Historical Incidents

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Responds to World Trade Center Attack

Sept. 24, 2001

Source FEMA

New York, September 21, 2001 -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency has issued two missions to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in response to the attack on the World Trade Center. The Corps' progress to date: Structural Integrity Structural engineering teams on request from the City of New York continue to survey buildings and structures in the area so the city can assure the safety of search, rescue and debris-removal operations in and around the affected areas. The Corps, as part of the federal team working with the city, is uniquely qualified to determine a structure's immediate safety as well as taking direct action to increase safety during rescue and recovery efforts. The Corps' support of the urban search and rescue mission is being scaled down, and it is anticipated that the mission will be completed by the end of the week. Debris Removal The Corps is continuing to develop a debris operations plan for the City of New York. It is anticipated that the plan will be completed today. Corps experts will be assisting the city with contractor operations. The Corps is also performing efficiency analyses to determine ways to streamline the removal and disposal process. Effort has begun for the eventual disengagement of Corps land surveyors. Work is continuing on the potential improvement of a harbor facility for debris-removal barges. Debris and building-clearing estimates are being prepared. The current city estimate of debris is 900,000 tons. The city has requested verification of this estimate.