Cap'nPanic
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Gang,
In the aftermath of the storm, I think this is a good time to step back and see if we have learned anything from Katrina. With so many people unable to leave and many deaths, which could rise on the spread of disease in New Orleans with the rising water and failed sanitation systems, others trapped in their own homes waiting for help to arrive.
How can we be better prepared next time, because somewhere sometime there will be another one.
Here are a few of my suggestions:
1.) FEMA needs to take more action in ensuring the safety of citizens by having a mandatory evacuation of the coast line for any storm that is catagory 4 or higher. People knew for a week that this storm was coming, people should have been evactuated days before it hit. I believe we can pool our resources and have shuttle buses, taking people who have no transportation or money to leave. Use church buses, school buses, greyhound buses, 15 passenger vans, military convoys, etc. Allow evacuees only 2 large bags per person. Pets will be welcome, but must be bused to a shelter via the humane society and VMAT (veterinary medical assistance teams). You can go back and claim your pet after the storm passes. For a storm this big, evacuation should not be optional.
2.) The total evacuation area should cover at least the width of the storm plus 75 miles to give a leeway, and from the coastline to at least 50-60 miles inland. Inland there isnt so much water damage from the surge, but more wind damage.
3.) For those that live paycheck to paycheck, take them to shelters where they will be offered free meals at least once a day, and ARC should be there to hand out supplies as needed.
4.) For those that know they will unlikely be able to afford an evacuation or those without transportation, place their names on a list where they list the location of their residence, telephone number, and names and ages of their family members that live with them. ALso a list of any medications that need to be taken the prescriptions that need to be filled while on evacuation and the health status of each family member. This will give the officials an idea of who to bus and how many to bus. The list should be updated every year as people move, change jobs, have a new addition to the family, etc. From this list workers can go to the residence or place of work and say that they must pack immediately and go to a nearby pick-up station at a certain time to be evacuated. They should have people load buses by name (alphabetical) (*Anyones name that starts with "A" go to this station, anyones name that starts with "B" go to this station.....). Also if they have a family member that they can stay with during the storm needs to be listed so they can be bused to that city and be picked up. shelters should include hotels, churches, schools, amories, some hospitals, and some homeless shelters that have extra beds
5.) Nursing home residents and hospital patients should be transported by ambulances that can be freed up, this is where the before mentioned "jumbolance" would be extremely handy, possibly Tx of up to 4-5 pts at a time. They should be evacuated to facilities that can accomadate the influx of people. Obviously hospitals and other suitable medical shelters would need to be placed on a list, and of course several factors will play in which facility people will be sent to. Pregnant women who are close to term (within 3 weeks) will need to sent to a hospital incase they go into labor during the storm.
Obviously an evacuation of this magnitude will be very costly in addition to the cost of damages due to the storm but the way I see it no amount of money could ever replace lost lives.
Feel free to add your suggestions.
-Cap'nPanic
In the aftermath of the storm, I think this is a good time to step back and see if we have learned anything from Katrina. With so many people unable to leave and many deaths, which could rise on the spread of disease in New Orleans with the rising water and failed sanitation systems, others trapped in their own homes waiting for help to arrive.
How can we be better prepared next time, because somewhere sometime there will be another one.
Here are a few of my suggestions:
1.) FEMA needs to take more action in ensuring the safety of citizens by having a mandatory evacuation of the coast line for any storm that is catagory 4 or higher. People knew for a week that this storm was coming, people should have been evactuated days before it hit. I believe we can pool our resources and have shuttle buses, taking people who have no transportation or money to leave. Use church buses, school buses, greyhound buses, 15 passenger vans, military convoys, etc. Allow evacuees only 2 large bags per person. Pets will be welcome, but must be bused to a shelter via the humane society and VMAT (veterinary medical assistance teams). You can go back and claim your pet after the storm passes. For a storm this big, evacuation should not be optional.
2.) The total evacuation area should cover at least the width of the storm plus 75 miles to give a leeway, and from the coastline to at least 50-60 miles inland. Inland there isnt so much water damage from the surge, but more wind damage.
3.) For those that live paycheck to paycheck, take them to shelters where they will be offered free meals at least once a day, and ARC should be there to hand out supplies as needed.
4.) For those that know they will unlikely be able to afford an evacuation or those without transportation, place their names on a list where they list the location of their residence, telephone number, and names and ages of their family members that live with them. ALso a list of any medications that need to be taken the prescriptions that need to be filled while on evacuation and the health status of each family member. This will give the officials an idea of who to bus and how many to bus. The list should be updated every year as people move, change jobs, have a new addition to the family, etc. From this list workers can go to the residence or place of work and say that they must pack immediately and go to a nearby pick-up station at a certain time to be evacuated. They should have people load buses by name (alphabetical) (*Anyones name that starts with "A" go to this station, anyones name that starts with "B" go to this station.....). Also if they have a family member that they can stay with during the storm needs to be listed so they can be bused to that city and be picked up. shelters should include hotels, churches, schools, amories, some hospitals, and some homeless shelters that have extra beds
5.) Nursing home residents and hospital patients should be transported by ambulances that can be freed up, this is where the before mentioned "jumbolance" would be extremely handy, possibly Tx of up to 4-5 pts at a time. They should be evacuated to facilities that can accomadate the influx of people. Obviously hospitals and other suitable medical shelters would need to be placed on a list, and of course several factors will play in which facility people will be sent to. Pregnant women who are close to term (within 3 weeks) will need to sent to a hospital incase they go into labor during the storm.
Obviously an evacuation of this magnitude will be very costly in addition to the cost of damages due to the storm but the way I see it no amount of money could ever replace lost lives.
Feel free to add your suggestions.
-Cap'nPanic
h34r: . If you all think back there is never 100 percent compliance with any evac. Some people just do not want to leave their homes. Some folks just do not have the means to do so. In the grand scheme of things I think the reported death tolls are pretty reasonable. I actually expected much worse.
