Tropical Storm Allison Recovery: A Facilities And Operations Perspective

Abstract

The Texas Medical Center was devastated by Tropical Storm Allison on June 8th and 9th, 2001 resulting in diminished operational services for several key healthcare facilities in the Houston community. Memorial Hermann Hospital and Memorial Hermann Children\'s Hospital experienced severe flooding to two lower levels of the facility and the resultant loss of key utility systems necessitated a systematic evacuation of the patient population. The Hermann facility was closed to patient care for a period of 38 days while operational systems were restored and the facility re-certified for health-care operations. Key to the disaster was the unprecedented storm event (estimated at a frequency greater than a 100-year event) (1), changes in watershed development patterns, and the location of key utility systems below-grade in many facilities. Master planning efforts are currently in progress to add system redundancies, improve preparedness for future utility interruptions, install flood mitigation systems, and relocate key systems/functions to areas with reduced risk of future flooding.