National Level Exercise 2011: Lessons Learned and a Look Behind the Scenes


Written by Phil on July 28, 2011 in Business Continuity, Testing.

In late 1811, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake shook the New Madrid Seismic Zone, stretching across Southern and Midwestern states. It was followed by two earthquakes in 1812 ranging from magnitude 7.5 to 7.7, six aftershocks ranging from magnitude 5.5 to 6.3 within the first two days and hundreds more aftershocks were felt into 1813. Two centuries later, that scenario was the basis for National Level Exercise (NLE) 2011, one of the largest emergency exercises in U.S. history and the first of its scale to simulate a natural disaster.

The nineteenth-century earthquakes caused geographic changes that can still be seen today: Reelfoot Lake was formed in Tennessee and a piece of Kentucky was disconnected from the state. “Stories are told that the Ohio River actually ran backward when New Madrid fired off 200 years ago,” said Brig. Gen. John Heltzel, director of the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management.

For five days in May, 2011, eight states, four FEMA regions, and thousands of emergency managers and first responders from all disciplines and levels of government responded to a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck near Marked Tree, Ark., and this time had the potential to cause massive damage to modern-day infrastructure.

“NLE 11 was the first of a series that was focused on a natural hazard versus a terrorism nexus,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “It was also the largest exercise involving participants from multiple states, local governments and federal partners, and a real emphasis with our faith-based and [nongovernmental] organizations, as well as with the private sector.” Mandated by Congress and directed by the White House, the NLE is a Tier I exercise that’s conducted annually in accordance with FEMA’s National Exercise Program.

See  National Level Exercise 2011: Lessons Learned and a Look Behind the Scenes, (including video) by Elaine Pittman for Emergency Management.

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  4. Your roadmap – the exercise plan
  5. The real story: the development of the exercise narrative
  6. The drivers – exercise injects
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