States review disaster plans

Stateline.org yesterday, Sept. 8, reported that a growing number of states are going through their disaster plans to avoid another New Orleans catastrophe. Key strategies include evacuation plans and keeping communication lines open.

The article includes comments from Larry Kanda, a Hawaii Civil Defense mitigation planner. "The big problem with an island jurisdiction like us," Kanda said, "is that we can't evacuate to another state when a hurricane comes through." Katrina has underscored to state emergency managers that Hawaii needs 124,000 additional spaces in short-term shelters. Kanda said the state is working to retrofit public buildings to serve in emergencies.

Other states covered in the article are Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, California, Oregon, and Arizona.

States reopen their diasaster playbooks
(available from Stateline.org)