HURRICANE ISABEL AND CERT
Jeffrey J. Morrison, Huntington Beach CA. CERT Graduate 1994 & Student at U.S. Naval Academy

One might wonder what CERT and Hurricane Isabel have to do with each other. CERT is in Southern California, Isabel on the Eastern Seaboard; CERT deals with disasters like floods and earthquakes, Isabel was a hurricane.   I will tell you what they have to do with each other...ME!   Being a native Southern Californian, I am accustomed to infrequent earthquakes, mud slides, Santa Ana Winds, wild land fires, and that very rare water spout off the coast.   When the National Weather Service put Annapolis Maryland on a level five hurricane alert, I was caught off guard.   Being a CERT graduate for nine years and being the son of the Master of Disaster of Huntington Beach, I thought I was ready for whatever Isabel could throw at me...but was I?

It's 1500 hours (3 PM for you civilians) and the announcements begin over the MC.   The academy needs working parties to start sandbagging around the academic buildings as well as Bancroft Hall (where all 4000 Midshipman live).  Being a volunteer most of my life for CERT, I gladly volunteered, as I knew my expertise could be used in some way.   I was put in charge of my company’s working party and we were responsible for sandbagging the 8th wing of Bancroft Hall.  I directed the 30 or so underclass I was in charge of where to place the sandbags and how to stack them.  Remembering my CERT flood preparedness class, we stacked the sandbags in brick-line format and formed a water-proof wall to hopefully stop Isabel's rising waters. 

Around 1900, the winds began to pick up.  Being a squad leader at the United States Naval Academy, I am in charge of 11 underclassman.  Three of my squad members are from the West Coast and like me had never experienced a hurricane.  One of my freshman (Plebes) knocked on my door when the rain began and asked what she should do if this hurricane gets as bad as everyone said it is supposed to.  I told her, "Duck and Cover” I guess, but I really don't know to be honest with you."  I looked to my roommates who are both from the East Coast for guidance as to what to do in case this level five hurricane really hit.  This just shows that while you may live in Southern California, you never know where you will be when, The Big One hits and what The Big One could be.  Everyone assumes The Big One will be an earthquake.  In my case, it was far from it. 

Midnight came around and I looked out my window through the mostly horizontal falling rain-drops and howling wind and all I could see was water.  It was amazing how much water there actually was and how fast it was rising.  Being a newbie I ran outside to check the rising sea.  The water had risen over 10 feet and overwhelmed the academy’s man-made seawall.  As I looked into the distance, I could make out two or three boats that had washed up onto the seawall.  They were capsized and broken into pieces while being slammed up against the large boulders that comprise our seawall.  Man, was that a sight to see!  I could see it all fine until WHAM, the lights went out.  Everyone was anticipating losing power, but I don't think anyone really prepared for it.  While my company mates were digging through boxes and bags blindly, I reached to my top desk drawer and pulled out my trusty flashlight.  I keep in there at all times for incidents such as this one.  Most of the time, I use it when the power fails which is often when you live in a 150-year old building.  

I finally fell asleep around 0300 only to have to rise, like every morning, at 0530.  When I awoke, the winds had calmed a bit, but the rain was still falling furiously.  The power was still out, so I grabbed my trusty flashlight and ran down to the bottom of the 8th wing staircase to see if my working parties sand bags had held up against the awesome power of Isabel.  Sadly, the water had overwhelmed our wall and had flooded the basement of Bancroft Hall.  There was nothing we could have done, Isabel was just too powerful.

The next day we found that all chemistry labs at the Academy had been flooded and destroyed.  Not only were they flooded with water, they were also flooded with chemicals used for research.  The entire basements of five academic buildings were completely destroyed resulting in an estimated $60 million in damage for our site alone.  Also, under two stories of water was the academies heating and cooling plant.  We don't anticipate having heat or air conditioning until March or April.  If the Academy were in San Diego, this wouldn’t be a problem, but I know I am not looking forward to three feet of snow on the ground and no heat.  I’m a Californian and not used to the cold.  (I’m missing my Surf City!)

I have witnessed first hand the preparations, the event, and the aftermath of a serious hurricane.  I used the skills taught to me in CERT (and at the dinner table at home with my mother) and survived a serious hurricane.  Not only did I survive, I was prepared and helped out others, the true theme of CERT.  Although our sandbags did not hold, we did everything in our power to fight the rising water.  Sometimes mother-nature is just too powerful, and there is nothing that can be done.  We worked as a team to fight the water, now we're working as a team to repair the damage.  The United States Naval Academy will not be the same for months, if not years, but whenever a working party is needed, I’m always at the front of the line as CERT has taught me to be the team player and the community volunteer that I am.

Hurricane Isabel – September 2003

Ø      No food – 1 day (We ate MREs)

Ø      No water – 2 days

Ø      Days without electricity – 4 days

Ø      No hot water – 7 days 

Jeff Morrison is a senior at the U.S. Naval Academy and has been accepted in the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program.  Upon completion of that program, he will become a submariner.

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