Instructions • The goal is to write an essay of about 4 pages to 6 pages long, double-spaced with a word count of about • The essay is to be a three-part written essay based on answering three specific questions as outlined below related to emergency management aspects of a social disaster – terrorism. • The objective here is an ‘information and analysis paper’ based on a contemporary emergency management problem, in this case the loss of the NYC EOC on 9/11. This is not an exhaustive research paper, but a focused essay based on answering the three questions provided. The Three Specific Questions to Answer in Your Essay Premise: On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) had its headquarters and Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Building 7 of the World Trade Center, and its communications were based off the antenna on top of the 1 World Trade Center Twin Tower. During the attack, both World Trade Center Towers and the 7 World Trade Center Building were lost. The EOC was also lost on September 11 when the 7 World Trade Center Building was struck by falling debris from the Twin Towers, set on fire, and collapsed later that afternoon. This created a very problematic situation as the centre which was needed to manage the emergency was lost at the time when it was needed the most. For this essay assignment, I would like you to write an essay with a focus on three items: Question Part 1 1. In the Introduction section of your essay – Provide a brief overview of the purposes of an emergency operations centre. Address this question from a general perspective describing the main functions of an EOC, or what an EOC does. Question Part 2 2. In the body section of your essay – Describe the pros and cons of placing an EOC in the middle of the city at a site that may be at risk (such as the World Trade Center complex). In hindsight, placing the EOC for New York City on the 23rd floor of the 7 World Trade Center Building was a flawed decision, however prior to 9/11 there were reasons for placing it at that location in the World Trade Center Tower complex, what do you think they were? Question Part 3 3. In the conclusion of your essay – Comment on two specific design elements that you recommend incorporating into any EOC design to ensure survivability to the extent possible.
