Federal and
state officials
locating space
to house up to
250,000
Louisiana
evacuees
Homeland
Security’s
Federal
Emergency
Management
Agency (FEMA)
and the
Louisiana
Governor’s
Office of
Homeland
Security and
Emergency
Preparedness
(GOHSEP) are
looking for
space to house
up to 250,000
hurricane
evacuees
expected to
leave
Louisiana’s
coastal parishes
when a hurricane
threatens.
Current
evacuation
planning
indicates as
many as 101,000
Louisiana
residents will
use their own
transportation
to self evacuate
to safe-haven
sites away from
the coast – to
hotels, friends
and family and
to designated
shelters.
As many as
50,000 Louisiana
residents may
qualify as
critical
transportation
needs (CTN)
residents –
those residents
who can not self
evacuate in the
event of a
hurricane.
These residents
are encouraged
to register for
emergency
transportation
through their
local Office of
Emergency
Preparedness.
The State and
FEMA have
contracted motor
coaches, rail
and air
resources to
evacuate these
CTN residents
away from the
Louisiana
coastline.
Sheltering
parishes are
expected to
shelter up to
68,000 Louisiana
residents in
their designated
locations;
additionally the
State Department
of Social
Services (DSS)
will coordinate
the care of
another 27,000
people at both
in-state and
out-of-state
shelters.
“Locating and
securing shelter
facilities
beyond those
numbers for
evacuees is the
responsibility
of FEMA’s Mass
Care/Emergency
Assistance/Housing
and Human
Services
Emergency
Support Function
(ESF),” said
Michael Hall,
the
pre-designated
Federal
Coordinating
Officer for the
FEMA Louisiana
Warm Cell
hurricane
planning team in
Baton Rouge.
“Planning for
shelters and
shelter
locations is a
vital aspect of
being ready, and
the mass care
and sheltering
ESF is working
in coordination
with state and
local officials
to make sure
we’re
ready.”
GOHSEP Director,
Mark Cooper
said, “The
planning being
done now lets
emergency
managers at all
levels design,
implement and
practice the
actions,
policies and
processes to
follow when a
disaster
strikes. The
work we’re doing
with our federal
and parish
partners -
getting to know
them
before
the
incident and
planning now for
evacuations and
sheltering -
will greatly
decrease
response time
and may save
lives when a
disaster
happens.”
Cooper added,
“You can be
assured we will
have an on-time,
common
response.”
The Mass Care,
Emergency
Assistance,
Housing and
Human Services
emergency
support
function, one of
15 that are
mobilized under
a federal
disaster
declaration, is
supported by a
number of
federal agencies
– the
Corporation for
National and
Community
Service, the
National
Voluntary
Organizations
Active in
Disasters and
the American Red
Cross, to name a
few.
Support also
comes from the
U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers
which surveys
each potential
shelter location
to ensure
buildings are
structurally
sound and meet
all
accessibility
requirements of
the Americans
with
Disabilities
Act. The Mass
Care ESF staff
coordinates with
state fire
marshals to
ensure potential
shelters meet
all local, state
and federal fire
code
regulations.
Emergency
officials
strongly
encourage
residents to be
prepared for the
2008 hurricane
season with
family
evacuation plans
and emergency
kits.
Information on
hurricane
preparedness can
be found at:
www.fema.gov
www.ready.gov
www.OHSEP.louisiana.gov
www.getagameplan.org
www.ldaf.state.la.us
www.dotd.state.la.us
www.batonrouge.redcross.org
New Orleans
evacuation
planning
information is
available on the
City’s Web site
www.cityofno.com.
Follow the drop
down menu and
click on
“Emergency
Preparedness.”
FEMA coordinates
the federal
government’s
role in
preparing for,
preventing,
mitigating the
effects of,
responding to,
and recovering
from all
domestic
disasters,
whether natural
or man-made,
including acts
of terror.
Media Contacts:
Don Jacks, FEMA
225-326-3006 /
225-346-5600
Veronica
Mosgrove, GOHSEP
225-573-3718 /
225-358-5667
vmosgrove@OHSEP.louisiana.gov
Allison Hadley,
GOHSEP
225-925-3966
ahadley@OHSEP.louisiana.gov
