Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma A Social Work/ACS A Social Work/ACS

PerspectivePerspectiveYucatan Peninsula, MexicoYucatan Peninsula, Mexico

October 2005October 2005

Don KilburgDon Kilburg

Front-loaded Conclusions – Things that were remarkable:

1. The power of the hurricane and the scope of the damage2. How quickly some AmCits got angry, whiney, & “clever”3. How “improvised” our response was (for better & worse)

TrajectoryTrajectory

•Emerged inCaribbean

•Landfall at Cozumel,Playa Del Carmen,and Cancun

•Across Florida,up the Atlantic

SizeSize•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 & ImpactsConditions & 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)

Primary Tasks Faced by Primary Tasks Faced by US Mission MexicoUS Mission Mexico

12,300 Incoming Calls

25,000 Americans to Evacuate180 Medical Cases

Primary Sources of TensionPrimary 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 FacedImmediate 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.)

Damage all AroundDamage all Around

Power Lines Down

Foliage Off and Down

Building Facades and Roofs Caved In

Cars and objects displaced

More DamageMore Damage

Beds etc. blown out of hotel rooms

Windows shattered

Flooding Sand washed away, high water

Command Ctr., Lodging, Command Ctr., Lodging, EatingEating

Command Center: Mex Red CrossMap Board, etc. Laptop, dial-up modem

Hotel, no power, no cust.serv. Chinese food make-shift chow-line

What we mainly didWhat we mainly did► Staffed Staffed Call CenterCall Center in Mexico City (2-6 peo.) in Mexico City (2-6 peo.)► Staffed Staffed Command CenterCommand Center in Cancun (1-3 in Cancun (1-3

peo.)peo.)► Swept zones in Swept zones in 2-person teams2-person teams in rental cars in rental cars► Had 2-person teams at hospital, airport, Had 2-person teams at hospital, airport,

central hotel, collegecentral hotel, college► Assisted in evacuation, urgent care, and Assisted in evacuation, urgent care, and

some traditional ACS worksome traditional ACS work► Communicated between Cancun, Mexico City, Communicated between Cancun, Mexico City,

Washington, and directly with tourists and Washington, and directly with tourists and their relatives in the UStheir 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

Shoulda, Coulda, WouldaShoulda, 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”