take you to pull out of there — don’t wait until the storm is already there.” C3 and the OEMC pulled the trigger at just

the right time, making the decision to evacuate Grant Park at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, after news from the National Weather Service and readings from on-site weather monitors warned of severe thunderstorms. Not long after, winds in excess of 60 miles per hour whipped through downtown Chicago and torrential downpours flooded the lawns at Grant Park. “It took a while for the storm to actually hit the city,” said Lollapalooza attendee Ashley Reaser, “but once it did, I was personally very happy to be indoors.” All attendees, plus nearly 3,000 staff, perform-

ers, and vendors were safely evacuated in 38 minutes, according to Lollapalooza’s website. “Working in conjunction with event planners and designated security detail to aid and monitor activities, and the advanced planning and on-site presence,” Robinson said, “contributed to an effec- tive evacuation without injury or incident.”

SENDING OUT AN SOS One of the things that made Lollapalooza’s response so effective was that organizers got the word out through multiple channels — a practice that Fisher said is key to any crisis response. “Whether it be joint command or a single individ- ual,” Fisher said, “it’s important to lay out specific steps to communicate that decision.” Equally important, Fisher said, is to be aware of

‘It took a while for the storm to hit the city, but once it did, I was personally very happy to be indoors.’

your audience, and make sure that communication methods will be effective in a time of emergency. “Everybody acts differently,” Robinson said, “so there were various modes of communication used to inform the audience.” C3 and the OEMC made several announcements at each performance stage over the public-address system, displayed evacua- tion messages on the Jumbotron screens at Grant Park, and posted announcements on Lollapaloo- za’s website, Facebook page, and Twitter stream. They also employed an official event app this year through which concertgoers could receive mes- sages about any emergencies or schedule changes. When the evacuation call was made, text messages were sent out to more than 40,000 attendees who subscribed to the app. Those various messages were crucial for

informing Reaser and her group. “My friend received a notification through the Lollapalooza

PCMA.ORG NOVEMBER 2012 PCMA CONVENE 73

How the Disaster Conference Plans for

Disaster When the International Disaster Conference & Expo (IDCE) needed a permanent home, New Orleans was a logical choice. “After Hurricane Katrina,” said Tim Hemphill, vice president of marketing for New Orleans’ Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, “our Governor’s Ofice of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness [GOHSEP] garnered a lot of national attention.”

Professionals in the world of emergency management flocked to New Orleans to learn more. “Because of Louisiana’s — and New Orleans’ in particular — body of knowledge as it comes to emergency preparedness,” Hemphill said, “this was a perfect place for this annual event to take place. It was a natural fit.”

When IDCE debuted this past January, it was jointly owned by the convention center and Imago Productions. But with next year’s show, slated for Jan. 8–10, the convention center will be the sole owner of IDCE. As a result, IDCE 2013’s crisis-management plan will be the same as the convention center’s. “We have an emergency evacuation plan in place that is coordinated with the [New Orleans] Convention & Visitors Bureau,” Hemphill said, “because it integrates with the city’s evacuation plan.”

In the event of an emergency, the convention center has public-safety oficials in the lobby to assist attendees and emergency phones throughout the building. As part of the city’s master plan, Hemphill said, “there are certain hotels for people to muster at, and transportation is planned for those people to be evacuated outside of the zone of influence.”

GOHSEP tracks major storms weeks and days in advance, and alerts the convention center when a storm is strong enough that evacuation might be necessary. It hasn’t happened yet, but that doesn’t mean IDCE isn’t ready. “We practice the plan every year,” Hemphill said. “Everybody has a plan for when a storm’s approaching. Certain actions are triggered, and in the event that we are displaced from the building, then we have backup plans in place so we can operate as if we are in the ofice. We practice it yearly before every storm season.”