Residents Should Heed Evacuation, Preparation Advice
Release Date: August 17, 2006
Release Number: 1604-421
» More Information on Mississippi Hurricane Katrina
BILOXI, Miss. -- High season for hurricanes, August and September along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is when all emergency preparations and evacuation plans should be in place. But federal hurricane evacuation studies suggest a significant number of people may not evacuate.
The studies indicate many are reluctant to leave because they underestimate the possible threat from hurricanes. This may be so even though the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and local emergency officials warn residents who live in surge-prone areas and in housing that cannot withstand strong storm-force winds to leave.
FEMA and MEMA continue to urge everyone along the Mississippi coast to make preparations to evacuate from low-lying areas near the Gulf and from all travel trailers and mobile homes if a hurricane or tropical storm approaches.
Preparedness is the key message of the "Stay Alert. Stay Alive." campaign launched by Governor Haley Barbour earlier this year to raise hurricane awareness in Mississippi .
"After Katrina, we saw houses wiped off their foundations that had survived a number of devastating storms in the past," said Nick Russo, federal coordinating officer for the Mississippi disaster recovery. "These foundations serve as testimony to a false sense of security."
All resident/applicants living in FEMA travel trailers and mobile homes should evacuate. "There is no margin of safety during tropical storms or hurricanes in these temporary units, said Russo. "People need to grab their emergency supplies, close the windows, lock the doors and leave. The units will be replaced if destroyed by a hurricane."
Neither travel trailers nor mobile homes should be moved. Units can overturn, blocking evacuation routes and possibly harming drivers and other motorists. FEMA travel trailers and mobile homes are federal property so it is against the law to move them.
Whether in a temporary unit or another type of residence in a hurricane's projected path, Mississippians need to leave by a planned evacuation route once a hurricane warning is issued by local emergency operations officials.
"Mississippi 's emergency plans include managing the flow of traffic in a hurricane evacuation," said Mike Womack, interim director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA ).
"But we always urge the public to evacuate early and don't wait until the last few hours, when traffic flow is usually the highest."
The state also has a plan to evacuate people in buses to Jackson and return them after the storm. Buses will begin evacuation 24-30 hours ahead of a storm.
Russo said advance planning and preparation ensures personal safety and timely evacuation. FEMA and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) recommend taking the following steps to prepare for this hurricane season:
-- Develop a family disaster plan and know how to stay safe in a hurricane.
- Discuss what your family should do when a hurricane comes ashore and where you might go in an evacuation to a shelter, hotel or to stay with family or friends. Don't forget about pets. Many shelters will not permit them, so plan in advance what to do with them.
- Know and review your evacuation routes and never drive through high water.
- Develop a family communication plan. Identify a friend or relative in another state or city to serve as a point of contact in case family members are separated.
-- Put together a disaster kit and store it in a portable container in case of evacuation. The kit should include:
- At least a three-day supply of food and bottled water for each family member;
- A manual can opener;
- Battery-powered radio and flashlights with extra batteries;
- First aid kit with family members' medications;
- Hygiene and personal care items;
- Emergency contact list and phone numbers;
- Pet supplies;
- Copies of important papers including insurance policies and bank account information;
- Emergency cash or credit card in case of an evacuation with little notice.
For more information about disaster planning, visit: www.ready.gov. Emergency traffic routes or evacuation plans for Mississippi may be found at: http://www.mdot.state.ms.us/cetrp/default.htm .
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Friday, 18-Aug-2006 14:11:05