Movie Volcano 1997 - Essay Example

Running Head: MOVIE VOLCANO 1997 Movie Volcano 1997 [The of the will appear here] [The of the id will appear here] [The of the course will appear here] [The name of the course number will appear here] 1. Was the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) organized and set up properly? The Emergency Operations Center was not organized properly because it was under the control of Tommy Lee Jones who had taken a holiday. The rest of the staff was not prepared to handle an emergency on such a big scale. 2. Why was the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Public Works and the Construction crew fighting or disagreeing? The above mentioned departments were fighting because they were unprepared for the emergency. Furthermore, the seriousness of the emergency was not developed and there was lack of proper planning for dealing with such an emergency. The roles of these departments were not properly defined and therefore the conflicts were inevitable. 3. Who should have taken charge? Jones should have taken charge because he was the director of EOC and the situation required the center to take over control since none of the other departments were equipped to handle an emergency. Moreover, a team should have been developed that contained representatives from the departments being involved with Lee Jones heading the team. 4. How did the OEM Director (Tommy Lee Jones) take control after the discovery of the gas leak? When Lee Jones came to know about the gas leak, he went to the site to inspect the damages himself. He started asking questions and demanded answers for the gas leak. He also proposed that the metro station be shut down for the safety of the public. He even went underground to investigate further without gaining proper access. 5. Why should the experts been allowed to investigate further? The experts should be allowed to investigate further because they would analyze the seriousness of the issue. The experts have more knowledge about the issue. They would also be able to provide information on the flow, intensity and impact of the disaster. This would then help the Emergency Operations Center to be better prepared for the emergency. They would devise better plans based on the report by the experts. 6. At 5:15 am how did the Emergency Operations Center react? They reacted by turning on their emergency power and calling a meeting with the emergency heads. The rest of the employees were disorganized. 7. When did the Assistant OEM Director (Don Cheadle) take over command? Assistant OEM Director took over command after the incidence at the subway train occurred. Before this, he was not willing to accept that an emergency of such big proportions was going to impact the state. However, after the incidence at the subway station, he had no choice but to take notice of the situation. 8. At what point in the movie did you or the OEM realize there was a full blown incident? The seriousness of the volcano was felt when the lava was seen for the first time just before the incident near the LA Brea Tar Pits in the subway train. An entire train derails and Lee Jones is present to witness the calamity with this daughter. Before this, the movie was building up for this scene where steam rising from the concrete led Dr. Barnes to conclude that a volcano was building. However, even then, the depth of the calamity was not understood. This happened only when casualties occurred in the form the train passengers and the onlookers. 9. What resources and assets did the OEM Director call for when his daughter was on the way to the hospital? He called the OEM center and asked his assistant to send help to his daughter immediately. However, help was late to arrive and therefore he sent his daughter off with a lady who was going to the hospital with other victims. 10. Where there any other resources or assets he should have requested? He should have requested ambulance in the area and asked proper relief to reach the area. 11. While in the street during the lava flow, how did the OEM Director take control? In the street during the lava flow, OEM Director took control by saving as much as he could. He took charge of the situation by calling the center and went out to save the people himself. He left his daughter in the car while controlling the situation. He also tried to contact the Geologist, Dr. Barnes. 12. Is there anything he should have done differently? Lee Jones took the situation in his own hands. He tried to do everything on his own with almost no help from the OEM center. He should have called the department and pulled rank to get relief into the area as fast as possible. He did not communicate properly with his department even though he was aware of the depth of the calamity. 13. During the scene in the street did the OEM Director lose control? How and why? The OEM Director lost control when he was sending his daughter to the hospital alone. He let his love and fear for his daughter take control but he was able to gain control over the situation very quickly. 14. How did the City workers improvise during the emergency? The City workers improvised by making use of the available materials to make the barrier to contain the lava and made use of the bus to create the diversion. They used the fire control buses to lift and deposit the concrete blocks for the barrier. All of them joined forces to deal with the problem at hand. 15. What could the Hospital done with the overflow of patients? The Hospital could have redirected the less severely wounded patients to other hospitals. They could also have asked the capable patients to help out in the situation. The Hospital could have called in extra people to manage the patients and send them to the specific doctors on the basis of priority. The severely wounded should have received immediate attention while interns could have dealt with the patients with minor cuts and wounds. 16. Where did team work come into play? How did ordinary people come together to solve a problem? Team work came into play when the concrete barriers were placed to contain the lava within the intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard. For this, OEM Director, police lieutenant Fox and Lee Jones came together to create the diversion. Ordinary people in the form of a black man came to help out in creating this barrier. 17. How did emergency personnel improvise emergency shelters? They made shelters near ground zero so that patients could be treated as soon as possible. Some doctors were also available to assess the situation. Volunteers helped out. Tents and bed spaces were arranged for the benefit of the victims. 18. Was the mass evacuation of the hospital coordinated and planned? How could you improve on the evacuation? The mass evacuation of the hospital was not coordinated and planned. There was no time to properly coordinate or plan the evacuation. To improve the evacuation, the Director should make plans before the emergency strikes. A proper exigency plan should be developed and the hospital should be informed and trained on executing this plan beforehand. 19. When the lava erupted at the Hospital, did the Assistant OEM Director have the look of “What do I do”? Is this a real expectation during an emergency like this and why? The OEM Director was ill-prepared to handle the emergency. When the lava erupted at the Hospital, he became disorganized. This is not a real expectation. In case of an emergency, the department created to handle emergencies should have better control over the situation. Even in case of an unprepared event, they should take control because otherwise the public would become chaotic and thus difficult to handle. 20. In time of emergency and disaster we must put aside our personal feelings of prejudice, pride, anger and fear, why? Give one example of when this occurred in the movie? In times of emergency and disaster, it is imperative to put aside personal feelings because such feelings make the disaster appear bigger. Also when we keep on fighting for our pride, and give up to these feelings, we will not be able to help others who are in bigger need of help. There were many instances where the protagonists in the movie, did not succumb to their personal fears. For instance, even though Lee Jones’ daughter was in danger and admitted in the hospital, he did not forget his duty and kept on working to manage the emergency. 21. What was the significance at the end of the movie when everyone was covered in ash? When the rain came and washed away the ash what did this signify? At the end of the movie, everyone was covered in ash. This signified that in the time of an emergency, everyone is equal. A calamity does not see a black differently from a white. Since everyone was covered in ash, it was difficult to differentiate between a black and a white, thus signifying that everyone suffered the same fate. The rain signified a new beginning. The disaster brought people together and made them appreciate the importance of diversity (Davis, et al. 1997). References Davis, A. Z. (Producer), Moritz, N. H. (Producer), Donner, L. S. (Producer) & Jackson, M. (Director) (1997) Volcano [Motion Picture] USA: 20th Century Fox Read More