By Bill Walsh
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Copyright 2006 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company
WASHINGTON — There still are serious gaps in Louisiana’s hurricane preparations, according to the Bush administration’s top homeland security official, who Monday urged Gov. Kathleen Blanco to plug them — and do it fast — as the busiest part of storm season approaches.
Secretary Michael Chertoff praised Louisiana for its 2006 hurricane preparations, especially given ongoing recovery operations from the devastation of last year. But in a nine-page letter that reads in part like a to-do list and in part like a business contract, Chertoff reminded Blanco that federal help would be contingent on the state taking additional critical steps in preparing for evacuations, sheltering victims, emergency communications, transportation and law enforcement.
He urged her to get the job done in 10 days.
Pre-emptive move
The letter appeared to be an effort to pre-empt the kinds of squabbles that occurred after Hurricane Katrina between state and federal authorities over who was in charge and, ultimately, who was responsible for the poor preparations that various investigations concluded contributed to the storm’s death toll.
“The secretary wanted to make certain that there are very clear roles and responsibilities outlined, expectations are understood and ultimately leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind what the capabilities are at every level,” said Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.
Col. Jeff Smith, the governor’s director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparation, defended the state’s preparation for this hurricane season. “There’s no question that plans can always be improved upon and coordinated,” Smith said. “This letter is just another step along that journey.”
In the parlance of hurricane preparedness, Chertoff made clear in the letter that the federal government is “leaning forward” to assist Louisiana this hurricane season, something it was accused of failing to do last year. He said the federal government has prestaged an unprecedented amount of emergency supplies throughout the region, has mobile homes ready to go, a registry of more than 250 debris-removal contractors and mobile communications units standing by.
Evacuation needs
Estimating than 96,000 people wouldn’t be able to evacuate from South Louisiana on their own, he said the federal government has inked contracts to get up to 80,000 out by bus, 46,000 by air and 15,000 by passenger rail.
He warned, though, that it is up to state and local officials to get evacuees to pickup points where federal transportation will have their engines running. He urged Blanco, along with the 11 parish presidents and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin who were sent copies of the letter, to provide a list of pickup spots by July 26.
He likewise gave the state until July 26 to identify 75,000 shelter beds within Louisiana.
“We have taken extraordinary steps to make arrangements with other states on your behalf to shelter those individuals,” Chertoff wrote. “However, we cannot fairly ask other states to assume sheltering Louisiana evacuees until Louisiana itself has exhausted its internal resources.”
In the next 10 days, he said, the state should come up with a list of special-needs medical patients who will need to be evacuated and sheltered in a hurricane. He said the state “must use its legal authority” to assess whether hospitals can shelter patients in a hurricane, review evacuation plans for nursing homes and make sure enough ambulances will be standing by.
Deputization plan
To avoid any confusion over law enforcement, Chertoff urged Blanco to work with his hand-picked federal coordinating officer, Gil Jamieson, to develop a deputization plan for federal officials who would be deployed to Louisiana to keep order after a storm.
Blanco has already told the federal government that she will need a hand in evacuating people if another major storm should hit. Chertoff said he is ready, but state and local officials have to order evacuations quickly to give the feds enough time to step in. He suggested a series of meetings leading up to a major storm to coordinate evacuation strategies.
“We are prepared to provide that support,” he said. “But we cannot do so effectively without your close cooperation and assistance.”