The state of Alabama is now in the heart of the 2006
hurricane season, but the devastation of the 2005 hurricane
season remains fresh on everyone’s mind. From Hurricane
Dennis that made land-fall as a category three, to the
mind-boggling destruction of hurricane Katrina to Rita that
dealt Florida and Texas a blow. One year later, two
questions are frequently asked, what did the state of
Alabama learn from last year’s hurricane season, and are we
ready for the upcoming season? Alabama Emergency Management
Agency Director Bruce P. Baughman says this state is ready.
He says the agency learned some key things last year, “the
need to request supplies further in advance and after they
arrive making sure they are better utilized.” With that
lesson in mind, Baughman asked FEMA for several trucks of
water, ice, cots, blankets, pillows and emergency meals to
be pre-positioned with in the state of Alabama. Today they
are ready to go for this hurricane season. The disaster
supplies on-hand are enough to assist more than half million
people in need.
Junior colleges
throughout the state have been approved for shelters. The 38
sites will provide housing for more than 21, 000 evacuees.
There are 16 medical need shelters in addition to the Red
Cross shelters that can house more than 43,000 people. The
two coastal counties have revised their evacuation plan.
This plan allows school bus drivers to pick-up residents
with no transportation along their route. It’s estimated
about 1,000 buses would be available from Mobile and Baldwin
counties. The buses should have the capability to move
about 30,000 people, and their personal items to a
pre-designated shelter.
In a continued effort to
make sure we are prepared for every hurricane season, state
EMA personnel and county emergency managers have gone
through extensive training and hot washes. In March, the
National Emergency Management Association addressed issues
with EMAC (Emergency Management Assistance Compact) that
occurred during the last hurricane season. The purpose
of EMAC is to provide a mechanism through which the states
can easily share resources and costs associated with using
these resources. On April 21th the
Alabama Governor’s Hurricane workshop was held in
Montgomery. This meeting brought together leaders
from local, state and federal levels. It also included the
director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield. The
workshop was designed to candidly address the issues where
improvements are needed. The first week in May, about 75
Emergency Managers participated in the Alabama Hurricane
Response/Recovery Workshop. The three day training course
was held in Chilton County. On May 23rd more
than 100 Emergency Manager Coordinators participated in the
SEOC activation exercise. This full scale exercise
addressed real-life scenarios that occurred during the 2005
hurricane season. The 2006 hurricane season ends November 30th.
