A twist to spring.

Introduction

On Sunday, March 29, 1998, tornadoes spawned by a supercell laid waste to 100 miles of urban and rural areas in five counties in south-central Minnesota. Two tornadoes, classified as multiple-vortex F3s and F4s (winds between 160 and 260 miles per hour), devastated the towns of Comfrey and St. Peter. These tornadoes, with paths 1.5 miles wide, also destroyed hundreds of farms and homes between the two communities [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]. The tornadoes came earlier in the season than any on record and were the most damaging in Minnesota history.

Before the storms, the Brown-Nicollet Environmental Health Department performed traditional environmental health activities for five counties, including the Food, Beverage, and Lodging Program and the Groundwater Guardian Program. The staff of seven also administered four watershed projects involving eight counties. The department had a certified laboratory and was involved in a pilot food safety inspection program and a $3 million septic-system improvement project.

The tornado destroyed the agency's offices and laboratory. This article explains how the Brown-Nicollet Environmental Health Department coordinated recovery from storm damage in 34 townships, two devastated communities, and three riversheds while re-establishing a base of operation for itself.

Prior Disaster Planning 

In hindsight, many things could have been done to better prepare the Brown-Nicollet Environmental Health Department for this tragic event. Still, given the normal environmental health office workload, limited resources, and the size of the disaster, we feel that we responded as well as humanly possible to the disaster that devastated three of the five counties we serve. There is no way to prepare completely for such an event! Many steps can be taken, however, to allow effective functioning in such situations. By sharing some of the lessons we learned from this life-changing event, we hope to aid you in your own disaster planning.

The disaster planning work we had done before the tornado was primarily focused on a flood scenario. (Although we planned for the wrong disaster, the work we did aided us tremendously with tornado response and recovery.) Disaster planning was broken down into governmental planning and organizing, and constituent education.

In governmental planning, the single most important predisaster task was spending time in meetings and during smaller incidents to educate the emergency manager, first responders, and elected officials about our capabilities. We explained how we could address environmental health issues for them in an incident or disaster. It worked! We have a permanent seat in the emergency operations center (EOC) and are recognized as the "subject matter experts" on environmental health issues. In many cases, our recommendations have become policy. Being in the loop from the start of the disaster allowed us to raise environmental health issues in the context of response and recovery, not just as a crisis issue. We cannot stress how important it is to be part of the team from the onset rather than a party that EOC staff turn to with a task when they cannot think of anyone else. The seat at the table allows the environmental health team to focus on true environmental health issues rather than what we call "ad hoc" tasks.

During the disaster, we did initially assume some "ad hoc" tasks, such as public health and social services. We did so because of the complete loss of offices and records experienced by the relevant agencies.

In contrast to the good job we did integrating with the EOC, we were weakest in disaster planning as it pertained to our office. We hadn't kept up on tasks such as backing up critical computer files and storing them off site, putting together disaster kits, prewriting disaster handouts and press releases, and maintaining lists of vendors for critical supplies and equipment. Many of our files, both electronic and written, were lost; it will take years to recover from this.

Ideally, in disaster planning, the appropriate level of government identifies several possible alternate office locations. Ask your emergency managers and administrators about alternate site plans and off-site storage of duplicate copies and files containing critical records.

In annual problem statements presented to the county board, we were able to raise disaster-related issues such as increased staffing needs and surges in financial expenditures that occur precisely when traditional revenue streams may be declining or stopping. Identifying alternate funding and staffing possibilities before the event can greatly aid your office's ability to focus on critical needs rather than administrative issues during the crisis. In spite of our attempts to address potential financial shortfalls, obtaining sufficient financial resources is what today, one year after the tornado, most affects our ability to maintain services.

Lastly, in most city and county emergency plans, there is a section called the health and medical annex. The EOC and other emergency personnel will want to use this plan as a basis for responding to the disaster. If you wrote this annex, great; if you didn't write it, or if you have not even heard of it, we advise you to visit with your emergency manager at your first opportunity and to get a copy of the entire emergency plan, including the health and medical annex. You should either write the health and medical annex or play a role in its production.

Our ongoing efforts to educate area businesses about critical food safety issues paid off during the disaster. We had consistently educated them on safe food-handling techniques, methods of keeping food safe during power outages, and when foods should no longer be considered safe. As a result of this work, many establishments that we visited after the tornado had already taken the correct steps to protect or condemn products. Today, as part of any visit to a business, we ask managers what emergency plans they have and brainstorm with them on possible options to protect customers, records, and products.

Many rural citizens with private wells automatically went to bottled water or boiled their water until they could disinfect their wells. This practice came out of our water quality programs. While the contamination of water was not widespread, enough wells tested high for total coliform to warrant caution.

Initial Response Activities

Tornadoes don't happen in Minnesota in March! Myriad indescribable emotions descend on an individual after such a catastrophe. Confusion and chaos reign. Our office was severely damaged, and we were not initially allowed access to it. Thus, all our handouts, records, and critical information were unavailable to us. On the plus side, the EOC was opened immediately; it played a key role in sorting out initial disaster response tasks and provided some semblance of organization to the response.

The response and recovery efforts of our office were complicated by the distances between damaged communities and loss of key infrastructure in each city. For example, it took over an hour to travel from one end of St. Peter to the other (2.5 miles) because of blocked streets, debris removal, and power restoration work. Communications were spotty or non-existent; several cell phone towers had been knocked out, making cell service intermittent at best. Messengers and radio became the primary means of communication.

March 1998
Tornado Statistics

Community Losses

Housing units destroyed:                                    1,200
Housing units damaged:                                      4,000
Restaurants destroyed:                                          4
Restaurants damaged:                                           32
Commercial buildings destroyed:                                46
School damaged:                                                 5
Churches destroyed:                                             5
Churches damaged:                                               6

Gustavus Adolphus College

Buildings damaged:                                             59
Windows broken:                                        80 percent
Trees lost:                                            90 percent
Monetary losses:                                      $55 million

Rural Losses

Brown County:                                32,000 acres covered
                                                      with debris

Nicollet County:                             $1.5 million in farm
                                          machinery and equipment
                                                       destroyed.

Rural sites damaged or destroyed:
Brown County:                                                 168
Nicollet County:                                              112
Cottonwood County:                                             23

Casualties

Deaths:                                                         2
Injuries requiring hospitalization:                            58
Total Monetary Losses:                              $500,000,000+

St. Peter was at the eastern end of our service area, and Comfrey, which was virtually destroyed, was located at the far western boundary. The severity of problems in Comfrey required an almost continuous environmental health presence.

Table 1 shows the tasks staff in the environmental health office attempted in the first two days after the tornado. As you look through this list, visualize your office in a similar dilemma. How would you allocate staff and coordinate their actions without effective communication, equipment, or an office to work from? Try the quiz in Figure 2; it lists post-disaster activities and asks you to rank them according to priority.

Day 3 and Beyond

We started the day with a move to yet another temporary office (which we are still in). The focus of our work was starting to shift - from purely response issues to recovery tasks. We were still inspecting shelters and in emergency feeding operations, starting a rural water testing program, and providing information and referrals. At the same time, however, restaurants that hadn't been destroyed were starting the process of reopening. Besides providing salvage, sanitation, insurance, and disposal information to these businesses, we started inspections to allow them to open. We assisted in the reopening of 18 restaurants within two weeks of the tornado. This task was critical in returning the communities to normalcy 

The transition from purely disaster response issues to recovery issues is not a clear one. You will find your office doing both at the same time; gradually tasks will become more focused on recovery. To aid in managing recovery tasks, we prioritized as follows to coordinate and provide services:

1. meet the needs of citizens, businesses, and institutions directly affected by the tornado;

2. restore our agency operations and systems affected by the disaster;

3. act on acute environmental health problems;

4. perform traditional environmental health program functions for critical or seasonal issues;

5. perform traditional environmental health program functions for chronic, continuous, and long-term situations; and

6. take on new programs or projects.

This prioritization of environmental health tasks was a management tool that really helped us. It gave us a blueprint for making decisions according to priority of need. An additional advantage was that the system enabled us to better brief community leaders and the EOC on tasks we considered priorities. As important as the list was in helping us manage tasks, it also gave us a much needed sense of control in our lives in the midst of chaos and uncertainty

New Partners

One of the most rewarding - and at the same time frustrating - phenomena associated with disasters is the involvement of nationally based response groups such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army and the flood of citizen volunteers who want to help. Both forms of aid can be of great help, but if the assistance is not organized or if unexpected aid arrives, coordination can become a nightmare.

The response groups, such as Red Cross, always have a person in charge of each task or mission. Find out as soon as possible who that person is and contact him or her. The sooner you establish a working relationship, the better. It is very important to note that these groups respond to disasters all over the country and are used to doing things "their way" Skillful diplomacy and tact will go a long way toward getting them to do some things "your way" Another problem is that the lead people for these organizations change frequently Try to find out when the change is going to occur and try to have a short transitional meeting between your office and the changing leads of the response organization. Failure to manage leadership changes can result in the need to revisit the same issues repeatedly.

Influxes of recruited volunteers, if not planned for, can bring a very well-organized disaster response effort to its knees. The biggest impact on our office was the need for inspections and assistance at feeding sites for the over 5,000 volunteers who came to the area to help. While the EOC coordinated the activities of the volunteers, our office worked to ensure safe food and adequate sanitation facilities for them.

An example of how lack of coordination and communication can undo good intentions occurred when a food service establishment in a neighboring community sent over a large quantity of cooked chicken. The establishment had not called ahead or coordinated for delivery. By the time a place was found to serve the food, it had been at ambient temperature (4565 [degrees] F) for an unknown period of time. Rather than risk an outbreak of foodborne illness, we had to condemn the entire shipment. It was a sad story - the food could have been used if we had coordinated with the establishment prior to shipment.

Another unique situation in the smaller communities was the "popping up" of stands that provided free food to victims and disaster workers. These "pop up" stands were rarely in operation for more than a day or two, yet they had the potential to cause widespread out-breaks of food-borne illness. Rather than close the stands down, we visited with all of the operations, educated them on food safety issues, and ensured that basic hygiene was being practiced.

Old Partners

The same business people you traditionally serve now need your expertise more than ever. They need not only your technical knowledge and advice, but also your emotional support in aiding them in reopening their establishments. Many have seen their life's work in ruins around them. The last thing they need is strict, heavy-handed, by-the-book government. Be patient, bend the rules as needed, as long as things remain safe. Help to give a sense of hope, not of frustration.

We also served and expanded our relationship with our most traditional clientele, the citizens. A rural water-testing program was implemented, with free water quality testing and technical assistance. Emphasis was placed on decontaminating private wells. Both city and rural citizens were provided with handouts on mold contamination and assistance with cleanup. We also provided information on hazardous waste and hazardous substances, taught methods for safe disposal of debris and food, and assisted with assessments for insurance claims.

At the city and county levels, several changes have occurred in working relationships and organizational structures. Our multicounty laboratory has been relocated to the city laboratory site and has remained there ever since. This arrangement has been very successful and will be continued. Our relationship with other city and county agencies has improved tremendously. Another silver lining has been that the field of environmental health is treated with more respect: Many agencies now call us early on to work with them.

Mutual Aid

One of the most unfortunate aspects of this disaster was the lack of any statewide environmental health mutual-aid statute that would have allowed other environmental health professionals "safely" to come to our assistance in our time of need. In spite of the lack of protection, several colleagues took the risk and did provide assistance. As a result of this problem, the governor signed a Statewide Mutual Aid Bill. The Minnesota Environmental Health Association (MEHA) has also formed an emergency preparedness committee that will work statewide to improve the capabilities of the environmental health profession in disasters statewide.

Lessons Learned

Obviously, we learned many things from surviving a disaster, both as victims and as professionals. On the personal level, none of our lives will be the same again. Surviving such an event and seeing the love and caring provided by family and friends shows one what is truly important in life. Little things that were big problems now seem inconsequential in the larger scheme of life. Helping traditional clients and the community at large in trying circumstances has been for all of us the most rewarding part of our careers.

We could have done many things better, but we all agree that the following top five types of preparation would have aided us the most in responding to this particular disaster:

1. Have informational handouts on sanitation, hygiene, and cleanup already written and stored in two locations. Also, prewritten media advisories would save valuable time.

2. Ensure that information on office computers is frequently backed up and that the disks or tapes are stored in a separate, "safe" location.

3. Develop and maintain a current resource list. We recommend listing vendors that provide items such as sanitizer, porta-potties, wash basins, refrigeration trucks, generators, toilet supplies, as well as pharmacies in the surrounding areas. (The hard part is keeping the list current.) Had we developed such a list, we could have saved time in procuring important items.

4. Develop environmental health mutual-aid pacts that are as effective as the police and firefighter models.

5. Keep a prepackaged kit of disaster supplies ready to go. At a minimum, the kit should contain a vendor list, flashlights, cameras, key phone numbers, sanitizer, prewritten signs and posters for use at emergency feeding sites, and other necessary office supplies and information. You will need several kits: a large one in the office and a smaller, back-up kit in the trunk of your car, just in case you have no office left to go to.

Conclusion

Brown-Nicollet is back on its feet one year after the tornadoes. Although a new office won't be ready for two years and 1998 revenue losses totaled 27 percent of the operating budget, we are back in the black financially, thanks to insurance, rebudgeting, and a disaster recovery grant. Staff are conducting a record number of plan reviews. Regular work has now resumed on all food safety programs, environmental health services, and the watershed and aquifer improvement projects.

Acknowledgements: All photos were provided courtesy of the Brown-Nicollet Environmental Health Department, the Nicollet County Sheriff, and the St. Peter Herald.

Corresponding Author: Bonnie Holz, Environmental Health Director, Brown-Nicollet Environmental Health, 1711 N. Gault St., St. Peter, MN 56082.

TABLE 1

Environmental Health Tasks Undertaken in the First Two Days after the Tornado

Day I Activities

Began establishing new office at county garage.

Staffed EOC, two people for 12-hour shifts.

Assisted setting up emergency shelters and feeding operations in two St. Peter locations.

Assisted victims with public health needs, including tetanus boosters and medication replacement.

Drafted press releases in EOC. Focus was food safety and hygiene without electricity.

Started procurement of handwashing basins and supplies.

Started search for porta-potty vendors.

Recovered records, supplies, and mementos from office.

Secured and started repairs to a staff member's home and auto.

Day 2 Activities

Participated in town meetings in Hanska and St. Peter.

Continued recovery of office equipment and records.

Assisted setting up Red Cross and Salvation Army Commissary operations in St. Peter.

Distributed handwashing signs and sanitizer gel to 9 sites and all Red Cross emergency response vehicles.

Inspected all 15 St. Peter emergency feeding sites and shelters.

Contacted all Nicollet and Courtland establishments, informing them of no hope of power for one week.

Staffed EOC, two people for 12-hour shifts.

Continued to assist victims with public health needs, including tetanus boosters and medication replacement.

Drafted additional public information press releases.

Assisted victims with social service needs, including child care and relocation of elderly people without heat.

Continued to procure additional handwashing supplies and porta-potties.

Continued to set up additional emergency feeding operations in St. Peter.

FIGURE 2

Environmental Health Priority Task List Quiz

The region your office serves has just been hit by an F4 tornado. Several communities, including yours, have been devastated. Your home and office have suffered severe damage. The commissioners of three counties want your help - now! To respond effectively, you must prioritize your tasks.

Given the above scenario, rank the following postdisaster activities by priority:

* Participate in planning/operations at the emergency operations center (EOC).

* Assist individual disaster victims.

* Assist affected/destroyed businesses.

* Retrieve critical records and documents from your partially destroyed office.

* Secure and salvage items from your own damaged home.

* Establish communications with peers, clientele, and community/county officials.

* Find a secondary location to establish an office or base of operations.

* Assist in the opening and safe operation of displaced-persons shelters.

* Obtain sanitation facilities (porta-potties and washbasins).

* Assist in the development and monitoring of numerous mobile and shelter feeding operations.