Coping with chaos
Rappahannock resident Cliff Mumm, one of the world’s foremost disaster rebuilding experts, will be the Second Friday speaker Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. at the Rappahannock County Library.
Mumm was in charge of the World Trade Center cleanup after 9/11, rebuilding Iraq after the Gulf War, and coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, all immense and risky undertakings. In Iraq, following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, 52 people working for Mumm were killed.
He spent three decades as a top official of the
engineering giant Bechtel, specializing in mega-projects around the globe: the subway in London with the Olympic games looming, the Channel Tunnel linking England and France, and the aftermaths of natural and manmade disasters.
“I’m not that interested in managing a company,” Mumm once told an interviewer. “What I just love is the mess and complexity that comes with big projects.”
Mumm is described as a master storyteller who has coped up close with chaos. Come hear his behind-thescenes tales of life in the breakdown lane. His talk is free, and all are welcome.