As more than 13 historic inches of rain fell on Washington early this week, the waters rose and transportation on both road and rail ground to a halt. Highway, VRE, MARC, and Metro officials struggled to keep traffic moving as flooding, downed trees and debris, and even mudslides tried to thwart them. Unfortunately for commuters, their efforts did not always succeed. And as we all know, when Washington can't commute, Washington is not happy.

Photo by payal.jhaveri

As a flood of complaints filled inboxes at government agencies and piled up on blogs and chats, it became clear that commuters were not happy with the region's response to Deluge 2006. While most seemed understanding of the closed roads and Metro delays, an abundance of miscommunication was not so well tolerated.

Metro was singled out frequently for posting announcements on it's website that often were at odds with reality. According to posts on Get There, the Washington Post's commuter blog, WMATA's website was reporting 10-15 minute delays when they were actually running an hour or more. As one commenter stated:

"We can all agree there isn't anything that can contain a foot of water; stations close and trains have to move more slowly. But that doesn't excuse the complete breakdown in communication between [Metro] and the riders."

Metro Chief Dan Tangherlini told the Post he thought Metro did "pretty well" responding to the actual flooding, but agency officials would be working to upgrade communications systems for the future. Plans include an improved e-mail alert system, increased announcements both on WMATA's web site and in stations, and more prominent signs direct people to shuttle buses. Wednesday's Examiner quoted him as saying:

“What we’ve learned is there is never enough announcements we can make. The mix of rain and street closures created a recipe for frustration and we need to be sure people are aware of their options.”

Law enforcement officials shared in the criticism as well. According to a report from a DCist operative, confused drivers were lining up in the rain to ask directions as officers stayed warm and dry in their squad cars. Yesterday's Examiner confirmed that intersections such as 17th and Constitution were in utter chaos as police officers sat in their cruisers. D.C. Police Commander Diane Groomes told the paper that she had to "yell at officers to get out of their squad cars." As one reader put it on Get There:

"It would seem that out of the 30-some odd law enforcement agencies in the District that one of them could provide officers to direct traffic during rush hour. It's embarrassing and worrisome that they can't handle the after effects of a natural disaster such as this."

Many Washingtonians have wondered what this indicates about the city's ability to handle a more serious crisis. In response to criticism, Mayor Tony Williams said that the sheer number of D.C. commuters present a logistical nightmare in an emergency. “I can never promise people that we’re going to have a major flood and a major storm and traffic’s going to move fluidly, because it won’t,” he said.

We are not the first to point out that responding to a rain storm (even Deluge '06) should be easier than dealing with the "logistical nightmare" that would accompany a terrorist attack or a more serious natural event, such as a hurricane. However, the fact that it has been said before is no excuse for the Mayor's lame duck rationalization of sub-standard emergency prepardeness. Perhaps our next mayor will be a bit more forceful in demanding that our city is up to the task of successfully managing a crisis. In fact, you might consider asking the candidates yourself...

Adrian Fenty
Linda Cropp
Vincent Orange
Michael Brown
Marie Johns