The St. Louis Flood: Some Observations On Warning And Pre-Impact Disaster Response
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Date
1973-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Disaster Research Center
Abstract
Description
During the latter part of March continuing to the end of April 1973, three
flood crests on the Mississippi River caused property damage and disruption in
three counties surrounding St. Louis, Missouri and, to some extent, in the city itself. While press reports seemed to indicate that the actual impact on the
city was not major, there did appear to be a mobilization of organizations in the
city in preparation for and response to such an event. On the basis of press
reports and other information, the Disaster Research Center (DRC) sent a two-man
field team to St. Louis. The team stayed two days, May 3 and 4, concentrating
on flood-associated activities in St. Louis and the three surrounding counties
and attempting to get answers to the following questions: (1) If a disaster had occurred, in what way was the community response
coordinated in two emergency task areas:
warning and pre-impact activities.(2) What role did the local civil defense (CD) organization play in the
coordination of warning and pre-impact activities;
(3) Did the flood situation and/or the CD flood activities have any effect
on how the community and the community organizations viewed CD's
saliency and legitimacy as a viable emergency organization?
Keywords
St. Louis Flood, Observations, Warning, Pre-Impact Disaster Response