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Mass. Maritime students run natural disaster scenario for town officials

A map, provided by the Hopkinton Fire Department, shows the simulated path of an EF2 tornado town officials had to respond to during a tabletop exercise last week.

Officials from across town departments gathered last week to participate in a tabletop exercise to test how Hopkinton would respond in the event of a natural disaster.

Members of the School Department, town staff, department heads and public safety officials met with students from Massachusetts Maritime Academy on May 1 to run through a tornado scenario designed with Hopkinton in mind.

Fire Chief Gary Daugherty said the scenario was developed in partnership with the Mass. Maritime students, who developed the exercise as part of a capstone project.

“We looked at a natural disaster that we could get all department heads involved in,” Daugherty explained.

The exercise simulated the touchdown of an EF2 tornado. Its path through town was designed to “hit a lot of infrastructure” and test things like maintaining water supply to residents and emergency radio redundancies, Daugherty explained.

Daugherty noted that the path of the simulated tornado intentionally was designed to have a significant impact town officials would have to respond to. However, he said the exercise was built around statistics to ensure it remained realistic.

“Overall, I think all the departments performed outstanding,” said Daugherty.

“How we ended also gives us room for future scenarios,” he added, noting there were areas the town could improve on in its disaster response. He said he’d love to see more work on long-term disaster response, and hopes to run more of these tabletop exercises every few years if possible.

Latest News

Students from Hopkinton High School have qualified to attend the Business Professionals of America Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida, this month.

HHS girls outdoor track and field looks to continue its 24-year dual meet winning streak thanks to the team’s depth and strong mix of newcomers and experienced leadership, according to coach Jean Cann.

This week’s Baypath Adoptable Animal is Rocky, a playful 2-year-old dog who loves playtime and has a lot of affection to give.

The latest Business Briefs covers renovations to the Boston Athletic Association office at One Ash Street and financial planner James Valis being named a member of the LPL Ambassador Council Program.

This week’s Business Profile highlights Peer Arboricultural Services, a company run by Hopkinton native Kevin Narbonne that relies on expert knowledge of local conditions and environments to install and maintain healthy, long-term landscapes.

Photo of the Day

A birdhouse sits in a wooded area behind the Legacy Farms housing development.

PHOTO/AMIT JAGDALE