Today, Austin began the first exercises of Urban Shield, a full-scale regional preparedness training.
Over the next forty hours, Central Texas public safety agencies will assess the region's ability to successfully respond to and manage multiple terrorist events and emergencies throughout Travis, Hays and Williamson Counties. It’s a massive event with over a dozen scenarios; earlier this month, the City of Austin was looking for 1,000 volunteer “victims” to take part in the demonstrations.
This morning, members of the Austin Fire Department took part in the first exercise: rescue from a collapsed parking garage. Other demonstration events this weekend include response to “active shooter” situations, search and rescue missions, and “mass decontamination response training.”
Photographer Filipa Rodrigues was at this morning’s training scenario, held at the Govalle Waste Water Treatment Plant in southeast Austin. View her photos below, in a slideshow powered by the KUT News Flickr page.
