They contracted with FEMA and Homeland Security to work up a plan for hurricane catastrophe in that area. This was over a year ago.
IEM Team to Develop Catastrophic Hurricane Disaster Plan for New Orleans & Southeast Louisiana
“IEM, Inc., the Baton Rouge-based emergency management and homeland security consultant, will lead the development of a catastrophic hurricane disaster plan for Southeast Louisiana and the City of New Orleans under a more than half a million dollar contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In making the announcement today on behalf of teaming partners Dewberry, URS Corporation and James Lee Witt Associates, IEM Director of Homeland Security Wayne Thomas explained that the development of a base catastrophic hurricane disaster plan has urgency due to the recent start of the annual hurricane season which runs through November. National weather experts are predicting an above normal Atlantic hurricane season with six to eight hurricanes, of which three could be categorized as major.
The IEM team will complete a functional exercise on a catastrophic hurricane strike in Southeast Louisiana and use results to develop a response and recovery plan. A catastrophic event is one that can overwhelm State, local and private capabilities so quickly that communities could be devastated without Federal assistance and multi-agency planning and preparedness. Thomas said that the greater New Orleans area is one of the nation’s most vulnerable locations for hurricane landfall.
“Given this area’s vulnerability, unique geographic location and elevation, and troubled escape routes, a plan that facilitates a rapid and effective hurricane response and recovery is critical,” he said. “The IEM team’s approach to catastrophic planning meets the challenges associated with integrating multi-jurisdictional needs and capabilities into an effective plan for addressing catastrophic hurricane strikes, as well as man-made catastrophic events.”
Links to these companies sites below the fold. I am not sure how much of the burden falls on them, and whether FEMA will do its share.
I do hope the afterstorm problems are handled in a more effective way that they were in Florida. I can barely control my anger at the lack of planning here. I admit my thoughts are colored by my experiences. But to learn this administration cut funding for management in New Orleans, just as they did here in Florida….and to learn they have in effect privatized hurricane management there just really upsets me.
Over the last 19 years, Innovative Emergency Management, Inc. (IEM) has become one of the leading risk management companies in the US, providing services to private industry and government agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the US Department of Defense.
Virtually all of our corporate efforts are focused on keeping people safe–at home, at work, and on the battlefield. Our clients rely on our science-based solutions to sensitive and complex problems….”
James Lee Witt and Associates has Witt as chairman and Wesley Clark as Vice Chairman.
“Founded in 2001, James Lee Witt Associates (JLWA) is a crisis and emergency management consulting firm based in Washington, DC with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, and Sacramento. JLWA has unrivaled experience and hands-on knowledge of public safety, disaster mitigation, continuity of operations, and emergency management issues. JLWA bridges government agencies and non-profits with industry and constituents, advises educational institutions, and assists state and local governments, as well as international bodies to prepare for and recover from disasters and crises.”
Also on board are Dewberry Associates out of Virginia:
http://www.dewberry.com/
and also
URS Corporation
which is the largest global engineering design firm and a leading U.S. federal government contractor.
I hope they have used the year and three months wisely to plan for these people of New Orleans. Evacuation was not good today, but then that is hard anywhere. I hope the after care is better than Florida….so many of ours are still messed up.
I hope this administration did the right thing, and that it regulated and oversaw the planning…but somehow I don’t feel very confident about that.
