'Victims' Say Underwater Metro Rescue Took Too Long . . .

[MountainLaurel]

And thus remains the state of emergency preparedness in our nation's capital. You guys feeling safer yet?

For its annual disaster drill yesterday, Metro wanted to devise the worst scenario possible: A bomb. In a train. In a long, deep tunnel. Under the Potomac. With the power and communications out and seven agencies trying to talk and work together.

And, to complicate matters, Metro wanted to keep its real trains running, even past the "disaster" scene.

Using about 120 volunteer "victims" who rode an early morning Orange Line train out of Rosslyn, firefighters from the District and Virginia pulled off their "rescue" in about two hours. Metro officials had hoped that by using a "rescue train," they would extricate the victims in about 45 minutes.

"I'd give us about a C," said Fred Goodine, Metro's assistant general manager for systems safety. "We put ourselves under pressure in a test we had never conducted before." Metro has been doing emergency drills since 1999 but never in an underwater tunnel.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/17/AR2006091700608.html

[One Sweet World]

1. At least they're trying

At least they are doing these drills but I still don't have much confidence in metro's ability to handle a disaster of this magnitute.

[northzax]

2. nobody can handle a disaster like this

really. and practicing, which is good, and revealing the results (even better) makes things so much better.

[kitkatrose]

3. You know, this is one of my worst case scenarios

that seriously freaks me out. Which is why I try to stay off the Orange and Blue lines.