City Council
April 29 storm debrief reveals scale of emergency assistance demands.
During the April 29 storm, overloaded cell networks left 911 effectively out of reach. On July 23, city and county officials briefed council on the storm response. A county emergency chief said the region's 911 systems got 25,000 calls in the first four hours, Pennsylvania's usual daily total. Next, council will hear about Duquesne Light's response on Sept. 18.
Written by Amy Whipple
- City and County officials spoke at a July 23 Post Agenda Meeting covering the April 29 severe storm and next steps for general emergency preparedness.
- 911 systems overwhelmed
- County Emergency Services Chief Brown said the region’s 911 systems received 25,000 calls in the first four hours, which is the daily average for the entire state of Pennsylvania.
- In the first hour of the storm, 911 received 6,700 calls. One minute within that first hour totaled over 1,000 calls.
- While 911 itself did not go down, overwhelmed cellular networks functionally made it unavailable.
- Emergency Response aided by support from community organisations
- Volunteers from the nonprofit Team Rubicon assisted in clearing debris to create access to vulnerable populations, such as disabled and elderly community members.
- Team Rubicon, the Salvation Army and the County’s Department of Health and Human Services provided food for residents who were unable to leave their homes while they were without power.
- City Emergency Management Planner Hausman said the City was able to loan "grab and go" oxygen tanks from the mass disaster supply to residents who did not have power for their oxygen generators.
- There will be a Post Agenda Meeting on September 18 which will cover Duquesne Light’s storm response.
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