Last week's terrorist attacks in the United States have exposed the vulnerability of the US capital and the fact it was totally unprepared to deal with the unprecented crisis.
This is all the more frightening as experts fear terrorists may again target the city, seen as a symbol of US might.
Authorities have in the past explicitly mentioned the possibility of a biological or chemical attack on official buildings, the metro system or museums.
In July authorities conducted a simulation exercise in key points of the city. But terror apparently struck even as they were still drawing up plans for such a contingency.
The September 11 airborne attacks took authorities by surprise. Minutes after a hijacked Boeing 767 crashed into the Pentagon, just outside Washington, telephone systems collapsed, metro stations were taken by storm and massive traffic jams choked the city.
To make matters worse, the city's emergency televison system, meant to convey public announcements at times of crisis, remained mute. Municipal employees received their evacuation order by e-mail
Lack of official information set off panic-causing rumors of an explosion near the White House, a car bomb at the State Department, an attack on the Capitol, and even a massive fire spreading across the city.
The Washington Post said police learned from the media that 180,000 government employees were told to go home.
"Clearly, from what we've seen from this unprecedented attack, we need a higher level of preparedness," Mayor Anthony Williams told the daily.
Even the capital's 3,800 police officers and their commanders were seen as being slow to respond to the emergency.
The situation has caused widespread alarm within the various municipal departments.
One day after the tragedy, it became clear that hospitals did not have enough beds or personnel to deal with a major crisis.
Authorities are now scrambling to set things right and have notably given satellite telephones to top city officials, police and hospitals.
Last week's terrorist attacks are believed to have killed more than 5,000 people.
New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said 180 bodies had been retrieved from the rubble of the World Trade Center's twin towers, but that another 5,097 people were missing.
A further 124 people were missing and presumed dead at the Pentagon, while 265 people aboard four hijacked planes were killed.
Two planes slammed into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and another crashed in western Pennsylvania -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
