Atlanta tornado discussion

[ChrisH]

The first thing that has to happen is that structural and HVAC engineers among others need to assess the damage and how long it will take to fix. They can then consult with the GWCC management to see which events must be canceled or sent elsewhere. That will take until Monday at the earliest to get good numbers and information on lead times. It might actually take a few more days than that.

Meanwhile FIRST HQ will be scrambling to find potential alternate sites. But many sites are booked months in advance and there will be significant logistical issues involved with going to a new location. Even if they find a site they won't announce it until the contract has been signed and that will probably take at least a week to negotiate.


Bottom line I wouldn't even expect an announcement until Tuesday and more likely Tuesday the 25th. I know everybody will be anxious until then but sometimes you just can't rush things.

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

There are a few threads regarding this topic in CD.
This is a post that KTorak has taken the time to post in the different threads.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...9&postcount=22

btw, thank you Kyle, for posting the info.
Jane

[artdutra04]

As many would understandably know, the situation in Atlanta is a pressing issue for FIRST and the many FRC, FTC, FLL, and JFLL teams attending. And there are a lot of people currently following the situation closely.

However, there are five current threads on this topic, including this one.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=65863
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=65860
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=65861
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=65892

Can a moderator please merge all five of these threads into a single thread, to make it easier for everyone to keep track of any and all updates to the situation in Atlanta?

Thanks!

[Uberbots]

Originally Posted by ChrisH

The first thing that has to happen is that structural and HVAC engineers among others need to assess the damage and how long it will take to fix. They can then consult with the GWCC management to see which events must be canceled or sent elsewhere. That will take until Monday at the earliest to get good numbers and information on lead times. It might actually take a few more days than that.

Meanwhile FIRST HQ will be scrambling to find potential alternate sites. But many sites are booked months in advance and there will be significant logistical issues involved with going to a new location. Even if they find a site they won't announce it until the contract has been signed and that will probably take at least a week to negotiate.


Bottom line I wouldn't even expect an announcement until Tuesday and more likely Tuesday the 25th. I know everybody will be anxious until then but sometimes you just can't rush things.

more than likely the event will still be held at the georgia dome/GWCC C.
The repairs there couldnt take more than a couple of weeks, considering the importance of these 2 buildings to the city.

[feliks_rosenber]

I was wondering, is that an unprecedented incident ?
Does anyone know anything about it ?

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by feliks_rosenber

I was wondering, is that an unprecedented incident ?
Does anyone know anything about it ?

Don't remember which article I read it in, but it is supposedly the first recorded tornado to strike downtown Atlanta.

[laultima]

Originally Posted by Vikesrock

Don't remember which article I read it in, but it is supposedly the first recorded tornado to strike downtown Atlanta.

It was in the caption to this picture, posted by dangerousdave.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/30998?

[Aidan F. Browne]

Official status is being posted here:

http://www.gwcc.com

and here:

http://www.gadome.com

[dangerousdave]

Here is an update to venues in downtown Atlanta that we are hearing about on our drive into work today (Monday morning).

• Nobody was killed downtown however, 2 people died in other GA counties. Had the SEC Basketball Tournament not gone to overtime, many more thousands of people would have been outside when the tornado hit
• The GA Dome (competition venue) is working to get the building ready for Easter Sunday services which can hopefully be held
• The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) has canceled or postponed events through the end of March. For those that do not know, this is where the "pits" are located each year
• Exhibitors that had displays in the GWCC during the storm have still not been allowed back into the building to break down their displays
• IMHO, the GWCC buildings will be the only venue that MAY not be ready for the Championship event. Again, I stress MAY not be ready. These buildings bring in millions of dollars in trade shows etc
• CNN Center food court is open today
• The GA Aquarium and World of Coke are open
• Approximately $200+ million in damage to downtown Atlanta
• People are being encouraged to stay out of the downtown area if they do not work in that area. In other words, gawkers stay home
• A few downtown streets are closed due to glass that may still may fall from buildings that have not been boarded up or had the glass replaced
• Downtown hotels are open with a small number of rooms damaged after the windows were blown out

Moderators, I second the motion to combining the threads if possible on the Atlanta Tornado so there can be a centralized thread for info. There are at least 4 in the General, Championship & Extra Discussion forums.

Dave

[Ken Streeter]

FIRST has updated their home page with a new announcement as of 2pm on 3/17, essentially saying to "stay tuned for more info" as they figure out what the impact of the natural disaster will be upon the Championship Event.

The direct link to the FIRST page with the announcement is http://www.usfirst.org/who/content.aspx?id=8626

Quoted below for convenience:

Atlanta Storm Damage

TO: The FIRST Community
RE: FIRST Championship

This weekend, the Atlanta area was struck by severe weather including a tornado in the downtown area. As a result, two people were killed and significant damage was done throughout the area. FIRST would like to extend our sympathy to the families of those who have suffered the effects of the storm, as well as the officials involved in the recovery effort.

Also, as a result of the storm damage, weekend events at the Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, and the Georgia World Congress Center were disrupted. We are currently working with officials at the Georgia Dome, Georgia World Congress Center, and the City of Atlanta to assess what impact this might have on the FIRST Championship scheduled for April 17-19.

We will provide information to the FIRST community as soon as it is available.

Updates will be posted here.

[Kims Robot]

Im sure FIRST HQ has been incredibly busy (and anxious for any decisions), and its great that they plan to keep us up to date...

But I had a thought... have any of the mentors, senior mentors, or anyone checked into if there is anything we as FIRST teams can do? Many of us have flights booked down Wednesday morning or leave late Sunday or monday, and could easily spend a bunch of our free time helping cleanup, do rebuilding, or whatever they need volunteer efforts at. With probably the largest organization of technical people, and volunteering students that will descend upon Atlanta, I have to believe there is something we can do to help

I'd be willing to make some contacts, but I really dont know who I would talk to, I thought maybe some of the senior mentors might have more of an "In" as to what is going on or who we might talk to without bugging people.

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

With probably the largest organization of technical people, and volunteering students that will descend upon Atlanta, I have to believe there is something we can do to help

The hard part about this is managing the people who would help to ensure the volunteer work is done correctly. Perhaps we can ask FIRST if they could figure out some way that FIRST can manage our efforts in conjunction with GWCC personel. As a start, we could rotate in shifts of volunteers in small groups from teams with the caveat that at least one mentor from the team a student is on accompanies the student (liability here). FIRST volunteers would only be allowed to do small tasks. While we may be capable of doing the hard, technical, and skill crafts, it is not us who signs the dotted line saying the work is performed professionally...so more than likely any actual rebuilding will still have to be done via contracts.

This may be stretching it, but it is one way to allow us to volunteer for the GWCC while the championships are going on.

[Kims Robot]

Yeah, I wasnt really talking about building new buildings or replacing windows or anything, I was more thinking on the lines of cleaning up debris (if any is still left) or replanting flowerbeds. Plus if there are skilled laborers (I know many engineers and parents that volunteer for Habitat or other things as skilled labor) then they could offer to help with any rebuilding. I just dont know what is needed or what opportunities are out there, and thats more what I was getting at. I think organizations like the Red Cross and the National Guard or FEMA have the people to manage the efforts needed, often they just need bodies to hand out food, clean up debris, etc.

[KTorak]

Well, the Westin emailed me back again and said they will be full operational in 3 weeks or less.

[dangerousdave]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

....But I had a thought... have any of the mentors, senior mentors, or anyone checked into if there is anything we as FIRST teams can do? Many of us have flights booked down Wednesday morning or leave late Sunday or monday, and could easily spend a bunch of our free time helping cleanup, do rebuilding, or whatever they need volunteer efforts at. With probably the largest organization of technical people, and volunteering students that will descend upon Atlanta, I have to believe there is something we can do to help....

I think you have a great heart and this is a good suggestion.

What I state here is strictly my opinion and I do not have contacts in the building field.

My guess is that by the time that the first "First" people arrive around April 16th, the majority of the major venues & hotels downtown will be back operating "almost" normally. Perhaps the one exception to that will be the Georgia World Congress Center. I don't think that the insurance industry or contractors will allow students to work on or around the major buildings.

What might be needed is to help clean up and provide basic work on low income homes that were destroyed in the storm. It appears that there were at least 50 Atlanta homes damaged in the storm. One problem might be transportation to those areas although they are not too far from the First venues.

Some residential areas that were hard hit are Cabbagetown & Vine City. Right now on the local news, we are watching a group of teenagers from Kansas City, Kansas, here for another reason, helping to clean up what is left of people's homes.

It is nice to hear about the young people helping out and offering to help out.

Dave

[Uberbots]

Our head mentor contacted first, inquiring what was going to happen in light of the tornados.

FIRST essentially said to them that the event is being held in the Georgia Dome no matter what, even if we have to have tents covering the pit area (unlikely, but a possibility looking at the state of GWCCC)