Officials evaluate storm response
Recovery by the numbers
West Baton Rouge Parish officials said they did a good job distributing essential supplies after Hurricane Gustav. Here’s a breakdown:
16,800 bags of ice
12,800 cases of water
11,920 tarps
10,368 Meals Ready to Eat
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PORT ALLEN — West Baton Rouge Parish officials recently evaluated their disaster recovery performance after Hurricane Gustav, which hit Louisiana on Sept. 1.
Deano Moran, director of the parish’s Office of Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security, said overall parish officials and emergency responders performed well.
The parish was particularly efficient in making virtually every road in the parish passable within days, operating point-of distribution sites or PODs and responding to medical emergencies, Moran said.
“Overall, I think we done good,” Moran said. “And we did it without any bickering.”
But he said there were some problems. Among them:
The next step after the self-evaluation, Moran and others said, will be to form committees to plan how they will implement some suggestions.
Deano Moran, director of the parish’s Office of Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security, said overall parish officials and emergency responders performed well.
The parish was particularly efficient in making virtually every road in the parish passable within days, operating point-of distribution sites or PODs and responding to medical emergencies, Moran said.
“Overall, I think we done good,” Moran said. “And we did it without any bickering.”
But he said there were some problems. Among them:
- Communication. Moran said his staff worked around the clock and briefed the media with the location of PODs and availability of supplies. In the case of future storms, he said, his office will designate time each day to update the media on the recovery process. The parish will also explore handing out fliers to people as they leave PODs to update them on the recovery process.
- Better organizing relief efforts in the Emergency Operations Center.Several parish employees said outlying areas of the parish, including Erwinville, did not get the same attention more populated areas received. Port Allen Fire Chief Rick Boudreaux suggested that parish workers manning the EOC be assigned as liaisons with responsibility to coordinate recovery efforts in specific areas of the parish.
- Ensuring emergency supplies set aside for parish residents are getting to them.Some parish officials said people from neighboring parishes came to West Baton Rouge Parish to get food, water, tarps and ice. They suggested that people be required to show proof of residence before receiving supplies.
- Getting supplies the parish requests after the storm.Kenny Hunts, assistant fire chief for the Brusly Fire Department, said the parish not rely solely on the state government or the federal government to provide supplies. The parish should consider building warehouses throughout the parish filled with emergency supplies that are available year-round, which he said is done in Georgia and Florida. “We gave out 11,000 tarps,” Hunts said. “We could easily store that in our parish.”
- Educating the public about the proper way to prepare for a storm before the next one.Parish President Riley “Peewee” Berthelot said tap water was safe to drink throughout the parish, yet he still witnessed tempers flaring at various PODs as bottled water became scarce. “People can step up and become more self-sufficient,” he said. “Talk to your neighbors, help out your neighbors. That will make the whole process easier.”
The next step after the self-evaluation, Moran and others said, will be to form committees to plan how they will implement some suggestions.
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