Question

Late Sunday afternoon, May 22, 2011, a supercell thunderstorm tracked from extreme southeast Kansas into far southwest Missouri. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning at 5:17 p.m. CDT that included the city of Joplin, Missouri. Joplin is a city of more than 50,000 with a population density near 1,500 people per square mile. The area’s major industries include agriculture, education, health and social services, manufacturing, and retail trade. Two hospitals, Mercy/St. John’s Regional Medical Center and the Freeman Health System, provide medical care to the region and serve as the city’s emergency medical service (EMS) providers.
Joplin city residents were given a 24-minute notice of the impending tornado. Twenty-five tornado sirens sounded, and weather alert boxes appeared in the corners of local TV stations. As the EF-5 tornado touched down in Joplin, it had maximum winds in excess of 200 mph and was three-fourths to 1 mile wide with a damage path 6 miles long (the entire tornado path was 22.1 miles long and up to 1 mile wide). The tornado’s eye was 300 yards wide. This tornado resulted in 161 fatalities and approximately 1,371 injuries. Of the fatalities, 54% died in their homes, 32% died in nonresidential areas, and 14% died in vehicles or out-of-doors. The tornado destroyed 4,380 homes and damaged an additional 3,884 homes, not including 400 businesses and 8 schools. Eighteen thousand vehicles were destroyed, and 4,500 jobs were displaced.
At St. John’s Regional Medical Center, a 9-story building, there were 183 patients—patients watching television, visiting with friends, or eating their dinner. There were also 25 patients in the emergency department (ED) and approximately 100 staff members on duty. The announcement over the hospital speakers warned of a potential tornado, and “Plan Gray” was activated. Plan Gray is the Tornado Emergency Operations Plan. No one panicked, as such calls are routine in Joplin; “Condition Gray” is practiced several times a year. On the inpatient units, patients who were able to walk were placed in hardback chairs or wheelchairs and lined up in the halls; others were rolled into the hallways on their beds, and for those too sick to move, blankets and pillows were placed over them. Staff also pulled shades over windows to shield patients from flying debris. Because the storm was not expected to hit them, hospital visitors watched the storm on TV while they continued their visits. The storm came up quickly and passed over St. John’s Hospital in 45 seconds. The hospital sustained a direct hit at approximately 5:41 p.m. At the hospital, just prior to the hit, an employee ran down a corridor shouting, “Take cover! We’re gonna get hit!” Seconds later, the air turned cold, the lights flickered and died, and glass exploded from the hospital’s windows.
  In 45 seconds, the tornado all but destroyed St. John’s Hospital. Everyone in the hospital thought they were going to die. The wind roared with such force that it twisted the top floors of the hospital by several inches. Water pipes burst, the ceiling tiles caved in, and wires were hanging in the air. There were no lights; both power generators were gone from their foundations. Intravenous lines were ripped from patients’ arms, and the IV poles became projectiles. All emergency lights and exit signs were ripped from their mounts and were useless, and the exit stairwells were blocked by debris. X-ray machines, respirators, computer monitors, and doors were ripped off their hinges and crashed through the air. Patients and visitors were screaming. The winds were so powerful that items from the hospital such as medications, medical records, and radiographs were found in neighboring counties. Fortunately, most people inside the hospital and the ED were uninjured.
  The response within St. John’s Hospital went well. When the tornado warning was issued for Joplin, the hospital activated “Code Gray,” its tornado response plan. Staff members simply did what they had to do. Patients were moved into safe areas if possible, and the staff braced for the impact. Very shortly after the tornado passed over the hospital, officials decided that the hospital was unsafe and they needed to quickly evacuate their 183 patients.  Fortunately, the city’s other hospital was close and had suffered little damage from the tornado, so it was able to accept patients. Ten hospitals in Missouri also accepted patients from St. John’s, as did hospitals in nearby Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The hospital staff loaded patients on pickup trucks and did whatever they could to get them to safety. Dozens of ambulances from towns 100 miles away came to offer assistance. Strangers rushed to the hospital in convoys of pickup trucks to help evacuate patients. Within 90 minutes, all the patients were evacuated, and by 2 a.m., the situation at the hospital was largely under control.
There were multiple factors which enabled St. John's to "weather the storm" as well as it did.  Please discuss what made St. John's a relatively safe place to have been on this devastating day at this devastating time.

Answer 1

a)The weather forecast informed the city residents to be alert about tge impending tornado throughbsirens and weather alerts

b) hospital announced code gray which gave the hospital staff to be alarmed and prepared about the emergency operation plan during tornado

c) mock drills on code gray at regular intervals helped the staff to work coordinately without panic and confusions during emergency.

d) updated news from media by the weather forecast helped the employee to alarm the hospital population to be prepared for hit.

e) Well informed authorities about the hospital and healthcare nearby which could extend help for the patients and injured , helped for the right desicion at right time to shift the needy.