Oklahoma City's Disaster Preparation and Response for the 20 May 2013 Tornado

The city of Oklahoma City has dealt with a number of major disasters, both natural and man-made, over the last 20 years. As a result, coordinated planning and response for such events between emergency management, police, fire, and public works has been, and continues to be refined. The 20 May 2013 tornado provides an example of such work. While each individual group has its own set of plans that go in place, the coordination provides for a rapid, efficient response. In this presentation, we'll talk about the efforts of the groups and the way they interact. Highlights include the rapid deployment of a joint incident command post, a little over an hour after the tornado touched down, the checking and rechecking of all structures for victims within the city limits and clearing of debris from all major streets by midnight after the tornado, the change of primary responsibilities for the groups as time went on, and the clean-up after the tornado, including restoring the parking lot of the facility used for the incident command post. Oklahoma City provides an excellent case study of response of a large urban community to a weather disaster.