Comment on the appropriateness of using project management for managing disaster recovery efforts such as this.

Early in the morning of April 13, 1992, basements in Chicago’s downtown central business district began to flood. A hole the size of an automobile had developed between the Chicago River and an adjacent abandoned tunnel. The tunnel, built in the early 1900s for transporting coal, runs throughout the downtown area. When the tunnel flooded, so did the basements of buildings adjacent to it, some 272 in all, including that of major retailer Marshall Field’s. The problem was first noted at 5:30 a.m. when a member of Marshall Field’s trouble desk saw water pouring into the basement. He notified the manager of maintenance, who immediately contacted the Chicago Fire and Water Departments and Marshall Field’s parent company, Dayton Hudson, in Minneapolis. Electricity—and with it all elevator, computer, communication, and security services for the 15-story building—would soon be lost. The building was evacuated and elevators were moved above basement levels. A command post was set up and a team formed from various departments such as facilities; security; human resources; public relations; and financial, legal, insurance, and support services. Later that day, members of Dayton Hudson’s risk management group arrived from Minneapolis to take over coordinating the team’s efforts. The team’s goal was to ensure the safety of employees and customers, minimize flood damage, and resume normal operations as soon as possible. They hoped to reopen the store to customers in a week.