By: Daiyu Tang
Dear reader, it seems that across the City of Hathian there is a new phenomena. No, it’s not the undeniable awfulness of flooded streets, nor is it the emerging business ‘acumen’ such as the discount vouchers being offered by the Starlust Motel if Ruth took everything from you. These damages and the sometimes weird nature of the ‘after‘ are par for the course for this city.
No the phenomena I’m talking about is ‘It was meant to be‘. Normally in this city, many are not shy of their activities. Some, such as Tori actively proclaim and laud their own misdeeds as some kind of symbol of their prowess. Some hide their activities, but usually these are of criminal nature and confined to the darkness. It’s rare that public spectacle draws down the curtains of responsibility as fast as it has done with the Hathian Theatre collapse.
My dears, just so you know I’ve had four years now to study this City and equally as important actually study journalism as a discipline and field. While Hathian makes it somewhat unique, it is no more challenging here than for Journalists around the world in war zones or other countries where the rule of law and order is weak at best. In some ways it might even be better; the HPD don’t have drones for a start and gangs don’t have their own media setup.
As to weather? Even in this country we are not immune to the cycle of violence the weather can cause. Whether it is an earthquake, flood, wild fire or worse. We suffer, survive if we’re lucky and then soldier on. However in Hathian it appears sorely tested as to when it happens whether we also solicit, study and strengthen afterwards.
- We solicit what we could have done better, obtaining feedback about our actions and results and where they could improve
- We study the past as a guide to the future. Learning and growing so that problems that happen don’t happen again
- We strengthen ourselves for the future through new rules, laws or ideas. Things that protect us for the ‘next one’
We also hold to account.
‘Act of God’ is Never Enough
The Hathian Theatre stands in ruins with lives lost amid the collapse and an eerie silence now that drifts over both the site and also the idea that something or someone(s) might be to blame, partially or fully from this disaster.
No, dear reader you caught me. I tell a little lie… One you might have seen play out on social media. There is no silence. There is actually a full-throated defence of everyone and everything that happened.
‘We choose the best in the circumstances’
‘There was nothing to suggest the Theatre had issues’
‘It was an act of God’
‘Stop trying to find fault and just accept it happened’
There’s buckets more. It’s I think entirely fair to say that the FDH in particular and subsequently the HGH staff had no interest in understanding the nuanced point that mistakes could have been made and that decisions made, hopefully in good faith, may still turn out to have been based on faulty premise, or missing information. Any good disaster inquiry then spends time finding out those answers. It takes years sometime… and in Hathian that time is often not a luxury we have due to the impending flood of more trauma that the City throws on us.
Still. It’s never right to say ‘It’s Over’ and I’m pretty sure that you, you want me to find out if Mayor Boxer snaffled funds, or if the periodic building checks weren’t done, or if some decision was made on false facts, or if some people could have done something differently.
I’m not here to investigate the rescue and life saving. I’m here, for you, to prevent a tragedy happening again, prevent any cover-ups and ensure lessons are learned and if blame exists, to find it and drag it out into the light.
You and I live in a city where we know that getting permits, doing our job, interacting with our public officials can run the gamut of ‘normal’ to ‘pay me a bribe’ to ‘fuck you, with an added sprinkling of gunshot’. This isn’t a problem unique to any one business or official. In fact the responses vary to such an extent that one of the things we all know is that you better pack for any contingency as your daily coffee might turn out to be an A&E trip or a chance to enrich yourself beyond measure. Hathian right?
So let me cut to the chase. Some questions. No full answers yet, but definitely a whole lot of deflect, deny and dismiss. Good thing I’m a journalist and like difficult D’s.
Deflect / Deny / Dismiss
If ‘undermine credibility’ was a ‘D’ it would also fit in there. Perhaps ‘Diminish’ could, but the fact I don’t feel diminished and just strengthened by this to do right… Ok, so here we go readers, in plain English so we can all start on the same page.
The Starting Fact: Flooding at the HGH meant a decision was made to evacuate medical care to the Hathian Theatre in the centre of town which was a designated shelter. During the storm, the roof of the theatre collapsed, killing and injuring people.
HGH Facts: A new build, perched on the bluff above the amusement pier and built higher than some other buildings flooded, apparently including the basement and some part of the ground floor. The HGH’s administrator issued a public notice that an evacuation was taken place to the Theatre. This information was widely reported, including by this newspaper to aid in public safety
Theatre Facts: An old building in the centre of town that has seen better days and is often not in use for long periods was designated as the shelter. Built, apparently, of reinforced concrete for the main, it suffered a ceiling collapse sometime during the storm.
So now we get to the nub of it – questions that will surely come out over time and which I will also surely report here, for you.
- The decision to evacuate the HGH. Who. Why. These appear simple. However, with the HGH flooding and other buildings not suffering the same extent of damage, a question turns to – could the tragedy have been prevented if the HGH had been built better, flood managed better or were there any technical or other issues with the design or equipment that contributed? The suggestion of course being that if evacuation was only needed due to fault, then those faults are a direct cause of the disaster
- The decision to use the Theatre. Why. It’s central and relatively large. There are larger in the business district. There’s the FDH, there’s the HPD. The questions therefore turn to – who made the decision, on what evidence? What risk assessment was done? What co-ordination with others happened, for example the mayor’s office, HPD or elsewhere to ascertain it was the best decision? The suggestion of course being that it the decision was rushed, or was based on incomplete risk assessment, or based on inter-public rivalry (and God knows that exists) was it the right one?
- The Collapse of the Theatre. Why. Clearly an old building, built of concrete can survive for a very long time with appropriate care. The questions therefore turn to – what care had the building received? What was the maintenance and inspection schedule? Is there evidence it was followed? During construction was it built to specification? Were the materials the ones ordered? Did anything change (for any reason) that made the building weaker than it should otherwise have been? The suggestion of course being that if evacuation was required and if the Theatre was the best choice based on available information then was that choice supported by the investment and support the building needed to have the best chance during the storm?
As you can see my dears. It doesn’t need argument or invective to follow this logic. It doesn’t need denial or dismissing. It’s simple. Did we need to evacuate? If we did, did we choose the right place? If we did, then was that place properly maintained to provide the best protection?
I feel… somewhere along this line that we’ll find some improvements. Now, it’s far too early to fully conclude but I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know I’ve done my part. The photos of significant plant penetration of the Theatre roof and apparent rust spotting to the rebar… was there water damage already present due to plant growth breaking up the concrete? It’s too soon to say. But at least, with point three there are open questions. I’ve sent these to the lab and we’ll see what we get back. We’ve tested Gein before, now it’s time to test steel and plants and concrete.
Of course, if you wish to jump on your preferred band wagon now. Who or what is to blame, whether God or otherwise. That’s your prerogative, but what I’ve seen the last day or so is the same Hathian that you and I all know and it smells. Somewhere it smells bad. So we’ll follow the money and the lab results. We hope that the city launches a proper inquiry and that it’s multi-agency and funded. We shouldn’t allow this to repeat and I’m afraid, despite for example the FDH saying they’ll do a post incident review, it’s not clear to me… who is responsible for what and how will everyone work together to protect us.
You know we’re on your side my dears at the Observer, so please do ask what you need to ask and help us to help you stay safe. We’ll bring you comments from the Mayor, or FDH or HGH or HPD as they come in and if they, like the HGH recently choose to manage their own ‘PR’ that’s fine as well. We know who does investigative work and we know who does public relations. You know what the city needs.
