The Agnes Floods. A Post-Audit of the Effectiveness of the Storm and Flood Warning System of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

摘要

Hurricane Agnes, which battered the eastern seaboard of the United States for four days in June 1972, was an unruly storm which put to severe test the capabilities and skills of the Nation's weather and flood warning system. The Panel finds that: The overall performance of the Nation's weather and flood warning system during tropical storm Agnes can be rated as good. Though effectiveness was not uniform in all affected parts of the country, human performance must be credited with preventing critical system strains from turning into disaster. The benefit of hindsight points to some flaws and gaps in system capabilities of NOAA's storm prediction and flood data-gathering and warning system, to more serious deficiencies in the National capabilities for disseminating warnings and for anticipating public response to warnings, and to the inevitability of increased damages with inadequately regulated use of the flood plain.