Posted on 05/24/2006 3:57:53 AM PDT by Ellesu
'Louisiana is not any better prepared for a hurricane today than a year ago.' :
That comment made by a local police chief after East Baton Rouge emergency responders abruptly ceased participation in the state's Hurricane Alicia drill. WAFB's Avery Davidson was with local first responders when they called it quits.
The local people in charge of dealing with hurricanes and evacuations planned to evacuate the FEMA trailer park near Baker as part of this drill, but then canceled the operation out of frustration.
Baker Fire Chief Danny Edwards says during the Hurricane Alicia disaster drill, he never received the go ahead to evacuate Renaissance Village, the FEMA trailer park near Baker.
"Nobody could make the call to go ahead and evacuate," Chief Edwards told 9 News. "I understand it was a disagreement between FEMA and the state of who makes the call."
Previously, emergency responders said people should evacuate travel trailers anytime maximum sustained winds are above 40 miles an hour.
"We were never able to get any real clear guidance or written guidance on how the federal government wanted us to proceed, or the state wanted us to proceed, with the evacuees here," said Joanne Moreau with EBR Homeland Security.
With help of people who drove in from as far away as Lake Charles just to help with the drill, but without the guidance they needed to pull it off, Moreau pulled the plug on the evacuation.
"Here we are, just a few days out from hurricane season," complained Baker Police Chief Sid Gautreaux. "Nothing's in place, as far as I can see."
With almost 1,400 New Orleans evacuees living here, Moreau says moving everyone out would not be an easy task: "This is not the only site in the state of louisiana and if we don't fix it here, we're going to have difficulty fixing it in other parts of the state."
"I think it needs to start with the governor and make sure that this thing works," Police Chief Don Dixon told 9 News. Chief Dixon and members of his support staff traveled from Lake Charles for the planned drill. "There needs to be proper coordination between the state and the federal system."
Local emergency responders say Tuesday's drill wasn't a complete failure for them. Moreau says response to a nuclear plant incident, a local communications test and a mock hostage situation at Baker City Hall were all successful
Exqueeze me?!
It's now FEMA's call to make?!
For every dumb sod in this nation or just the idiots in NO?
You still have the same people running Louisianna , what makes anyone think they are any better now than they were then?
This may be misleading. There is a local FEMA group and a National FEMA group.
FEMA is NOT a first responder.
And if state and local governments are just going to pass the buck, why the H should anyone pay through the nose for local and state bureaucracies?
Fer cryin' out loud, can't people do anything for themselves anymore?
Word to the unwise: Depend on Uncle Sugar to save your happy heinie, you could be waiting a while...
What this chocolate city needs is a black mayor who's dumber than dirt and a populace to match. THEN things will get done.
PEOPLE, DO NOT WAIT FOR THE GOV TO MAKE THE CALL! Your life is YOUR responsibility!
They have a problem evacuating 1,400 people ??
Yeah, they were all evacuated to The Island of Dr. Moreau.......Haven't been heard from since...
FMCDH(BITS)
Where is Nagin, Blanco, what did you expect?
Here we go again!
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