Camden County EMA Drill: Microburst Hits Amphitheater

The Camden County Emergency Management Agency held its full-scale disaster drill Thursday afternoon at the Ozark Amphitheater.

The drill served as a continuation of the EMA’s recent tabletop which took into account a violent microburst with 80-plus mile-per-hour winds and torrential rainfall hitting the amphitheater with a packed house inside for a late-night concert.

The main goals of the drill, according to EMA Director Samantha Dale, were for the participating first responders to take care of any injured concert-goers, transporting those who needed further care at Lake Regional Hospital, reuniting concert-goers separated from their groups during the pandemonium, and dealing with the media which was represented by KRMS News.

Following the drill, participants representing several first responder agencies from around the region then took part in a hot-wash review of what went right and what went wrong for a final action report to be put together by the EMA.