November 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 52

DISASTER

es and explanations, the fact is that more
and more park and recreation agencies
across the nation are having to deal with
the impacts of extreme events that cause
immense property damage and affect the
health and livelihood of communities.
What Is Your Plan?
When the Governor of Louisiana, John
Bel Edwards, declared a state of emergency during the flood of 2016, the impact of the disaster was still unfolding.
The flooding came so quickly and was so
widespread that the staff of BREC had little time to take proactive measures. When
the governor issued a statewide declaration of emergency, Superintendent McKnight immediately followed with a similar announcement to declare the system
closed and for only those staff deemed
emergency personnel to report.
The agency invoked its emergency response plan, originally prepared in 2014 as
a part of its NRPA Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies
(CAPRA) requirements. BREC previously
did not have a plan that identified emergency actions and responsibilities of staff - Superintendent McKnight noted that CAPRA
standards require agencies to have an emergency response plan and since she had never been through the process of creating one,
she worked with BREC's risk manager and
senior leadership team to forge a plan.

50 Parks & Recreation

BREC's plan identified individuals and
their responsibilities during emergencies,
but when the floods hit, they came to learn
that up to 25 percent of the staff of the
agency, including members of its emergency response team, was flooded out, complicating their response.
Superintendent McKnight's military
background and experience served her
well. She followed the basics of early
training she received from the Air Force,
and it helped her to organize and prioritize their response.
One of their first tasks was to conduct an
assessment - what was damaged, what
was lost, what was threatened? BREC's
communications staff members quickly began to document the scope of the damage
to their parks and communities, and their
social media posts and other messaging
became a vital place for news and updates.
With daily messaging and on-scene photos,
they were able to keep the media up-to-date
as well as keep residents informed about
damages to facilities, services offered to
flood victims and the status of repairs and
reopening. Employees felt connected and
many came to work to help others, even
though their own lives had been uprooted.
When the worst of the flood waters had
passed, BREC staff quickly brought mobile
recreation units and mobile art teams to
shelters to give children healthy recreation
activities and a place to play. As business-

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es began to reopen and adults struggled
with putting lives and homes back in order,
schools remained closed. BREC was able
to reinstitute 13 day camps at its facilities
across Baton Rouge Parish, providing care
and activities for children and youth.
Working with other local, state and
federal agencies was critical to return
the park system and the community to a
semblance of order. By prior agreement,
BREC gave the National Guard and the
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development permission to
stage operations at parks, to store and
distribute relief supplies, and to temporarily stockpile storm debris in parks.
" When the community needed us, I
am proud to say that BREC responded
immediately, and our experience with severe weather allowed us to move quickly
on multiple fronts, " says Superintendent
McKnight. " We know recovery will be a
long-term effort and our staff is continuing to find ways to help our community
rebuild and recover. "
Not All Disasters Happen All at Once
The images that come to mind when one
thinks of natural disasters that affect communities are usually of violent and fast-moving
events - torrential rains and winds, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes. But, other
types of disasters can occur over longer periods and can even take years or decades to
manifest. The coming " megadroughts " in
the West appear to be that kind of disaster,
even as we witness it happening.
Extreme drought has gripped the Southwest and Western United States for the
past four to six years causing rivers and
aquifers to run dry. Massive tree-death due
to drought has struck a number of Southwest cities, notably Houston. But, a new
study by NASA and Cornell and Columbia Universities points to evidence that the
current droughts could last not just for another year or two, but for 20-30 years.
The impacts of such a drought are almost inconceivable, especially given the
rapid pace of development in the South-

November 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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