Hi there, I'm starting a novel where there has been a mistake with the hurricane watch system and the hurricane has arrived 40 miles away from where it was predicted. the question is how would they sort out who sends out the rescue helicopters and rescure personel. national guard? police, coast guard? also what kind of crew do they have on the helicopters? Thanks Jim
in the first place, hurricanes don't move so swiftly that it would be a surprise... and why would 40 miles make a major difference in who responds, anyway? the same agencies that would respond in one place, would do so in another... if a state boundary was crossed, then national guard from both states would respond, if called out by their respective governors... and even if it wasn't, the neighboring states will often help out with equipment and personnel... in all cases, of course the local police departments would be out in full force, as well as any auxiliary units they may have at their disposal... the coast guard is always involved in rescues at sea and flooded areas inland, if necessary... then you have the various federal disaster management agencies and the red cross, in the aftermath... the 'sorting out' is done by agreement between the various governing entities: president; governor/s; mayor/s helicopter crews vary widely, depending on what type copter is deployed... there could be 2-man 'eyes-in-the-sky' ones just reporting on the scene; rescue copters with several on board that would include rescue swimmers; all the way up to the huge cargo ones that deliver equipment and food...
Thanksfor the advice, what i was thinking of doing was that the hurricane was supposed to land in one place but they got their projections wrong. would there be another weather system that would work better, tropical storm, typhoon etc? Thanks, Jim
Once the governor declares a state of emergency, all responding personnel and equipment is staged in a safe area with a staging officer. A command post is designated and an Incident command system is put into place... Incident Command System (ICS) Overview The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized, on-scene, all-hazards incident management approach that: Allows for the integration of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure. Enables a coordinated response among various jurisdictions and functional agencies, both public and private. Establishes common processes for planning and managing resources. ICS is flexible and can be used for incidents of any type, scope, and complexity. ICS allows its users to adopt an integrated organizational structure to match the complexities and demands of single or multiple incidents. ICS is used by all levels of government—Federal, State, tribal, and local—as well as by many nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. ICS is also applicable across disciplines. It is typically structured to facilitate activities in five major functional areas: Command, Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration. All of the functional areas may or may not be used based on the incident needs. Intelligence/Investigations is an optional sixth functional area that is activated on a case-by-case basis. As a system, ICS is extremely useful; not only does it provide an organizational structure for incident management, but it also guides the process for planning, building, and adapting that structure. Using ICS for every incident or planned event helps hone and maintain skills needed for the large-scale incidents. An officer will be designated for the staging of equipment, rescue, first aid, law enforcement, logistics and so on. It is a very orderly system that is used by all emergency services throughout America. Each officer has officers below him/her that carry out the orders from a command post. As far as Coast Guard Rescue, there is usually a pilot, co pilot, a crew chief and a rescue swimmer, i believe.
yes, tornadoes would be the only kind of weather phenomenon that hard to predict accurately... a tropical storm is simply a lower grade disturbance than a hurricane and is tracked the same way... a typhoon is just what a hurricane is called in the western pacific, china seas, and indian ocean areas...
...question not clear... are you asking about what areas would be evacuated?... or about where the evacuees would be sent/taken? if the first, of course it would be whatever areas were in danger of being flooded, etc.... in re the second, could be anywhere far enough away from the immediate risk zone to remain safe from the storm... such as arenas/school gyms/meeting halls in neighboring towns/states...
