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Description of Driving Event:

Early on Saturday, April 21, 2001, a pipe in the secondary water system failed in the basement of Building 8 at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The primary asset damaged by the resulting flood was the NASA photo archive, located immediately below the location where the pipe failed. It took 2 hours to isolate the secondary water system and several more hours for the system to drain through the failed pipe. As a result, much of the basement flooded to a depth of 1-2 inches. Personnel who were working in the building that morning were exposed to an electrocution hazard and had no protective equipment or proper training. No one in the clean-up or recovery crews was authorized to clear the building. Although floods are identified as a significant hazard/threat in the Goddard Emergency Management Plan, the emergency console had no guidance or preparation for dealing with the hazards presented by this flood.