By Jim Ritchie
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
HIGHLAND PARK, Pa. — Glenn Cannon has been preparing for the next Hurricane Katrina for more than two years.
So when then-Category 4 Hurricane Gustav barreled toward still-rebuilding New Orleans, FEMA set into motion an emergency plan that Cannon helped develop.
President Bush tapped Cannon, 60, of Highland Park in June 2006 to be FEMA’s assistant administrator for disaster operations. That puts Cannon in charge of ensuring FEMA adequately helps victims of major U.S. disasters, including when the next Hurricane Katrina hits the U.S.
At first, many thought that hurricane was Gustav, which headed last week for New Orleans, virtually destroyed by Katrina in 2005.
“I think our preparedness was outstanding, but the proof of that is we moved 2 million people out in 48 hours,” Cannon said. “That kind of evacuation is not something you do on the fly. It’s actually something that was the result of 2 1/2 years of planning.”
Other storms are presenting challenges. Tropical Storm Hanna, which made landfall as a hurricane in the Carolinas last week, worked its way Saturday from eastern Pennsylvania north to New England, dropping 3 to 5 inches on Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Tracking behind it, Hurricane Ike increased to a Category 4 storm and threatened to strike first at the low-lying Turks and Caicos islands before heading toward Cuba and possibly southern Florida.
Katrina killed about 1,700 people in the New Orleans region. As victims waited for help — some without water, food or shelter — some died from thirst and exhaustion. With those memories still fresh, FEMA’s response to Gustav included many elements:
• Residents were evacuated from the New Orleans region and parts of Texas and Alabama. Evacuees were screened at a pre-established airport checkpoint before boarding planes and flying to nearby states.
• About 600 extra ambulances drove into the region, and special aircraft were deployed to evacuate critically ill patients — all prearranged.
• Rescue divers and search experts were dispatched to areas near New Orleans in advance of the storm’s arrival.
Maybe the most important change is FEMA’s “gap analysis,” a data-gathering process Cannon implemented that pinpointed the shortcomings of each hurricane state. Now FEMA knows exactly what help it must provide to an area hit by a severe storm. It used that analysis to plan for Hurricane Gustav.
“As this storm was approaching, we didn’t have to run around and find out what they needed,” Cannon said. “We already knew.”
Those changes, especially the gap analysis, have helped transform the beleaguered agency, said U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair.
“He made some major changes,” Murphy said. “He determined how to assess what is needed and what is already out there and what the gap is. That’s what Glenn brought to FEMA that we never had before.
“FEMA’s role before was a passive one. Glenn Cannon has been the key person in making it active. That has made all the difference.”
Glenn Cannon was the county’s manager from 1996 to 2001. He also has served as director of the county’s Emergency Management and Public Safety departments, ran the Division of the State Fire Marshall in Florida, and oversaw Pittsburgh’s Emergency Medical Services and Public Safety departments.
Gustav hit land weakened and did not inflict the severe damage of Katrina, but FEMA’s efforts continue in the Gulf Coast region. As more tropical storms head for the U.S., not all officials are willing to endorse FEMA’s response.
“Since New Orleans, residents still have not returned to their homes, and we don’t have a full assessment from other areas, it is too early to fully evaluate FEMA’s response to the hurricane,” said U.S. Sen. Robert Casey Jr. “Gustav was not the same type of storm as Katrina, but one would certainly hope that FEMA learned from their pathetic response to Hurricane Katrina.”
FEMA has been reorganized seven times since 2000. Even when Cannon arrived in 2006, the agency had problems.
“FEMA was just so bound by cultural impediments, it had a very tough time moving,” he said. “There’s no time for that now. Our mission is to save lives, reduce suffering and, when possible, save property.
“What I tell people here is, ‘If it helps somebody, and it’s not illegal, I want you to do it.’ ”