Subject category:
Ethics and Social Responsibility
Published by:
Harvard Kennedy School
Length: 42 pages
Share a link:
https://casecent.re/p/6793
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Abstract
This case tells the story of the largest evacuation in US history, the evacuation of 2.5 million people in the state of Florida, where officials sought to protect them from a storm that ultimately did not strike the state. The significance of the case, however, lies in its description of the difference in magnitude between the level of evacuation officials believed they had ordered and the far larger evacuation that actually occurred. The flight of nearly twice as many people as officials had asked to leave led to massive traffic jams in which, had the hurricane''s path changed only slightly, thousands of people would have been stuck, at the mercy of potentially deadly high winds. The case raises the question of how officials could have explained the situation in such a way that the near, panic which ensued would not have taken place, as well as raising questions as to how, or whether, an orderly mass evacuation from population centers in the face of a terror threat or attack could, as a practical matter, be organized. Also available is a video exhibit (Prelude to Hurricane Floyd, 1652.9) which uses highlights of television weather forecasts and news coverage to provide a sense of the message about the storm that was delivered to south Florida residents at the time. The video focuses on the first crucial stage of the storm forecasts, which appear to have helped precipitate the large ''shadow evacuation'' described in the written case. Based on coverage provided by WPBF, the video can be used in conjunction with the written case or as a stand-alone, especially for those interested in media issues,in this case, the question of whether television struck the right balance between warning the population and alarming it.
About
Abstract
This case tells the story of the largest evacuation in US history, the evacuation of 2.5 million people in the state of Florida, where officials sought to protect them from a storm that ultimately did not strike the state. The significance of the case, however, lies in its description of the difference in magnitude between the level of evacuation officials believed they had ordered and the far larger evacuation that actually occurred. The flight of nearly twice as many people as officials had asked to leave led to massive traffic jams in which, had the hurricane''s path changed only slightly, thousands of people would have been stuck, at the mercy of potentially deadly high winds. The case raises the question of how officials could have explained the situation in such a way that the near, panic which ensued would not have taken place, as well as raising questions as to how, or whether, an orderly mass evacuation from population centers in the face of a terror threat or attack could, as a practical matter, be organized. Also available is a video exhibit (Prelude to Hurricane Floyd, 1652.9) which uses highlights of television weather forecasts and news coverage to provide a sense of the message about the storm that was delivered to south Florida residents at the time. The video focuses on the first crucial stage of the storm forecasts, which appear to have helped precipitate the large ''shadow evacuation'' described in the written case. Based on coverage provided by WPBF, the video can be used in conjunction with the written case or as a stand-alone, especially for those interested in media issues,in this case, the question of whether television struck the right balance between warning the population and alarming it.