Local emergency director assists with call center after storm
Staff reporter
When Michele Abbott-Becker heard the report May 4 of a mile-wide tornado in Kiowa County, she knew there probably would be a need for an auxiliary call center for emergency dispatch.
Sure enough. She received the call and headed to Hutchinson.
As co-project manager of South-Central Region 911 Backup Center, Abbott-Becker said the equipment was ready but personnel had not yet been trained.
Regardless, emergency preparedness professionals were prepared and able to respond to the crisis.
"Kiowa County was hit at 9:45 p.m. and we were able to take calls by 2 a.m.," Abbott-Becker said.
Equipment recently was installed at Hutchinson Community College as part of a project of the 19-county South-Central Region Emergency Management Council of which Marion County is a member. Through collaborative efforts, the counties combine resources and personnel, with proceeds from a homeland security grant, to provide an auxiliary 911 dispatch center in case of emergencies such as a tornado.
Hutchinson Community College provides a dispatch program as part of its curriculum. Students are trained on the equipment which makes a good training ground for county departments to pull employees.
Telephone poles, electrical lines, cellular towers, and buildings were dismantled and destroyed during the 200-mph storm.
The first order of business that Friday night, was to establish communications. Emergency dispatchers notified telephone companies to have calls rerouted from damaged areas to the auxiliary location in the Hutchinson classroom. By doing this, communication was maintained between emergency and municipal personnel, and the general public.
"We received thousands of calls from people looking for residents and offering assistance," said Abbott-Becker. The most difficult calls were from those who were looking for loved ones.
In all there were 14 people killed in the tornado or as a result of injuries from the storm.
The auxiliary call center was planned for such emergencies as fire and storm damage to a few buildings.
"I don't think we considered this type of devastation," Abbott-Becker said, referring to entire areas being destroyed. "What the tornado didn't get the rain did."
What proved to be invaluable and remained operable during the entire incident was Internet service. Much information and videos were streamlined through the Internet.
"The Internet stayed up during the crisis more so than satellite service," she said.
All in all, the service proved to be invaluable for this first crisis and passed the test. Training of personnel and additional equipment in some areas will only enhance the program's performance and continue to provide the necessary access even during the worst-possible event.
