'Disaster City' Trains Rescuers for Real-Life Catastrophes

Disasters happen. Being prepared is almost always the ideal, but rarely the reality. A disaster training facility in Texas is trying to change that.

1 minute read

August 3, 2009, 9:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


Known as Disaster City, this 52-acre site simulates what it's like for rescue workers responding to disaster situations in urban areas.

"Disaster City isn't a city but a vast disaster-simulation center designed to look and feel as close to catastrophe as you ever want to be. Each hairline crack, each mangled car, all the mountains of rubble are modeled on wreckage from real disasters, like the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles that killed 72 people and injured nearly 12,000. The 1993 World Trade Center bombing inspired the collapsed parking garage, with cars dangling off the sides like spiders from a ceiling, while the 12-foot-deep rubble catacombs resemble those from Ground Zero."

Friday, July 31, 2009 in Popular Science

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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