01
Identify occupants who cannot follow a standard evacuation plan.
HEALTHCARE • TORNADO • CONTINUITY
Hospital Tornado Risk: When Evacuation Is Not Simple
A hospital example showing why risk assessments must account for people who cannot simply evacuate when a threat appears.
REAL-WORLD LESSON
Risk is rarely isolated.
The ebook describes a premature-infant ICU at Sparrow Hospital where some incubators could not be unplugged and moved without creating additional risk, while hallway electrical capacity was also limited. The lesson is classic resilience planning: the safest response on paper may not be operationally possible.
This case is presented as a risk-assessment lesson drawn from Michael Fjetland's Houses of Straw, Houses of Wood. The consulting objective is not to prescribe a particular product. It is to identify the weak link, understand the consequences of failure, compare practical mitigation choices and help leadership prioritize action.
WHAT THIS CASE TEACHES
Four questions for leadership
02
Map critical equipment and utility dependencies before an emergency.
03
Test whether alternate locations actually support essential equipment.
04
Build mitigation around operational reality, not assumptions.
FROM LESSONS TO ACTION