5/7/09 Houma Courier: Report: Parish disaster plan lacking

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20090507/ARTICLES/905079920?Title=Report-Parish-disaster-plan-lacking

Report: Parish disaster plan lacking

By Naomi King

Staff Writer

Published: Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 12:31 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 12:31 p.m.

HOUMA – A new report critiquing local governmentsí hurricane and emergency plans scores Terrebonne Parish low and Lafourche mediocre.

Key Documents:

* Report Release On 22 Southern Louisiana Parish Emergency Plans (PDF – 1104kb)

With hurricane season three weeks away, the Connecticut-based Disaster Accountability Project released its report this week evaluating 22 parishes, chosen because of their proximity to the coast.

Of those surveyed, four had plans available online. Lafourche was one of them.

But 11 other parishes either refused to disclose their plans or did not respond when contacted earlier this year. Terrebonne refused to release the parishís plan.

Many south Louisiana parishes could not show their disaster plans cover evacuation of at-risk populations, such as the disabled, homeless and elderly, according to the watchdog group. Not having an updated, comprehensive plan leads to questioning whether a parish is prepared, the group says.

State emergency-management officials, however, said the group’s report is flawed because it only focuses on the parishes’ individual emergency plans and does not take into account ongoing meetings between state and local officials throughout the year to review plans.

In the midst of hurricane Gustav last September, flaws emerged in Terrebonne’s leadership and communication structure. A command structure in Terrebonne, unifying parish government and the Sheriffís Office, wasn’t set up until after Gustav’s landfall.

Terrebonne and Lafourche emergency officials did not return calls Wednesday to their offices and two to each of their cell phones.

Mark Cooper, the state’s Emergency Preparedness director, said the report fails to mention what he said was a successful evacuation of 2 million people for Gustav and the housing of roughly 40,000 residents in state-run shelters.

“It would be one thing if they focused on plans not being accessible or out of date,” Cooper said. “But it said southern Louisiana is no more prepared than it was before Katrina, and that’s where I take issue.”

Asked whether the state would follow up with parishes on issues in the report, Cooper said “we’re just going to get the job done” and continue to use the state’s “after-action review” process after major storms.

Ben Smilowitz, executive director of the Disaster Accountability Project, said the report is not necessarily saying the parishes are unprepared, but it aims at “exposing a major lack of initiative by both parishes and the state in maintaining updated, accessible and comprehensive emergency plans.”

TERREBONNE: WHAT’s THE PLAN?

Surveyors contacted the Terrebonne Office of Emergency Preparedness four times in person or over the phone between January and March, asking to see a copy of the parishís plan.

The surveyors were told they could not see it until its release May 15.

The Courier received a similar response when asking for a copy of the emergency plan about a month ago. That request turned up an outdated version with a last revision in 2004.

A second public-records request, submitted Tuesday by The Courier, for the draft version of the 2009 plan is pending. Parish officials have refused to release the draft version, despite the fact that public-records laws require such documents to be open to public scrutiny.

Residents need more than 15 days before hurricane season to adequately review and give feedback on the parishís plans for evacuation, sheltering and hurricane response, Smilowitz said. Residents also need time to familiarize themselves with their roles in emergencies.

“It’s hard for anyone to really know how prepared the parish is because the plan isn’t available,” Smilowitz said. “I don’t think it’s a smart practice to just take someoneís word.”

LAFOURCHE: DATED 2004

Lafourche’s plan ranks higher among those reviewed because it is available online and it identifies a chain of command and what to do if there’s a break in the chain. But surveyors noted it lacks information on evacuating the homeless, people with disabilities, non-English speakers and others with special needs.

The report also says Lafourche’s plan is still dated 2004.

Chris Boudreaux, Lafourche emergency-preparedness director, told surveyors the plan had been updated since then, the report says. But 2004 was the original date the document was scanned into the parishís Web site, he told surveyors.

State emergency officials said there is no deadline for revisions to be made and that the state can only review, not approve, local plans. State and local government officials are constantly meeting and going over plans, Cooper said. There is also no requirement plans be available online.

The surveyors, drawn from law schools across the country, sought to identify whether the plans cover 23 areas of interest.

Two of the 22 parishes fully accounted for how they would evacuate day-care facilities, none had plans for evacuating the homeless, and six fully accounted for how they should evacuate the elderly.

The students did not have specific training in emergency planning, but the group said every local government should be able to provide citizens with a clear and easy to understand plan.

“We were not evaluating the plans for quality. We were looking to see if certain criteria were included,”Smilowitz said. “And the criteria came from the governmentís guidelines for plans.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.