US mounts major preparations for Gustav storm

27 August 2008 22:59  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--Federal emergency, security and military officials began wide-scale preparations on Wednesday for the anticipated Gulf coast landfall of what many expect will be a major Hurricane Gustav as early as Monday.

 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it is coordinating plans and preparations among several federal agencies in cooperation with state and local officials as Tropical Storm Gustav appears to be headed for a Gulf coast landfall within days.

 

The department’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has already pre-positioned thousands of tons of supplies in areas close to the Gulf coast states most likely to be exposed to Gustav: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

 

Those states are home to the bulk of US refining and petrochemical productive capacity and suffered widespread damage in the double hits of Hurricanes Katrina in late August and Rita in late September 2005.

 

FEMA said it has positioned 137 truckloads of water, 141 truckloads of tarpaulins, 267 truckloads of blankets and cots and 478 mobile generators in or near the four-state region. An additional 203 trucks are on standby with more than 4m meals ready to roll into damaged areas if needed, the agency said.

 

FEMA came under harsh criticism in 2005 in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita for not responding quickly or with enough assets. The agency appears determined to avoid any repeat of that criticism.

 

In addition, the department said it has placed 20 disaster medical assistance teams on alert along with nine modular medical response facilities, each with a 250-bed capacity.

 

The US Army Corps of Engineers has positioned emergency recovery teams on alert at military bases in the region. The teams specialise in power restoration and debris removal, among other recovery skills.

 

The Department of Transportation (DOT) “is working with states, airports, airlines and bus companies to ensure any needed evacuations are executed without delay”, the department said.

 

US National Guard soldiers - military forces that can be activated by state governments or federal authorities as needed - have been put on alert along with helicopters and heavy-duty vehicles.

 

The American Red Cross (ARC) has pre-positioned 19 emergency response medical vehicles in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas and has nearly 200 additional emergency vehicles and crews on standby for possible deployment into the Gulf states, the department said. ARC also has deployed several temporary shelter and kitchen trailers to the four states.

 

DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said that the department’s infrastructure protection group “is on high alert” and is aware that some energy companies, refiners and chemical producers in the Gulf region have already begun to evacuate vulnerable sites, especially those offshore.

 

“There is a lot of preparation under way and we’ve started a lot earlier,” she said.

 

Kudwa quoted Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as noting that those critical energy and production facilities have toughened their sites since the 2005 hurricane strikes, “but they do remain vulnerable”.

 

“No one is immune to mother nature,” she quoted Chertoff as saying.

 

As of 17:00 Miami time (21:00 GMT) on Wednesday, Tropical Storm Gustav was located 90 miles (145km) southeast of Guantanamo, Cuba, and heading west-northwest at 3 miles/hour (mph), according to the US National Hurricane Center.

 

The centre said Gustav is expected regain strength once it moves away from Cuba and Haiti and could be reclassified as a hurricane within a day or two. The centre’s long-range forecast puts Gustav ashore at New Orleans, Louisiana, by Monday afternoon.

 

To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly