TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 7 p.m. — It might be the worst terrorist attack in American history. But it had yet to register as high as a hurricane, blizzard, or flood on the Richter scale of emergencies in Massachusetts.

By the end of the day — after all that had unfolded in New York and Washington, DC — the 50 federal and state officials who gathered at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Association (MEMA) underground bunker, in Framingham, assessed the state of the state: " It’s not like it’s a scary thing, " Peter Judge of MEMA said. No specific threats had been made. No major thoroughfares had been closed. " It’s a heads-up situation. Nothing else. "

Officially, MEMA declared a " level two " alert for the Bay State — on a scale of one to four. The last level-two alarm in Massachusetts occurred just months ago, in March, when many communities got waylaid by floods. On Tuesday, Governor Jane Swift and her top staff descended into their bunker to hash out a public-safety response to this emergency. Representatives of everything from the Red Cross and Salvation Army to the Department of Public Health had arrived. Volunteers were hunched over phones. Men in fatigues were roaming the halls. Yet it wasn’t Code Red. " Our eyes and ears are open, " Judge said, " but we’re not calling for mass activation. "

This is not to say that precautions weren’t taken, of course. Throughout Massachusetts, federal, state, and city employees were sent home. Boston and state police activated a " stage one " alert, as did the Air National Guard. An elite search-and-rescue team in Beverly shipped out to the World Trade Center in Manhattan to sift through rubble. And two F-15 fighter planes were enlisted from Otis Air Force Base, on the Cape, to manage New York’s air space.

Yet the mood at the bunker was forlorn, not fearful. Earlier in the afternoon, at a scheduled press briefing, Swift offered up her " deepest sympathies " to the victims’ families: " I join with all Americans in being shocked and saddened by the incredible, vicious, awful events today. " And she reassured residents that things in this state were okay. " I want families to know that all agencies are working diligently, " she said. " We will take prudent and necessary steps to protect residents. "

The attack might not have rocked the MEMA alert. But we still felt the storm.

For More Phoenix Coverage Click Here

Issue Date: September 11, 2001