General information index. Also see
current mitigation measures
The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act -1996 defines weapons
of mass destruction as "any weapon or device that is intended, or has the
capability, to cause death or serious bodily injury to a significant number
of people through the release, dissemination, or impact of -- (A) toxic or
poisonous chemicals or their precursors; (B) a disease organism; or (C)
radiation or radioactivity." President Clinton’s Executive Order
12938 -- entitled "Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction" --
of November 14, 1994 also defines weapons of mass destruction to be
"nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons." (NBC)
The
first recorded use of biological agents was by the Romans, using dead
animals to foul the water supply of their enemies.
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The
modern history of biological warfare starts in 1918 with the Japanese
formation of a special section of the Japanese Army (Unit 731) dedicated to
biological weapons. The thought at the time was "Science and technology are
the keys to winning the war and biological weaponry is the most cost
effective." The
U.S. program of biological warfare started in 1942.
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Biological and chemical warfare and the use of chemical and biological
weapons is now expressly forbidden by United Nations treaty. Recent events
in our country have made us re-examine the realistic threat to all
communities.
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Direct attacks such
as the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah building was an act of domestic
terrorism. The attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 were acts of
international terrorism. Attacks can take many forms. They are all designed
to literally terrorize citizens.
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While Alexander
County has not been effected, to date by direct attacks, there have been
events linked to domestic and international terrorism. Such is the case of a
young lady who observed suspicious activity in a parking lot and called law
enforcement. According to some reports, when the incident was examined it
was found to have implications of terrorist activity.
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An examination of
approximately 50% of critical facilities for weaknesses and potential attack
was conducted in May, 2003, by an experienced, retired law enforcement
officer. While this was an informal examination it revealed that many
critical facilities were
vulnerable to direct attack. No recommendations are included in the
development of this portion of the mitigation plan and an in depth analysis
would have to be performed. What it did reveal was the potential. It should
be emphasized that no structure is 100% secure and that all citizens and all
areas are subject to the effects of terrorism even if the event does not
occur in Alexander County. Numerous local citizens were traumatized
by the events at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania on
September 11, 2001. The incident with anthrax being sent through the mail in
other parts of the country had citizens in Alexander County so concerned,
many would not open their mail and dozens of cases of suspicious white
powder were reported and responded to by local emergency responders. No
positive results for anthrax contamination have been found in Alexander
County.
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There is no known
method or model to project physical and economic losses in a terrorism
event. However, if all critical facilities in the county were destroyed in a
worst case scenario or rendered unsafe, losses can be generally calculated
as below.
Table TA1
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| Structural Damage |
$109,404,246 |
| Non - structural
(i.e. power distribution systems, etc.) |
$9,000,000 |
| Contents |
$4,550,000 |
| Lost inventory |
$3,930,000 |
| Relocation losses
(cost of relocating to temporary facilities) |
$69,564,000 |
| Capital losses |
unknown |
| Wages lost (60 day
period) |
$3,984,000 |
| Retail income losses |
unknown |
| Total Potential
Losses |
$200,432,246 |
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Source NCDC
EDIS - HAZUS - Alexander County Tax Department. Losses based on 100%
property valuation and calculated at 1% total loss |
