NO Shelters Not Prepared for Major Hurricane

[Anonymous]

http://www.wwltv.com/local/WWL051503Hur ... d1ad6.html

[Steve]

Hey TWW,

Care to copy and paste? I refuse to register for those dolts.

Thanks,

Steve

[Anonymous]

Area leaders say metro area shelters not prepared for major hurricane
05/15/2003

WWLTV.com


The shelters in the metro New Orleans are extremely inadequate and would pose a major problem should a major hurricane ever hit the area, according to Dr. Walter Maestri of the Jefferson Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness.


This revelation came in a study released at a Thursday meeting between emergency preparedness directors and parish leaders.


“

WWL-TV
A truck pushes through high water in Tropical Storm Isidore
We have in fact done an analysis on potential shelters in the metropolitan area and what we’ve discovered scares the hell out of us,” said Maestri.


A major concern for the upcoming hurricane season is the absence of a concrete plan for evacuating the more than 100,000 New Orleans residents who don’t have transportation.


“We don’t have the shelter capacity we need. We don’t have the shelter capacity that is required,” said Maestri. “We can’t implement the shelter policy we would hope to be able to implement because our buildings can’t handle it.


Maestri is proposing the state put forth revised building codes so new structures would be able to withstand a storm, and he would like to retrofit buildings with improved windows that could weather the high winds.


While shelters remain a problematic issue, officials said road improvements to Airline Highway and other hurricane evacuation routes have been made or will be made this year.


State authorities have also made an agreement with Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove to allow one-way traffic out of Louisiana in an emergency. Last year he refused to allow that.

[mf_dolphin]

Thanks for the info TWW. It doesn't surprise me I have to admit. Last year with the shift from evacuate to stay in place strategy it came out that a lot of the Florida shelters weren't up to code either.

[Rainband]

Alot of them were too weak by the standards to protect us!! They say it's better to stay with family or friends!!! HOW NICE!!! :o

[SouthFloridawx]

bump. I was reading through some old threads and found this

[Hurricaneman]

It was pretty bad to find out really how unperpared they were

[TSmith274]

You know, this won't be a popular idea for obvious reasons. But, the Superdome is being fitted with a roof that will sustain cat 5 winds. As bad as the experience in the Superdome was, it saved many lives. The suffering that took place in the Superdome was a result of a slow response... leaving those people in there for days. Let's improve the response time, and use the Superdome again. Although, I doubt many would show up after the horrors that took place after Katrina. It's too bad, because I believe that with a well thought out plan, the Superdome would be a more than adequate shelter for thousands.

[CHRISTY]

were still cleaning up in a lot of areas.

[SouthFloridawx]

You know, this won't be a popular idea for obvious reasons. But, the Superdome is being fitted with a roof that will sustain cat 5 winds. As bad as the experience in the Superdome was, it saved many lives. The suffering that took place in the Superdome was a result of a slow response... leaving those people in there for days. Let's improve the response time, and use the Superdome again. Although, I doubt many would show up after the horrors that took place after Katrina. It's too bad, because I believe that with a well thought out plan, the Superdome would be a more than adequate shelter for thousands.

They would have to be able to make it more comfortable for people. They would have to pack it full of supplies. They would have to make sure there are plenty of national gaurd and police inside working. A lot of things would have to be done to that stadium

[gtalum]

I was under the impression that most of the "horrors" of the Superdome turned out to be fabrications. Sure they got hungry and thirsty, but it was better than dying.

[crabbyhermit]

I think I heard that the Dome won't be used as a shelter, but the Convention Center will, as a last resort. That makes sense. Even with a new roof, if there is downtown flooding again (please god no!), the area around the Dome will be under at least a few feet of water, making it hard to get people out in busses. But the Convention Center sits on the "sliva by da riva" that stayed high and dry in Katrina. Much easier to evac people from the Conv Ctr after the storm passes than trying to get them out the Dome. Me, I'm heading to BR if we get another storm that becomes a 4 or 5 while in the Gulf and brings the surge with it.

[gtalum]

That may be true that they don't plan to use the Superdome, but they didn't plan to use the Superdome for Katrina either. It's a different story when people just start showing up with their stuff, though. On the bright side, most fo the people in NO right now have the means to get out. Those who stayed behind for Katrina are among those who are now spread all over the country.

[greeng13]

i doubt there will be approx 100,000 people without means of transportation to get out the next time...nor do i suspect that many will stay next time either.

just out of curiosity does anybody have the best educated guess as to how many people are living in NO or are suspected to be there come the 2006 season?

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

I hope not anyway. I hope they learn from the mistakes of Katrina, and do not repeat them.

[sunny]

i doubt there will be approx 100,000 people without means of transportation to get out the next time...nor do i suspect that many will stay next time either.

just out of curiosity does anybody have the best educated guess as to how many people are living in NO or are suspected to be there come the 2006 season?

According to this article 63% of the population is still displaced.

[BayouVenteux]

i doubt there will be approx 100,000 people without means of transportation to get out the next time...nor do i suspect that many will stay next time either.

just out of curiosity does anybody have the best educated guess as to how many people are living in NO or are suspected to be there come the 2006 season?

According to the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, there's currently around 181,000 people in Orleans Parish. That number should rise some more as we approach summer. Most of the citizens without the means to easily evacuate are currently elsewhere, so for the very immediate future, combined with the fact that local and state officials will be one heck of a lot more proactive next time in terms of proper evacuation, there's probably not much danger of many people being left behind.

For more good info on post-Katrina New Orleans area population figures and socio-trends, the GNOCDC website URL is http://www.gnocdc.org/

[greeng13]

thanks "sunny" and "BayouVenteux"

[Janice]

How is the police and medical forces doing there now. Is there enough emergency help in the city to handle another disaster. I haven't really read what percentage left and did not return. How about the nursing homes and hospitals? It would be great if the Superdome would handle a major cane or storm. This is the time for them to stock up. I am sure there are lots of rooms where they could store beds, clothes, etc. all year around for emergencies. I am also sure they will make sure more people get out this time. Let us just pray it stays out of the gulf this year

[sunny]

How is the police and medical forces doing there now. Is there enough emergency help in the city to handle another disaster. I haven't really read what percentage left and did not return. How about the nursing homes and hospitals? It would be great if the Superdome would handle a major cane or storm. This is the time for them to stock up. I am sure there are lots of rooms where they could store beds, clothes, etc. all year around for emergencies. I am also sure they will make sure more people get out this time. Let us just pray it stays out of the gulf this year

Janice, our health care system is in critical condition. Our trauma center is now based out of a vacant department store. We lost four major hospitals, and the outlying hospitals are just overflowing. My niece was injured in a school accident about three weeks ago, she was actually paralyzed for a little while. She was fast-tracked - and laid in the emergency room for eight hours.

The police were housing inmates at a vacated telecommunications building. I haven't heard if that has changed or not.