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Federal Gulf Coast Preparations

Release Date: 09/23/05 00:00:00

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 23, 2005
Contact: 202-282-8010

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in conjunction with other federal agencies, continues to prepare for Hurricane Rita.

FEMA and federal agencies are pre-positioning supplies and commodities in the surrounding affected areas and potential landfall areas of the storm. Residents in the Gulf Coast states should continue to pay close attention to Hurricane Rita and follow the instructions of local officials. The following preliminary actions have been taken:  

  • FEMA has pre-positioned enough commodities for four days including 45 truckloads of water, 45 truckloads of ice, and 25 truckloads of meals in Texas.  Along with 140 truckloads of water, 120 truckloads of ice and 73 truckloads of meals pre-positioned at federal facilities in Louisiana.
  • More than 450 medical team personnel and 17 Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces, consisting of almost 900 personnel, are pre-positioned in Texas.  450 Urban Search and Rescue personnel are already staged in Louisiana.
  • The U.S. Coast Guard has approximately 50 aircraft ready to respond to Rita and another 70 aircraft in the Pacific area on alert.  Relief crews are being flown from Hawaii, Alaska, California, and the Pacific Northwest to staging locations today.
  • Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has authorized the recall of up to 300 U.S. Coast Guard reservists for response to Hurricane Rita.
  • Department of Transportation (DOT) is providing over 650 buses in response to requests from Texas and Louisiana officials to help support evacuation efforts.  Six MD-80 aircraft are on standby in Baton Rouge to support airlifts out of Louisiana.  
  • Department of Defense (DOD) has a mission assignment for six heavy-lift helicopters at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, six heavy-lift helicopters at Ft. Worth, Texas, and boats and high-water vehicles to assist search and rescue task forces.
  • More than 300,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen stand ready throughout the 54 states and territories prepared to respond to any crisis.  Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama have more than 37,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen positioned to assist and respond. The Texas National Guard has refueled 260 commercial buses with 25,000 gallons of fuel as of this morning.
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has pre-deployed three EPA response personnel and four contractors to the Regional Response Coordination Center in Austin, Texas.  The pre-deployment team is co-located with other federal and state personnel to coordinate planning for Hurricane Rita response priorities.  
  • A full EPA Incident Management Team consisting of 18 EPA personnel will stage in Dallas.  The team will deploy to the impacted area as soon as the storm passes.  Additional response and contract personnel are standing by and will be on scene once an initial needs assessment is complete.
  • The Texas Commission of Environmental Quality and the EPA have been contacting chemical and refinery industry along the hurricane's path concerning their plans to secure and shut-down their plants.  
  • The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) continues to track the path of Hurricane Rita.  NRC staff are monitoring conditions at three nuclear power plants where tropical storm force winds and heavy rain are projected.  The current path of the storm is not expected to bring it within 100 miles of the three plants.   The NRC has sent six additional inspectors to the plants to provide around the clock coverage if the need arises.  
  • The NRC has also established a point of contact with FEMA while plant operators coordinate with local emergency responders.  Additionally, NRC has contacted Louisiana and Texas to move to a safe location or secure in place radioactive materials used in medicine and industry.

For more information on emergency preparedness, please visit www.ready.gov or www.fema.gov.

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This page was last reviewed/modified on 09/23/05 00:00:00.