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FLASH FLOOD he desert Southwest is notorious for its flash floods . Lives have been lost and property damaged on the Flamingo Wash near Boulder Highway. But what would happen if a massive flash flood wiped out our lifeline to Southern California? What if key bridges along Interstate 15 and the Union Pacific Railroad were wiped out? How long would it take to replace the bridges? How long would the tourism economy be affected? What about goods that come to Las Vegas from Southern California? How long would the supply chain be disrupted? Would costs go up as a result of trucks having to drive alternate routes for an extended period of time? Carolyn Levering, who has spent 12 years preparing for emergencies and disasters, said the government agency at the point of impact takes charge of the incident. So, in the case of a flash flood washing out bridges south of the city, a county government or possibly California state government would take charge even though the economic fallout would more severely affect Southern Nevada. “Damage to the economy is tougher to predict and tougher to recover from,” Levering said. “Unfortunately, we can’t claim losses and reimbursements for people that might have come from California to spend X number of dollars that weekend.” Depending on the severity of destruction, the governor can call for and the president can make a disaster declaration, which opens the door to federal recovery aid. “In a case like this, there are other supply routes, from Northern Nevada, Utah or Arizona,” she said. “But a TOXIC SPILL ost of us don’t want to know what kinds of toxic materials are on train cars and tankers that pass through Las disaster declaration can expedite repairs. It’s amazing how quickly they can get it done when the economic incentive is there.” Case in point: When a gasoline tanker truck exploded on the San Francisco Bay Area’s McArthur Maze viaduct, wiping out 165 feet of elevated freeway at a busy intersection in 2007, Caltrans workers reconstructed the bridge 26 days after the accident and 33 days ahead of the contracted schedule. How? The contract included a $200,000-a-day early completion bonus. That’s how. Vegas on the Union Pacific. Train derailments and accidents are so infrequent that they make huge news when they happen, particularly in Southern Nevada. But they do happen. In August 2007, a tank car loaded with chlorine gas escaped the Arden train yard near Blue Diamond Road, rolling downhill through a densely populated area for 20 miles in 16 minutes before braking to a stop in North Las Vegas after Union Pacific workers hopped aboard as it was slowing down. Fortunately, all the automated grade crossings worked properly and nothing got in the way of the unmanned tanker that rolled straight out of a Denzel Washington flick. Is the city ready for a train derailment and a toxic chemical spill? TERRORISTATTACK s one of the premiere tourism destinations in the world, Las Vegas is a terrorist target. And because it is, emergency managers have practiced being ready for an attack. The threat of terrorism has raised the demand for preparation, but it also has given emergency responders additional resources. In addition to being prepared for a host of ugly scenarios, managers have to recognize that their disaster may also be a crime scene and that they have to protect evidence. Although the world has seen airliners hijacked and turned into guided missiles and subway tunnels blown up to scare commuters and tourists, managers are trying to think about the unthinkable. Most recently, Carolyn Levering’s team has been preparing for chemical, biological and nuclear attacks. This summer, Las Vegas will be one of 15 cities nationwide participating in a Federal Emergency Management Agency terrorism exercise. Part of the challenge of preparing for those types of attacks is to retrain first responders, whose instinct is to race to the scene. “We’re telling our responders not to respond and it goes against their grain,” Levering said. “It’s completely opposite of everything they do, but it’s important that they avoid contamination.” Federal emergency teams have established plans to deliver “push packages,” warehouses of equipment, medications and detection devices that are stored within 12 hours of any location. She said there are push packages | 4 APRIL 2011 | Carolyn Levering doesn’t scare easily, but it was clear that the runaway tanker incident bothered her. “We dodged a bullet, a really big bullet,” said Levering, who was an emergency manager for Clark County at the time and saw the tanker roll past her office. “We were very, very lucky. If that car had derailed and gas escaped, it could have killed upward of 100,000 people because of the toxic nature of the gas on board and how far it could spread given the weather conditions and time of day.” Since the incident, Levering said the Union Pacific Railroad has changed its procedures to prevent a rail runaway. But what is worrisome is that the railroad doesn’t have the resources to patrol its lines 24/7 and has a we’ll- respond-when-we-have-to mentality. As far as the witches’ brew of toxic chemicals that pass within a few hundred yards of the thousands of tourists who routinely visit the city, there are few solutions. stored in Las Vegas. Nellis Air Force Base also has remote sensing lab equipment to make plume projections to detect life-threatening substances. In addition to being prepared and practicing, local disaster management teams are seeking guidance from federal authorities about balancing response capabilities against a budget and determining how much to spend for a high-consequence, low-probability event. “We’re asking the feds about what level of competence and capability we should retain at the local level until the cavalry arrives,” she said, “because we all expect the cavalry.” Levering said the best thing the residents of Las Vegas can do on the terrorism front is to report suspicious activity for prevention and to be prepared in the event of an incident. “There are things even the railroads don’t want to transport for the government, but they’re required to,” Levering said. “They don’t want the liability, but transporting by rail is still the safest way to do it.” 29 PRASHANTH VISHWANATHAN/BLOOMBERG ETHAN MILLER STEVE MARCUS