Hurricane Zephyr struck land Tuesday in Northern Virginia, worked its way up the Chesapeake Bay and devastated Maryland?s Eastern Shore.
By Thursday, 207 were dead and six were missing, according to the exercise drill. The amount of property damage was still undetermined as looting broke out near Hagerstown.
Almost 40 people, newly homeless, stood on the corner of Joppa Road in Baltimore County, waiting for assistance.
“We had a major storm that moved through Maryland,” Maryland Emergency Management Agency Director John Droneburg said. “We?ve had a number of areas of the state that are flooded. People?s homes have been damaged so badly they can?t go back in. There are still a million people without power in the state of Maryland.”
The fake hurricane was part of a massive drill conducted by MEMA, along with local and federal agencies, in what is thought to be the largest drill of regional response and communication in the wake of a hurricane.
The exercise simulated response and recovery issues 48 hours after landfall of a major hurricane in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season, which officially begins June 1.
Droneburg said the phony storm provided at least one valuable piece of information ? the state needs to improve its computer communication capabilities, which were slowed during the large amount of use after the hurricane.
“We found issues in terms of computer communications and our Internet connection,” he said.
Col. James Grove, joint chief of staff of the Maryland National Guard, said the drill provides a useful test run for his troops.
“You?re establishing communications and your presence in the community, and you?re doing your search and rescue,” Grove said. “When that?s done and you?ve established security, you start meeting human needs. You provide water first, food second and then the tarps.”
Droneburg said he didn?t consider the devastating scenario unlikely for Maryland.
“In 2003, we had [Hurricane] Isabel, which is not too different from what we?re simulating here,” Droneburg said. “It happened four years ago. It certainly could happen again.”
