library kept their essential services up and running–their online resources were still available, including class resources for faculty and students, the classes that would have been taught in the library were re-located to other buildings, and they continued to provide Reference services. Lesson: a good example for all of us who are working on service continuity plans!
• two commercial salvage/recovery companies are already involved; a local company helping with clean-up, and a Texas-based company sending a freezer truck to remove items to be freeze-dried. Lesson: if possible, develop a relationship with a commercial recovery company (see links here on the Toolkit) as part of your planning process.
• the fire sprinkler system was installed only eight years ago, with safeguards in place for potential pipe leaks, but this is the third incident of a frozen pipe that burst and flooded in the library. Lesson: even relatively new systems can fail, and often the source is inside the building rather than on the roof or flooding only on the ground floor.
• extreme weather caused the failure of the sprinkler system in areas where the damage was not anticipated, so a combination of unforeseen factors contributed to the failure. Lesson: sometimes our best efforts aren’t enough to prevent a disaster.
• water came into the library for 20 minutes, at about 120 gallons per minute (2,400 gallons). An alarm had sounded, but even so, it took 20 minutes to get the water turned off. Lesson: water is the most likely cause of damage to library collections and facilities, and it seems to often get in when the library is closed. This 20 minute turnaround was fast, considering that staff were probably not in the library at the time, but 20 minutes is a long time when water is pouring in at 120 gallons per minute.

The quote from Tamara Miller says it all: “It’s really hard to look at. And still, I know it will be fine.” Great job, Renne Library, and best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Lessons Learned from a Power Outage

Sandy Oeschlegel, director of the Preston Medical Library at the University of Tennessee and SE/A Emergency Preparedness Task Force member, sent along the following lessons learned from a recent power outage at her institution.

Here are ten things we learned in random order:

1. Wireless, battery powered laptops are great to have on hand, especially if they are charged up.

2. Everyone on campus figures out that wireless might be available and suddenly the wireless system gets overloaded and slow or no signal results.

3. IT departments shut down servers, even if they are on battery back ups “to preserve the batteries”.

4. All our e journals are “run through” the proxy server, so we had no access to any of our e-journals through our open url linking software.

5. Off campus access was unavailable because the server was down.

6. Printers require electricity, at least those that we had. See link below to a battery operated printer we have ordered since

7. Our faculty still expected us to continue to be able to provide information services including lit searches and providing copies of articles.

8. There was no communication system in place for the administrators to communicate with us about what was happening

9. We did not know each others home and cell phone numbers

10. The ILL staff can work at home.

Ready to Roll to the Rescue

Even though our library is not in an area prone to experiencing hurricanes or flooding, we, like everyone, experience the occasional incursion of water into places it shouldn’t be.  In order to expedite getting salvage materials to the site of the incident, we have adopted a practice we heard about from Holly Robertson, Head of Preservation at Alderman Library, University of Virginia.  We’ve purchased a plastic cart to hold our “quick response” materials:  water absorbent “socks,” tri-fold paper towels for interleaving, a flash light, duct tape, plastic sheeting, scissors, paper and markers, latex gloves, etc.   The cart is readily accessible to the areas most likely to need it.  Most office supply stores offer a variety of carts–look for one that won’t be damaged by water, that rolls easily, and has shelves with sides on them so your supplies won’t slide off when you move the cart.  It would be nice if it also had a flashing light and a siren on it, but we can’t have everything…

Wake-up Call!

Check this out!  Did we think that our procedures are fine for shelter-in-place?  Take a look at this document from the “Redefining Readiness” work group, authored by some very well-spoken people from the New York Academy of Medicine.  Having any procedure is better than none, I suppose, but the questions raised by this document are as good as “lessons learned” before the event happens!  Back to the drawing board we go!

Continuous Cycle of Preparedness

 Below is an excerpt from Disaster Planning Drills and Readiness Assessment presenting a continuous cycle of disaster preparedness.  The emphasis of the entire brief is on bioterrorism planning for hospitals.

The Continuous Cycle of Disaster Preparedness

• Assemble an interdisciplinary team of key stakeholders for disaster planning.
• Review current resources, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Develop a detailed, written disaster response plan.
• Disseminate and practice the plan through education and drills.
• Evaluate the adequacy of knowledge, skills, and resources.
• Revise the plan based on objective data and lessons learned.
• Modify education and training as needed to target areas of weakness.
• Continuously repeat these steps.

Lessons Learned Articles

One of the best ways to prepare or fine-tune a disaster plan is to read articles about lessons learned from actual disasters.  You can keep abreast of web resources on this topic by clicking on the Lessons Learned in Disasters link on the right hand column of this screen (In the News section).  A good example of a lessons learned article is Disaster Planning for Libraries: Lessons from California State University, Northridge.

Impact of Hurricanes on Florida Hospitals

The Florida Hospital Association has published a report titled “Eye of the Storm: Impact of the 2004 Hurricane Season on Florida Hospitals.”  The report details the cost of hurricane damages and offers several lessons learned.