LSU in the Eye of the Storm: A University Model

for Disaster Response

Mary G. Parker, Director

Office of Student Aid and Scholarships

Louisiana State University

SWASFAA Annual Conference

November 09, 2006

Purpose

Provide information to Financial Aid Administrators that will assist with the development of disaster preparedness plans for their institutions, financial aid offices and professional associations

LSU’s Katrina Experience Setting the Scene Katrina Comes Ashore LSU Responds

Facilities, Volunteers & Partnerships, Communications, Housing & Dining, Security, Technology

Top Lessons Learned

Calm Concern Before the Storm

“Even as we were scurrying around buying gallons of bottled water, in the back of my mind I thought Katrina would be like Hurricane Ivan was for New Orleans: much ado about nothing. If only.”

LSU Art Professor

5 am, Sat., Aug 27, Katrina declared Cat 3 storm

Low-lying areas evacuate Special Needs Shelter

opens at LSU Announced cancellation of

Monday (Aug 29) classes and public events

The Hurricane GrowsPreparations continueLSU Leadership Team continues to meet twice a day on campus

New Orleans under mandatory evacuation

Katrina now a Cat 5 storm, max sustained winds, 175-mph, gusts to 216-mph

Katrina Comes Ashore Mon., Aug. 29, makes

landfall at Buras, LA Worst natural disaster in

U.S. history Millions of people in 7 states

affected Tue, Aug 30, classes and

public events cancelled until Tue, Sep 6

Wed, Aug 31, began admitting and registering displaced students

Our Mission:Serve the Victims

Chancellor’s charge: Serve human needs first Ask for help Eliminate red tape Break rules if necessary Think creatively

Nothing Normal About Katrina: Challenges We

Faced No communication; phones down, no cell

service Extremely hot weather Power out in most places Constant struggle to maintain updated info Stress & depression, little sleep Huge demand for housing, ice, gasoline Need to manage intense media interest while

maintaining patient privacy

Support for Agencies FEMA, National Guard, DHH, Red Cross, FBI, SBA,

US Forestry Service, surgical teams, police, Homeland Security

Installed 200 additional phones, phone lines, network connections, computers, fax machines & printers

Housed & fed 950 relief personnel

Provided showers for 1,000 workers

Housed 1,287 pets

Conversion to Medical Facilities

Largest deployment of public health officials in U.S. history

Some agencies involved: DHH, FEMA, U.S. Public Health Service, CDC, LSUHSC, State emergency response teams, USAF, Army, Coast Guard, National Guard, Navy, Marines, LSU Athletic Department

Largest acute-care field hospital ever created in U.S. history

Conversion to Medical Facilities

Operated 800-bed field hospital, 250-bed SNS

Triaged 15,000 evacuees Treated 6,000 patients Filled 2,000 prescriptions Utilized 1,700 volunteer

medical personnel from

12 states PMAC open 9 days

Volunteers & Partnerships

3,000 faculty, students & staff volunteered 800 mattresses donated, collected & delivered to

area shelters 100 laptops donated by IBM Developed volunteer registry with Microsoft

LSU Information Center – 70 LSU volunteers manned

13-day, 24-hour hotline, received 6,495 calls

More Help Arrives LSU Police Department

Provided site safety & security at PMAC, SNS &Animal Shelter

Escorted evacuee transports Information & Technology Services

Provided telephone & data connectivity Created Dr/pt/police/volunteer registry Modified electronic admissions process Created computer accts for visiting students Restored mission critical apps for UNO & LSUHSC Opened servers to certain displaced businesses

Managing Deluge of Media

Times Picayune sets up at Manship School of Mass Communication WWL-TV broadcasts from Hodges Hall Washington Post, NBC News, ESPN, Chronicle of Higher Education,

BBC, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, New York Times, Good Morning America & dozens of others visit campus

Public Affairs Operated 24-hour public info hotline Managed media requests for experts and info from around the globe Handled internal communication

Broadcast e-mails, Town Hall meetings Maintained LSU.edu throughout crisis, beyond Chronicled University’s activities

Flexibility 101(Breaking the Rules)

Moved/rescheduled

football games Modified academic

calendar (three times) Admitting students

without records No application fee Paying tuition and

fees?

Displaced Students, Families & Institutions

Housed 500 newly registered students

Reactivated 2 off-line residence halls

Matched displaced students & families with housing provided by LSU faculty, staff, alums & friends

700 instructors offered teaching support

Added 80 new class sections

Increased class sizes to room capacities

Admission and Registration

in 10 Days

Applied for enrollment 3,832

Admitted 3,768

Completed registration 3,121

Enrolled on the census date (14th day of class)

2,700 (2,387 undergrads;

313 grads)

Important Lessons Learned

Remember that Communication is key Have an emergency and evacuation plan ready

beforehand (pre and post disaster planning) Develop a specific plan for the financial aid office Know what resources you have & how they can be

used Maintain inventory of services/facilities, technology,

materials & equipment, housing, experts & people trained as emergency responders

Look in unconventional places for experts.

Important Lessons Learned

Consider remote servers for key info Develop a plan for data storage and

retrieval plans Know where your back up data is located

and how it can be accessed Have electronic access to P&P manuals

and governmental reference materials Monitor IFAP, State Agencies, NASFAA for

news releases and announcements

Important Lessons Learned

Be a part of the institutional disaster planning (Need to be able to stress importance of FA regulations in regards to administrative capabilities

Make sure that you have a call plan for your staff in the event of a hurricane

Cross training is vital not only within your office but within your enrollment management unit

Think creative, be strategic and manage how your university is used

Important Lessons Learned

Communication is Key! Be prepared to be creative and have alternate methods of communication Constantly update info internally & externally Use your Web site & don’t forget radio(KLSU) Have a good communications assets that are

functional and available (e.g., cell phones, Blackberries, etc.)

Each department needs an emergency list (know who to contact and who will contact you)

Important Lessons Learned

Be prepared to support students & families Have a plan to evacuate students from your campus

if that becomes necessary Create necessary data bases ahead of time; update

them periodically (LSU uses Microsoft Sharepoint) Write an emergency academic response plan to

admit/register new students Be flexible with scheduling issues Develop courses that could easily go online Be willing to do any job – “It is not in my job

description” does not work. Get back to core business as quickly as you can.

Important Lessons Learned

Seize leadership opportunities Communicate effectively Practice self awareness and awareness of

others Be flexible and prepared to make decisions

outside of the “rules” Document, Document and Communicate

Emergency Operations Center

Forecast of 20+ years increased hurricane activity

Chancellor directed permanent 24/7 “all hazards” EOC be established

Equipment Training Exercises

The Calm After the Storm & Coping with Katrina

Continue to develop EOC (Plan, Train,Practice)

Road to recovery is long We are grateful to those who came to our

aid in time of need We were humbled by outpouring of

support from around the world We are providing leadership to help rebuild

Louisiana & the Gulf Coast Region

Thank you for your time and your interest.

Mary Parker

mgparke@lsu.edu

www.lsu.edu

www.lsustorm.com