With hurricane season in full swing, emergency management officials and government leaders are more ready to respond to a natural disaster now than they were before Hurricane Katrina, but many residents are still unprepared for a major event, the former commander of Joint Task Force Katrina said Wednesday at Mississippi State University.
Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré was in Starkville to discuss leadership and preparedness in the 21st century, and touched on his travels throughout the Gulf Coast and rest of the U.S., where he estimates only 10 percent of residents are prepared for a natural disaster.
“My concern remains with the general public at large,” Honoré said. “There are still people in Mississippi and here in America that say ”Those natural disasters don”t happen to us.” Whereas, historically, if you go back far enough, you see those types of disasters do happen. They do come, whether it”s a tornado, and we experienced a couple bad ones in Mississippi here over the past couple of years, or flooding, as they faced along the coast and throughout the state.”
“If you remember, when Katrina came through … Katrina marched through Mississippi,” he continued. “It didn”t just damage the coast. It came through and was so devastating it cut the lights off between Biloxi and Jackson. There were no lights all the way up to Birmingham. It just went straight north. We”re in the super highway for hurricanes when they come through, so they”re going to do more damage than just on the coast.”
Residents should develop an emergency plan and emergency kit in case of an evacuation, always maintain a three-day supply of food and water and purchase a certified weather radio to stay up-to-date on storm reports, Honoré said.
“When we have a disaster, the focus of the government will be on the people who can”t take care of themselves,” he said. “You”re dealing with one-third of Americans that are dependent on the government … the elderly, the disabled and the poor. What Katrina showed us is they died in a lot higher numbers than the rest of the general population – the elderly, the disabled and the poor – and that”s where the government needs to step up.”
“People with jobs generally are going to be able to take care of themselves,” he added. “They might need some shelter time, but, by and large, the focus is going to be on people who didn”t evacuate because they don”t have the means or they don”t have the ability because of mobility issues or they were elderly and were not able to leave their home.”
Government leaders on the federal, state and local levels have taken steps since Hurricane Katrina to ensure they are prepared for another disaster.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency can now spring into action without waiting for a request from a state”s governor, as was the previous policy under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act , Honoré said. Money also has been spent to improve operation centers around the country and train state and local officials on disaster response.
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