Real-world Event Analysis

Real-world events provide a unique opportunity for validating response capabilities and assessing the elements—such as plans, organization, training, and equipment—that make up those capabilities. Many federal, state, and local agencies manage robust programs for implementing and evaluating exercises. However, the degree to which real-world events are formally incorporated into the evaluation and corrective action process varies. Although exercises are important preparedness tools, they are necessarily limited. Because of constraints such as cost, staff availability, and the need to minimize disruptions to day-to-day operations, planners must place limits on scope, scale, and participation. Real-world events, however, provide an opportunity to assess capabilities without artificialities. The paper below outlines CNA’s approach to evaluating real-world events and provides examples of how we have applied this approach to support analyses of domestic and international emergency response operations.

Learning from the Response to Real-world Events

CNA’S REAL-WORLD EVENT ANALYSES

 

 

 
  • Chemical/Biological Events
    – Ricin in the office of U.S.Sen. Bill Frist (2004)
    – Mercury spill at a Washington, DC high school (2003)
  • Disease Outbreaks
    – H1N1 (2009-2010)
    – E. coli in fresh spinach (2006)
    – SARS (2002-2003)
  • Hurricanes
    – Fay, Gustav, Hanna, Ike (2008)
    – Dean (2007)
    – Ernesto (2006)
    – Katrina, Rita (2005)
    – Charlie, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne (2004)
  • Special Events
    – Presidential Inauguration (2009)
    – DNC and RNC National Conventions (2004, 2008)
    – Funeral of President Gerald R. Ford (2007)
  • International Events
    – Japan earthquake and tsunami (2011)
    – Haiti earthquake (2010)
    – Diethylene glycol poisonings in Panama (2007)
  • Foreign Animal Disease Outbreaks
    – “Mad Cow” Disease (2005)
    – Exotic Newcastle Disease (2002-2003)
  • Other Events
    – Metro train collision, Washington, DC (2009)
    – XDR-TB traveler (2007)
    – Pet-food contamination (2007)
  

 

Featured Projects

The Great East Japan Earthquake

After the Great East Japan Earthquake, a select group of experts met to review the timeline of events in Japan, assess the immediate effects of the earthquake and tsunami, explore the cascading impacts felt across critical infrastructure sectors, and identify key lessons learned for catastrophe planning in the United States. The primary purpose of this meeting was to frame a public-private conversation about catastrophes. In a facilitated, roundtable-discussion format, experts explored how and why catastrophes are fundamentally different from emergencies or even major disasters. Our goal was to identify fundamental shifts in established perspectives and actions caused by a catastrophe and explore the creation of a “new normal.”

  • The Experts’ Roundtable on Catastrophe—Altered Landscapes of Catastrophes: Insights from the Great East Japan Earthquake (Download pdf)