State will review terrorism response plans

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Contingency plans for responding to a terrorist attack in Missouri will be revised in the wake of Tuesday's tragedies in New York and Washington.

The State Emergency Management Agency has detailed plans on how to coordinate resources and rescue services under circumstances ranging from floods to earthquakes to acts of violence. However, whether the state is prepared to handle a disaster on the scope of the destruction of the World Trade Center is an open question.

"I don't think anybody is," said Susie Stonner, a SEMA spokesperson.

Still, SEMA is as prepared as can be expected, Stonner said. Since Tuesday, the agency has been standing by to implement its terrorism response plan.

The agency's emergency operations center was staffed with up to 100 personnel at the height of the crisis, when people across the country feared a second wave of attacks that could strike anywhere. The situation has calmed somewhat, but the agency remains on alert.

Though not going into great detail for security reasons, Stonner said the terrorism response plan includes how to deal with biological and chemical attacks, as well as more conventional acts of violence. She admitted that terrorist tactics of the like seen this week hadn't been contemplated.

"I think everyone is going to take a harder look at all of our plans and responses in light of what happened," Stonner said. "You are always looking at plans and making adjustments. As new potential issues come up, you add things."

Coordination a key

As with any disaster -- natural or manmade -- coordination of emergency services is a key component. Stonner said SEMA has long worked with local agencies and hospitals -- including those throughout Southeast Missouri -- to train them to react to a major emergency.

A special unit under SEMA's direction called Missouri Task Force One specializes in sifting through debris in urban areas to rescue survivors. The 25-member unit, which is based in Columbia because of the city's central location, was created four years ago with the specific purpose of responding to a major earthquake in Southeast Missouri.

The federal government activated the unit Tuesday night to assist in rescue operations in New York.

The Missouri National Guard is a major player in disaster response in the state and works closely with SEMA. The Guard operates under a general emergency response plan, which includes a number of variants, including reacting to terrorism.

Lt. Tamara Spicer, a Guard spokesperson, said changes in the Guard's standards for preparedness and types of training are certain, but only after the country as a whole has had time to analyze its vulnerabilities.

"This caught our whole country off guard, but it is an opportunity for us to become stronger," Spicer said.

mpowers@semissourian.com

(573) 635-4608