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Florida forte: disaster plans

In a Homeland Security report, no other state rated as high in catastrophe readiness. Other states have some catching up to do.

By GRAHAM BRINK
Published June 17, 2006

Florida is the only state that meets all of the department's requirements for preparing for disasters, whether they are hurricanes, wildfires or pandemics.

Eight hurricanes have hit Florida in the past two years, which forced the state to be ready for anything.

"We spent a lot of time and resources on preparation," Gov. Jeb Bush said in response to the report. "I'm not surprised we're maybe better prepared than others."

After Hurricane Katrina, President Bush ordered an analysis of city and state disaster plans. Teams of experienced emergency management officials visited every state and 75 cities examining communication and evacuation plans, resource management, medical care, sheltering and public alerts. They graded each area as "sufficient," "partly sufficient" or "not sufficient."

Ten states, most of them prone to hurricanes, were rated sufficient, with only Florida receiving positive scores in every category. Thirty-eight states were judged partly sufficient and two, Louisiana and West Virginia, were not sufficient, the report stated.

Louisiana, hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year, is particularly vulnerable to another disaster, the report found.

Only 4 percent of New Orleans' plans met the minimum federal guidelines for responding to catastrophes. More than half of the city's plans were described as insufficient.

New York and Washington, D.C., both Sept. 11 terrorist targets, also weren't sufficiently prepared, according to the report.

Seventy-one percent of New York's emergency plans were described as only partially sufficient. In Washington, 67 percent of the plans were deemed partially sufficient and 2 percent insufficient.

The current nationwide status of "plans and planning gives grounds for significant national concern,'' the report stated. The country has the best emergency services in the world, the report stated, but they suffer from antiquated planning products, processes and tools.

"We rely to a troubling extent on plans that are created in isolation, are insufficiently detailed, and are not subject to adequate review,'' the report stated.

Homeland Security undersecretary George Foresman told reporters that the results highlight disparate and disconnected emergency plans in the absence of national preparedness standards.

"This is not something that is a grand surprise," he said. "It has simply put documented numbers on what we intuitively knew in the post-9/11 era."

Despite sending $18-billion in Homeland Security grants to spur local preparedness since the Sept. 11 attacks, "very little of it has gone to planning, training and exercise," said department undersecretary George Foresman.

The latest report was released as the Senate sent Bush a $94.5-billion emergency spending bill that included funds for new aid for Gulf Coast hurricane victims.

Despite the high ratings, Gov. Bush wants further improvements.

"I view this as an essential element about what government's about," he said.

Times staff writer Alex Leary contributed to this report, which includes information from the Associated Press. Graham Brink can be reached at brink@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8406.

[Last modified June 17, 2006, 05:19:28]