Hurricane Irene in New York City: Lessons Learned from the EOC and the Field

February 2012 – “Hurricane Irene in New York City: Lessons Learned from the EOC and the Field”
Ms. Dina Maniotis, assistant commissioner, New York City Office of Emergency Management (NYCOEM) and Mr. Andrew Boyarsky, City University of New York (CUNY) School of Professional Studies, discussed the process of sheltering residents during and after a disaster and the training of the city’s employees that is involved. The positives and negatives of virtual training were brought to light during the seminar.
The difficulties of real-world training for shelter management were discussed since many shelters are places of employment and education pre-disaster. The use of a software known as “Second Life” was discussed as being a new immersive virtual environment where shelter management officials are able to train within a highly effective simulation. The lessons learned were approached from two vantage points: one from the EOC Human Services side and the other on the ground at the evacuation center/shelter level. The seminar covered an overview of the sheltering system, preparations, response and highlights from the After Action Report (AAR).