St. James prepares for hurricanes
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CONVENT — St. James Parish government will be better prepared to communicate with the public during the 2009 hurricane season if all goes according to plan, an official told the Parish Council Wednesday.
Emergency Preparedness Director Eric Deroche said his office is working to improve communication between parish government and the public, to improve evacuation measures and plans, to speed up the flow of supplies following a storm, and to update the parish’s Emergency Preparedness Guide.
Following hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008, officials dealing with the storms and their aftermaths held a series of meetings to determine how the parish’s hurricane plan worked and what needed improving.
The need for better communications topped the list.
To improve this aspect, Deroche’s office is exploring a text-based notification system and an 800 phone number call-in system to alert the public about important information, he said.
Requests for proposals are being sought for the text system and research is being conducted into whether the current parish telephone system can handle an 800 calling system as well, Deroche said.
On the issue of hurricane evacuations, Deroche said St. James is in the process of partnering with Tangipahoa Parish to set up a shelter for parish residents.
In 2008, when residents wishing to evacuate from St. James were ready to depart, all state-run shelters in northern Louisiana were at near capacity or already filled.
Deroche also said his office is working to pre-position shelter supplies in Tangipahoa and is seeking to obtain a Red Cross trailer to keep near the shelter.
Another problem experienced following the 2008 storms was the slow arrival of supplies to the parish and how some supplies that were requested were never received at all.
Deroche said congressional funds are being sought to construct a storage facility to make sure supplies already are on hand by the time they are needed in the parish.
Deroche told the council his office is revamping the emergency preparedness guides that are distributed to parish residents.
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