47.5 MB - The Whole Building Design Guide

Hancock Medical Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, although locatedoutside of the 500-year floodplain, experienced 3-foot deepflooding as a result of the storm surge (see Figure 4-3). Accessto the hospital was disrupted long before Katrina made landfallbecause, prior to the storm arrival, there was a 33-mile traffic backupon the road leading out of town. Access was important becauseall the functioning hospitals needed relief supplies, medical gases,water, and fuel for their emergency generators. In many cases, theonly way to resupply the facilities was by air, using large Chinookhelicopters. These helicopters are too heavy for most roof structures,and to use them for emergencies in the future, a secondhelipad may be necessary on the site, requiring sufficient glide anglesfor landing and takeoff of the largest aircraft.Access to emergency services was also blocked by the water and,in some cases, by trees and utility lines that were knocked down.Once the hospitals had access restored, they were deluged bythe injured from nearby communities. Slidell Memorial Hospitaladministered 40,000 tetanus shots in the days after the storm.Hancock Medical Center saw 600 to 700 patients a day for up to 2weeks after the surge water receded.Figure 4-3:The lobby of HancockMedical Center was under3 feet of water.4-8 OBSERVATIONS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CRITICAL FACILITIES