Jun. 17, 2006 - 19:50 MDT

BOTH COUNTS

Time and fumbling around are not helping our country a bit. There is an article in this morning's Rocky Mountain News by Lara Jakes Jordan of the Associated Press dealing with one aspect of things of that nature. Herein quoted in full:

FEDS SEE DISASTERS IN EMERGENCY-PLAN RATINGS

WASHINGTON -- "New Orleans is still woefully unprepared for catastrophes 10 months after Hurrican Katrina, and the two cities targeted by the Sept. 11 attacks don't meet all guidelines for responding to major disasters, a federal security analysis concluded Friday."

"Only 10 states were rated by the Homeland Security Department as having sufficient plans to respond to disasters."

"Florida, accustomed to being whipped by hurricanes, was the only state to meet all of the department's basic requirements for planning for catastrophes. Response plans for Louisiana, still devastated from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, were deemed insufficient to manage huge emergencies."

"The shortcomings in emergency planning, including antiquated and uncoordinated response guidelines, are cause "for significant national concern," Homeland Security concluded."

"President Bush ordered the review of state and city emergency plans in a visit to New Orleans on Sept. 15, weeks after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city. The report analyzes response and evacuation procedures for all 50 states, the nation's 75 largest cities and six U.S. territories."

"The analysis rates each state and city on plans for evacuations, medical care, sheltering of victims, public alerts and other emergency priorities."

"More than half of New Orleans plans -- 58 percent -- were described as insufficient for catastrophes, and only 4 percent met the minimum federal guidelines."

"New York and Washington, al-Qaida's targets on Sept. 11, 2001, received lukewarm ratings. Seventy-one percent of New York's emergency plans were described as partially sufficient and 2 percent insufficient."

"Despite spending $18 billion in Homeland Security grants to spur local preparedness since Sept. 11, "very little of it has gone to planning, training and exercise," Department Undersecretary George Foreman said."

"The report found that the 18 hurricane prone states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts -- from Maine to Texas -- appeared to be better prepared for disasters than the rest of the country.

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Not mentioned in the article is infrastructure. In my state communication systems, in many cases, are not compatible thus making it impossible to exchange information quickly and in some instances totally impossible by any other means than trying to use a pay phone in an airport.

Systems and routines of reaction and response are not yet in agreement if what I read is accurate.

As far as Louisiana is concerned it seems to me that more actual manpower help is needed in order to establish meaningful protection. That and rebuilding the levees to a safe level - - - and hurricane season is upon us now ! ! ! !

I guess that it is the same as always, a day late and dollars short on BOTH COUNTS . . . . . . . . . . .

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