Report On Southern Louisiana Emergency Preparedness, Spring 2009

Report on
Southern Louisiana Emergency

Preparedness
Generated by
Spring 2009
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About Disaster Accountability Project
The Disaster Accountability Project (DAP) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the improvement of the
United States disaster management systems through public accountability, citizen oversight and empowerment, whistle-
blower engagement, and policy research and advocacy.
What We Do
1) Real-Time/Immediate Oversight: DAP runs a toll-free hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) that allows survivors and relief workers
to report gaps or shortcomings in services in the immediate aftermath of disasters and works to get gaps addressed by
responsible agencies and organizations.
2) Policy Oversight: DAP engages in informed and targeted policy oversight and advocacy to ensure that disaster
planning, law, and policy are comprehensive, inclusive, and reflect best practices and lessons learned from recent
disasters. Problems reported to the DAP hotline provide tangible and real-time examples that DAP works to address
through long-term policy change.
3) Citizen Engagement: DAP engages citizens across the United States to ask informed questions, learn about local and
regional preparedness efforts, and demand transparency and accountability in local disaster planning and management
systems.
Our History
As the most expensive, and arguably most devastating, natural disaster in modern U.S. history, Hurricane Katrina
exposed critical deficiencies in disaster management on all levels. These failures illustrated the dire need for public
accountability in government agencies and nonprofit organizations responsible for disaster preparedness, response, relief,
and recovery. At the time, no citizen watchdog existed to provide oversight to FEMA, the American Red Cross, and other
agencies and organizations that comprise the U.S. disaster management system. DAP was founded in 2007 to fill that
need.
DAP has been profiled and/or quoted in national, regional, and local media ranging from:ABC News, AP, Politico, Houston
Chronicle, Baton Rouge Advocate, The Hartford Courant, Sun Herald, South Florida Sun Sentinel, and public radio
stations in Minnesota and Connecticut.
In 2008, DAP received an Echoing Green Fellowship.
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Table of Contents
About Disaster Accountability Project...............................................................................................2
What We Do.........................................................................................................................................................................2
Our History...........................................................................................................................................................................2
Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................4
Purpose................................................................................................................................................................................4
Scope...................................................................................................................................................................................4
Process................................................................................................................................................................................4
Plan Evaluation Rubric.........................................................................................................................................................4
Highlights..............................................................................................................................................................................6
Overall Observations......................................................................................................................................................6
Parish Highlights............................................................................................................................................................6
Plan Accessibility............................................................................................................................................................7
Compliance with Criteria................................................................................................................................................8
Criterion Compliance......................................................................................................................................................9
Notes, Provisos, and Corrections......................................................................................................................................10
Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................................................................10
Individual Parish Reports..................................................................................................................11
Acadia Parish.....................................................................................................................................................................11
Assumption Parish.............................................................................................................................................................13
East Baton Rouge Parish...................................................................................................................................................15
Iberia Parish.......................................................................................................................................................................17
Iberville Parish....................................................................................................................................................................19
Jefferson Parish.................................................................................................................................................................21
Lafayette Parish.................................................................................................................................................................23
Lafourche Parish................................................................................................................................................................26
Livingston Parish................................................................................................................................................................29
Orleans Parish...................................................................................................................................................................31
Plaquemines Parish...........................................................................................................................................................34
St. Bernard Parish..............................................................................................................................................................36
St. Charles Parish..............................................................................................................................................................39
St. James Parish................................................................................................................................................................42
St. John the Baptist Parish.................................................................................................................................................44
St. Martin Parish.................................................................................................................................................................47
St. Mary Parish...................................................................................................................................................................49
St. Tammany Parish...........................................................................................................................................................51
Tangipahoa Parish.............................................................................................................................................................54
Terrebonne Parish..............................................................................................................................................................57
Vermilion Parish.................................................................................................................................................................60
West Baton Rouge Parish..................................................................................................................................................62
Appendix: Aggregated Results
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Executive Summary
Purpose
Our purpose is to (1) determine public accessibility the emergency preparedness plans of 22 Southern Louisiana parishes
are to the general public and (2) evaluate the comprehensiveness of those emergency preparedness plans that are
available. Through this report, DAP promotes accountability and transparency by identifying (1) the plans that are missing
key elements and (2) the parishes that need to improve plan accessibility.
Scope
DAP chose to focus on 22 of the most vulnerable Louisiana parishes to gauge whether local governments are sufficiently
prepared for future disasters. Thus, the report examines the depth and accessibility of the emergency preparedness plans
of the following Southern Louisiana parishes, as represented by the graphic on the title page of this report:
 Acadia  Livingston  St. Mary
 Assumption  Orleans  St. Tammany
 East Baton Rouge  Plaquemines  Tangipahoa
 Iberia  St. Bernard  Terrebonne
 Iberville  St. Charles  Vermilion
 Jefferson  St. James  West Baton Rouge
 Lafayette  St. John the Baptist
 Lafourche  St. Martin
Process
In January, DAP volunteers attempted to gather plans from 16 parishes. Some information about that effort is included in
this report.
In March, DAP volunteers:
1) Searched the Internet to find each parish’s plan.
2) Telephoned parish Office of Emergency Preparedness or corresponding parish agency to obtain a copy of the
parish’s plan.
3) Visited the parish’s Office of Emergency Preparedness or corresponding agency.
4) Created a log of experiences, including the amount of time and effort needed to obtain a plan and the helpfulness
of the staff in the parish office.
5) Reviewed the plan, if we were able to obtain it, searching for information regarding evacuation plans, decision-
making authority, and transmission of information to the public.
Plan Evaluation Rubric

DAP developed the rubric below to assess the breadth and comprehensiveness of the plans. DAP distinguishes between
emergency brochures made available to the public (which provide information advising parish residents of “what to do” in
the event of a disaster) and official parish plans (which provide a more comprehensive and detailed set of roles and
responsibilities for parish officials and responders). Although this report addresses the availability of brochures, it reviews
only the plans, where available. For each parish, we answered the following questions:
General
1. Has the local plan been updated within six months of the last state plan update?
2. Is the emergency preparedness plan available by request from the public?
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer/ website for the community readily
accessible?
4. Is the emergency preparedness plan available online?
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Evacuations
5. Does the plan include information on evacuating day care facilities?
6. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who are disabled?
7. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who are elderly?
8. Does the plan include information on evacuating residential facilities (assisted living / nursing homes /
group homes / retirement communities)?
9. Does the plan include information on evacuating schools?
10. Does the plan include information on evacuating the homeless (including homeless shelters)?
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals?
12. Does the plan provide a parish-specific evacuation route?
13. Does the plan specify means of evacuating people without independent transportation?
Decision Making
14. Does the plan identify the individual with overall authority for making decisions for that jurisdiction in
an emergency?
15. When the top decision-maker makes a decision, does the plan clearly identify the individuals
responsible for ensuring that the decisions are implemented?
16. Does the plan describe an orderly means for ensuring continuity of decision making if the individual
identified is unavailable, incapacitated, or unwilling to implement the duty?
Public Information
17. Does the plan clearly identify how the decisions will be transmitted to the public?
18. Do the means identified for transmitting the decisions appear to be adequate in terms of their ability to
reach all individuals in the jurisdiction at the time of the emergency?
19. Does the plan describe how the public will be notified of decisions (and official recommendations) if
there is an electrical power outage in some part of, or all of, the jurisdiction?
20. Does the plan describe how decisions will be transmitted to individuals with hearing and vision
impairments?
21. Does the plan describe how business and recreational travelers will be notified of the emergency?
22. Does the plan describe how non-English speaking individuals will be notified in other languages?
23. Does the plan describe how the public will be notified of the location of shelters?
For each of the 23 criteria examined, volunteers recorded “Yes”, “No,” “Partial,” “Unknown,” “Refused,” or “No Response”:
 Yes (“Y”): The plan met the criterion.
 No (“N”): The plan did not meet (and in most cases) did not address the criterion.
 Partial (“P”): The plan addressed the criterion, but insufficiently so.
 Unknown (“U”): DAP could not determine whether the plan met the criterion.
 Refused (“R”): Our requests for access to the plan were refused.
 No Response (“NR”): DAP received no response to our requests to obtain the plan.
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Highlights
DAP’s research revealed disparities among the parishes regarding the availability and comprehensiveness of their
emergency preparedness plans. Below, we highlight parish plan strengths and areas of opportunity.
Overall Observations
Emergency management resources vary by parish, and many parishes appear to have limited resources dedicated to
emergency plan updating and development. To make matters worse, the State of Louisiana has been less than vigilant in
requiring parishes to maintain updated emergency plans and supporting them in achieving that end. Despite lessons
learned after Katrina, and over three years to fix broken and out-dated systems, many parishes are still ill-prepared, lack
public accountability and transparency, and fail to comply with state laws that require their cooperation with disaster
preparedness efforts.
This reality necessitates a sustained intervention by state and federal government actors to ensure parishes are
completely prepared for the approaching hurricane season. State and federal governments should have the capacity to
provide valuable technical expertise to ensure all parishes are maintaining the most updated, comprehensive, and
accessible emergency plans possible.
The Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness should regularly request and
evaluate the comprehensiveness and accessibility of parish emergency plans and end the dangerous practice of only
providing technical assistance when it is requested by local emergency managers. Decisions to request state support for
parish emergency plan development should not rest with only one individual, who may or may not welcome outside
scrutiny.
The State of Louisiana and FEMA must work more diligently to ensure parish emergency plans are well maintained, and
the State must address communication breakdowns that have led some parishes wrongly to expect and wait for state
approval of their emergency plans. FEMA should attach conditions to its preparedness grants and require the
development of comprehensive emergency plans that account for best practices. The fact that some Southern Louisiana
parish plans are dated before Hurricane Katrina indicates a dangerous inadequacy of oversight. This lack of oversight,
coupled with out-dated plans and a widespread absence of initiative on all levels, sets the region on a crash-course
toward the same breakdowns in management, inter-government operability, and communications realized in the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina.
Studies demonstrate that dollars spent on disaster prevention and preparedness result in significant savings on post-
disaster response, relief, and recovery expenditures. The State of Louisiana and the federal government have great
human and economic interests in ensuring vulnerable communities are prepared. Further, the residents of Louisiana
parishes hit by Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav, and Ike are still suffering from past storms, and many of these region's
parishes do not have updated or accessible plans as the new hurricane season arrives.
Citizens must be engaged to demand increased transparency and accountability in parishes, Louisiana state government,
FEMA, and all other aspects of the disaster management system. The State of Louisiana and FEMA should send teams of
specialists to parishes across Louisiana to provide support for local emergency plan development. In fact, state law
already requires parish cooperation. DAP hopes that future results of this exercise will not remain so worrisome.
Parish Highlights
 Acadia: Parish told DAP the plan would be updated by May 2009. May 2009 is dangerously close to the
beginning of hurricane season for a parish to release a new plan, test its effectiveness, make revisions, and
ensure all stake-holders are aware of their roles.
 Assumption: Parish told DAP it is waiting on state approval of its plans, but the Governor's Office told DAP that
the State does not approve plans. The Governor must clarify the State's involvement in parish emergency plan
review and support.
 Iberia: Parish told DAP the plan would be updated in within a few weeks – from the week of March 9, 2009.
 Iberville: Parish told DAP that the plan would be online if not for website problems.
 Lafayette: Parish refused DAP's request for an emergency plan, and a majority of the preparedness brochures
available to the public were between 15-40 years old.
 Lafourche: Parish told DAP that it is waiting on State approval of its 2004 plan, but the Governor's Office told
DAP that the State does not approve plans. The Governor must clarify the State's involvement in parish
emergency plan review and support.
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 Orleans: Parish told DAP it was working on updating the website with more translated documents and evacuation
videos in American Sign Language. No completion date provided.
 Tangipahoa: Parish told DAP the plan would not be ready until at least September 2009. The absence of an
emergency plan leaves the Parish dangerously unprepared for hurricane season.
 Terrebonne: No plan was made available, and parish told DAP that the current plan is so outdated that the parish
essentially has no plan until May 2009, when the new plan is expected. May 2009 is dangerously too close to the
beginning of hurricane season for a parish to release a new plan, test its effectiveness, make revisions, and
ensure all stake-holders are aware of their roles.
 Vermilion: Current plan is dated 2003. Parish told DAP that no plan update is likely before the end of 2009 and
no new plan until 2011. The absence of an emergency plan leaves the Parish dangerously unprepared for
hurricane season.
Plan Accessibility
Most notably, many plans were inaccessible. The chart below indicates whether or not DAP was able to gain access to
each parish's plan:
Parish January March

Acadia No attempt made. Available upon request in person.
Assumption No attempt made. Available upon request in person.
East Baton Rouge Accessed online. Accessed online.
Iberia Available upon request in person. Access refused.
Iberville No attempt made. Available upon request in person.
Jefferson Accessed online. Accessed online.
Lafayette No response to request. No response to request.
Lafourche Accessed online. Accessed online.
Livingston No response to request. No response to request.
Orleans Upon request in person. Access refused.
Plaquemines Accessed refused. No response to request.
St. Bernard Available upon request in person. Available upon request in person.
St. Charles In-office access only. In-office access only.
St. James No attempt made. No response to request.
St. John the Baptist Re-directed to library. Portion of plan located. Evasive. Re-directed to library. No plan found.
St. Martin No attempt made. Available upon request in person.
St. Mary No attempt made. No response to request.
St. Tammany Accessed refused. Access refused.
Tangipahoa Accessed refused. Access refused.
Terrebonne Accessed refused. Hassled. Access refused.
Vermilion Available upon request in person. Available upon request in person.
West Baton Rouge Hassled. No plan located. Hassled. Plan located online.
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Compliance with Criteria
As the chart above indicates, DAP gained access to one-half of the plans requested in March. The chart below ranks the
compliance (with DAP criteria) of the parishes whose plans we were able to review, from most to least compliant:
% Fully or Partially
Rank Parish % Fully Compliant Compliant
1 St. Charles 78% 87%
2 Assumption 78% 83%
2 Iberville 78% 83%
4 Vermilion 65% 78%
5 Acadia 61% 78%
5 Jefferson 61% 78%
7 St. Martin 57% 57%
8 West Baton Rouge 48% 87%
9 East Baton Rouge 39% 70%
10 St. Bernard 39% 48%
11 Lafourche 35% 87%
 % Fully Compliant: Of the 23 criteria assessed, the

percentage of those for which the answer was “Yes.”
 % Fully or Partially Compliant: Of the 23 criteria
assessed, the percentage of those for which the
answer was “Yes” or “Partial.”
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Criterion Compliance
The chart below ranks each criterion in order of parish compliance, for those parishes where we obtained a plan. The
items for which parishes were most compliant are listed first:
% Fully or
% Fully Partially
Rank Question # Question Compliant Compliant
1 15 Plan identifies chain of command and responsibilities? 100% 100%
Plan identifies how decisions will be transmitted to the
1 17 public? 100% 100%
Plan identifies individual with overall authority in an
3 14 emergency? 91% 100%
Plan identifies how public will be informed of shelter
3 23 locations? 91% 100%
Plan identifies continuity of decision making if break in
5 16 chain of command occurs? 91% 91%
6 3 Brochures are available to public? 86% 91%
7 12 Plan includes parish-specific evacuation route? 82% 100%
Information regarding evacuating people without
7 13 independent transportation included? 82% 100%
9 6 Information regarding evacuating disabled included? 64% 100%
10 9 Information regarding evacuating schools included? 64% 73%
11 7 Information regarding evacuating elderly included? 55% 100%
Means of communication adequate to reach all people
12 18 in case of emergency? 55% 91%
Plan identifies lines of communication to public during
13 19 power outage? 55% 82%
Information regarding evacuating residential facilities
13 8 included? 55% 82%
15 11 Information regarding evacuating hospitals included? 55% 73%
16 2 Plan is available to public? 32% 50%
Plan identifies how hearing and vision impaired will be
17 20 notified? 27% 82%
Plan identifies how non-English speakers will be
18 22 notified? 27% 55%
19 21 Plan identifies how visitors to the state will be notified? 27% 45%
20 1 Plan updated in last six months? 27% 27%
21 5 Information regarding evacuating day cares included? 18% 27%
22 4 Plan available online? 18% 18%
23 10 Information regarding evacuating homeless included? 0% 0%
 % Fully Compliant: Of the 23 criteria assessed, the percentage of those for which the answer was “Yes.”
 % Fully or Partially Compliant: Of the 23 criteria assessed, the percentage of those for which the answer was
“Yes” or “Partial.”
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Notes, Provisos, and Corrections
 Acadia: No attempt made to obtain plan in January 2009 but attempt made in March 2009.
 Assumption: No attempt made to obtain plan in January 2009 but attempt made in March 2009.
 East Baton Rouge: No in-person attempt to obtain plan made in January or March 2009. Plan accessed online
each time.
 Iberia: Plan obtained in January 2009; parish refused to provide plan in March 2009.
 Iberville: No attempt made to obtain plan in January 2009 but attempt made in March 2009.
 Jefferson: No in-person attempt to obtain plan made in January or March 2009. Plan accessed online each time.
 Orleans: Plan obtained in January 2009; parish refused to provide plan in March 2009.
 Plaquemines: Access to the plan was refused in both January and March 2009. In January, DAP reported that we
had accessed and evaluated a plan for the parish. That report was in error; our evaluators in January reviewed a
detailed brochure.
 St. Charles: Only permits in-office access to the plan. No copy may be removed. DAP's March survey provides
greater detail than its January survey, as our evaluators had more time available to review the plan.
 St. James: No attempt made to obtain plan in January 2009 but attempt made in March 2009.
 St. John the Baptist: DAP was directed to the local library in both January and March 2009. In January, the
librarian was able to locate a portion of the plan; in March, no plan could be found. Our March experience is
recorded as “No Response.”
 St. Martin: No attempt made to obtain plan in January 2009 but attempt made in March 2009.
 West Baton Rouge: Online attempt only in January 2009. In January, DAP reported that we had accessed and
evaluated a plan for the parish. That report was in error; our evaluators in January reviewed a detailed brochure.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to our "plan requesting" teams of more than 30 volunteers. Special thanks to Kiley Young for her on-going
assistance and dedication, and Colin Crowe for his masterful Excel work, detailed editing, and time commitment.
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Individual Parish Reports
Acadia Parish
Visit Log / Analysis
March 12, 2009
January 2009 I e-mailed Ms. Boudreaux on 3/12/09 to check on the
No attempt. status of my request. I received the plan on the afternoon
of 3/12/09.
March 2009
March 9, 2009 Additional Information
At 2:30 p.m., I spoke on the phone with Kim Boudreaux,
Assistant Director of Emergency Preparedness. She said None.
that brochures and additional materials are available from
the Emergency Preparedness office (most are provided by Contact Information
the Red Cross and not parish-specific), and evacuation
maps and some other info are on the website. Ms. Kim Boudreaux, Assistant Director
Boudreaux said that the parish has a policy that in order to Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
view or get copies of the plan, you MUST submit a request Preparedness
form to the Secretary/Treasurer’s office and have it Acadia Parish
approved. I completed the form and faxed it to Ms. 568 Northeast Court Circle
Boudreaux at approximately 4:00 pm on 3/9/09. Post Office Box A
Crowley, Louisiana 70527-6001
March 10, 2009 Phone: 337-783-4357
I visited her office the next afternoon (3/10/09), but my Cell: 337-523-2679
request had not yet been approved by the Secretary Fax: 337-788-8852
Treasurer. Ms. Boudreaux offered to e-mail the plan to me E-mail: kboudreaux@appj.org
when my request was approved.
Question Y/N/P/ Comment

U/NR/
R
General
1. Has the local plan been updated within six months of the N Kim Boudreaux, Assistant Director of Emergency
last state plan update? Preparedness, said that the plan is currently being updated to
follow the ESF guidelines set by the Governor's Office of
Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness. It has been
over a year since the ESF guidelines were updated. Ms.
Boudreaux said the Acadia plan updates began in mid-2008
and are expected to be completed by May 2009. According
the Ms. Boudreaux, the information is all the same; only the
format is being changed.
2. Is the emergency preparedness plan available by request P To obtain a copy of the plan, a person must complete a Public
from the public? Information Request Form which must be approved by the
parish Secretary-Treasurer. After submitting the form, it took
approximately 72 hours and a follow-up contact to receive the
plan via e-mail.
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / P Some information is available online at
flyer / website for the community readily accessible? www.appj.org/Departments/emergency_mgmt.htm, but it is
not parish-specific information.
4. Is the emergency preparedness plan available online? N
Evacuations
5. Does the plan include information on evacuating day care N
facilities?
6. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who Y
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are disabled?
are elderly?
8. Does the plan include information on evacuating residential Y
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes /
retirement communities)?
9. Does the plan include information on evacuating schools? Y
10. Does the plan include information on evacuating the N
homeless (including homeless shelters)?
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating Y
hospitals?
12. Does the plan provide a parish-specific evacuation route? Y
13. Does the plan specify means of evacuating people Y
without independent transportation?
Decision Making
14. Does the plan identify the individual with overall authority Y
for making decisions for that jurisdiction in an emergency?
15. When the top decision maker makes a decision, does the Y
plan clearly identify the individuals responsible for ensuring
that the decisions are implemented?
16. Does the plan describe an orderly means for ensuring Y
continuity of decision making if the individual identified is
unavailable, incapacitated or unwilling to implement the duty?
Public Information
17. Does the plan clearly identify how the decisions will be Y
transmitted to the public?
18. Do the means identified for transmitting the decisions P
appear to be adequate in terms of their ability to reach all
individuals in the jurisdiction at the time of the emergency?
19. Does the plan describe how the public will be notified of Y
decisions (and official recommendations) if there is an
electrical power outage in some part of, or all of, the
jurisdiction?
20. Does the plan describe how decisions will be transmitted P Certain positions/entities are generally charged with assisting
to individuals with hearing and vision impairments? with public warnings to these populations, but the plan does
not specify how hearing and vision-impaired people will be
warned.
21. Does the plan describe how business and recreational N
travelers will be notified of the emergency?
22. Does the plan describe how non-English speaking Y
individuals will be notified in other languages?
23. Does the plan describe how the public will be notified of Y
the location of shelters?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Assumption Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis fewer resources than that of Orleans or Jefferson, they
must prepare as if no other support will be given to them.
January 2009 He also said that the plan does not reflect all of the
No attempt. preparation that goes into planning for a disaster because
each disaster is different.
March 2009
Visited office and obtained plan. Contact Information
Additional Information John Boudreaux, Director

4813 Highway One
From our conversations with a parish official, the parish Napoleanville, LA 70390
works closely with the Bayou Parishes. The parish official (985) 369-7386
indicated that because these parishes are rural and have
Y/N/P/
Question U/NR/ Comment
R
General
A parish official said that the parish treats the plan as a
working document that is updated all the time. The official
said that the state is supposed to approve plans every 4
1. Has the local plan been updated within six months of the last
N years, but after Katrina, the state put a hold on approving
state plan update?
plans. The parish official said that Assumption Parish has
submitted plans for approval, but the state has yet to start
approving Plans.
2. Is the emergency preparedness plan available by request
Y The plan is available at the parish office.
from the public?
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer /
Y
website for the community readily accessible?
Evacuations
5. Does the plan include information on evacuating day care
Y
facilities?
6. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who
Y
are disabled?
Y
are elderly?
8. Does the plan include information on evacuating residential
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes / Y
10. Does the plan include information on evacuating the
N No specific reference to the homeless is made.
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? Y
13. Does the plan specify means of evacuating people without
Y
independent transportation?
Decision Making
14. Does the plan identify the individual with overall authority Y
13
15. When the top decision maker makes a decision, does the
plan clearly identify the individuals responsible for ensuring that Y
the decisions are implemented?
16. Does the plan describe an orderly means for ensuring
continuity of decision making if the individual identified is Y
Public Information
17. Does the plan clearly identify how the decisions will be
Y
18. Do the means identified for transmitting the decisions
appear to be adequate in terms of their ability to reach all Y
19. Does the plan describe how the public will be notified of
Y
jurisdiction?
Parish told DAP that cable laws do not allow a population the
20. Does the plan describe how decisions will be transmitted to
P size of Assumption Parish to use to broadcast emergency
individuals with hearing and vision impairments?
notifications at the bottom of the television screen.
21. Does the plan describe how business and recreational
Y
22. Does the plan describe how non-English speaking
N
23. Does the plan describe how the public will be notified of the
Y
location of shelters?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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East Baton Rouge Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis Divisions of Responsibility
The plan stipulates that the Red Cross will be responsible
January 2009 for food and other supplies used in shelters. (E-3-1)
No visit attempted. Accessed plan online. The plan implies that East Baton Rouge Parish retains
primary jurisdictional authority over search and rescue
March 2009 operations. (J-1-1)
No visit attempted. Accessed plan online. The plan does not make explicit mention of the parish’s
primary (as opposed to supportive) jurisdictional roles.
Additional Information This conflict may be further complicated by ambiguities in
top-level decision-making authority.
The parish's plan is one of the more comprehensive. It is Top-Level Decision-Making Authority
available at http://brgov.com/dept/oep/plan.asp. Overall decision-making authority may rest with the
These plans were last changed in December of 2008. A homeland security and emergency preparedness director,
table of changes to the plan is included in the foreword. since public information seems to emanate from this
There is also a distribution list explaining how many position on the flow chart provided in East Baton Rouge’s
copies of the plan are available at each local office. The plan. (N-1-1) He also appears at the top of the Warning
distribution list explains that CD-ROM copies of the plan Flow Organizational Chart. (C-1-1) According to the Law
are available as of 2002. It does not say where these Enforcement and Emergency Public Welfare organization
copies are available. charts, however, the parish mayor or president rests
Evacuation of Special Needs Populations above the homeland security director. (G-1-1, M-1-1) With
An appendix of the East Baton Rouge plan describes a whom lies the “last word” in emergency situations is
confidential list of disabled persons and elderly persons somewhat ambiguous. The lines of succession for the
who are clients of the Parish Council On Aging, which is East Baton Rouge Parish are clearly outlined. (BP-3-1)
kept for purposes of evacuation. (D-8-1) Information is
also provided on how to access this list. This section of Contact Information
the plan is somewhat ambiguous as to whether disabled
persons are definitely included on the Council On Aging’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
confidential lists. Furthermore, it does not seem that such Preparedness
lists would include information about “latchkey” children or JoAnne H. Moreau, Director
other children who may be deemed to be in special needs Tuesday Mills, Assistant Director
situations. 3773 Harding Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70807
Mass Care Facilities Phone: (225) 389-2100
There is no list of shelters in the East Baton Rouge Fax: (225) 389-2114
Emergency Operations Plan. The plan explains, however, Email: oep@brgov.com
that such list can be located with the Red Cross. (E-2-1) http://brgov.com/dept/oep/lepc.htm
The plan’s Guide for Shelter Managers does not mention Office of the East Baton Rouge Mayor-President
protocol for caring for elderly, disabled, and other persons Melvin “Kip” Holden, Mayor-President
with special needs, except that children and elderly should 222 Saint Louis St., 3rd Floor, Baton Rouge, LA 70802
receive a midday lunch. (E-3-1) This Guide also suggests Phone: (225) 389 - 3100
that childcare should also be provided in the event that a Fax: (225) 389 - 5203
shelter is open for more than a day or two. mayor@brgov.com
Y/N/P/
R
General
1. Has the local plan been updated within six months of the
Y The plan includes a record of changes.
last state plan update?
Y http://brgov.com/dept/oep/plan.asp
from the public?
Y http://brgov.com/dept/oep/plan.asp
4. Is the emergency preparedness plan available online? Y
Evacuations
N
facilities? 15
A list of disabled and elderly persons is maintained by the
6. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who parish council on aging; there does not appear to be a full
P
are disabled? plan regarding how evacuation of these population takes
place.
A list of disabled and elderly persons is maintained by the
7. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who parish council on aging; there does not appear to be a full
P
are elderly? plan regarding how evacuation of these population takes
place.
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes / N
9. Does the plan include information on evacuating schools? N
N
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? N
13. Does the plan specify means of evacuating people without Pick-up points for persons without independent transportation
P
independent transportation? are specified; no detailed process is included in the plan.
Decision Making
14. Does the plan identify the individual with overall authority Please refer to findings in attached report; potential ambiguity
P
for making decisions for that jurisdiction in an emergency? exists.
plan clearly identify the individuals responsible for ensuring Y The plan includes Law Enforcement Organizational Chart.
continuity of decision making if the individual identified is Y The plan details lines of succession.
Public Information
Y
18. Do the means identified for transmitting the decisions There is a community alert system in place. Methods of
appear to be adequate in terms of their ability to reach all P communicating with the elderly, disabled, or non-English
individuals in the jurisdiction at the time of the emergency? speaking populations are not clear.
decisions (and official recommendations) if there is an Auxiliary power is available for some communication
Y
electrical power outage in some part of, or all of, the systems.
jurisdiction?
Certain positions/entities are generally charged with assisting
to warn these populations, but the plan does not specify how
P hearing and vision-impaired people will be warned. This only
pertains to individuals registered with agencies and the plan
does not specify how they will be warned.
21. Does the plan describe how business and recreational It appears as if these groups are considered to be a part of
N
travelers will be notified of the emergency? the general population of E. Baton Rouge.
N
P
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
16
Iberia Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis achieving any purpose of this Chapter and in im-
plementing programs for disaster emergency mit-
January 2009 igation, preparation, response, and recovery.” RS
Office visited and plan obtained. 29:729(E)(12).
March 2009 Disaster Accountability Project is a nonpartisan,

March 17, 2009 non-profit organization providing accountability
I called the Office of Homeland Security and spoke to and oversight to the nation's disaster prevention,
Laura Downey. I asked if a copy of the parish’s emergency response, relief, and recovery systems through
preparedness plan was available online or could be made monitoring and policy research. DAP's website is
available electronically. Ms. Downey was very friendly, but http://www.DisasterAccountability.org. A toll-free
informed me that any copy of the plan could not be made hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) is available as a public
available for several weeks because the office was in the service for disaster survivors, workers and
process of updating the plan. She said that if I e-mailed volunteers to report critical gaps in disaster
her a request, she would try to forward me a copy of the prevention, response, relief, and recovery
plan or information regarding the plan once it was services or planning.
updated. I followed up with the following e-mail:
Thank you again for your help and feel free to
To: ldowney@iberiagov.net contact me with any questions.
Ms. Downey: Sincerely,
Thank you for your help during our phone conver- Volunteer, Disaster Accountability Project
sation today. Like I said, I am a volunteer with the
Disaster Accountability Project (DAP) and would Additional Information
like to view and/or obtain a copy of Iberia Parish's
emergency plan. I understand that your office is None.
in the process of updating the plan and that this
should be complete within a couple of weeks. If Contact Information
an electronic version of the plan is available once
it has been updated, could you please e-mail it to
Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Prepared-
this address?
ness
Courthouse Building
This request is consistent with Louisiana Code RS
300 Iberia Street, Suite B130
29:729 — Parish homeland security and emer-
New Iberia, LA 70560-4543
gency preparedness agency authorities and re-
sponsibilities, which requires parish offices of James Anderson, Director
homeland security and emergency preparedness Phone: (337) 369-4427
to “[c]ooperate with the state and federal govern- Fax: (337) 369-9956
ment and any public or private agency or entity in Email: ipoep1@bellsouth.net
Y/N/P/
R
General
The parish is in the process of updating the emergency plan
1. Has the local plan been updated within six months of the and the updated plan will be available in a few weeks.
R
last state plan update? Because the former plan will soon be out-of-date, the parish
would not release the former plan.
N
from the public?
Y
17
Evacuations
R
facilities?
R
are disabled?
R
are elderly?
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes / R
9. Does the plan include information on evacuating schools? R
R
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? R
12. Does the plan provide a parish-specific evacuation route? R
R
Decision Making
14. Does the plan identify the individual with overall authority
R
plan clearly identify the individuals responsible for ensuring R
continuity of decision making if the individual identified is R
Public Information
R
appear to be adequate in terms of their ability to reach all R
R
jurisdiction?
R
R
R
R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
18
Iberville Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis Contact Information
January 2009 Mr. Ronnie Rockforte, Chair

No attempt made. Iberville Parish Emergency Planning Committee
c/o Iberville Parish Office of Homeland Security and
March 2009 Emergency Preparedness
March 10, 2009 P. O. Box 324
We visited the parish and obtained the plan. Plaquemine, LA 70765-0324
Phone: 225-687-5140 Contact Dir. Laurie Doiron
Additional Information Fax: 225-687-5146
Email: ldoiron@ibervilleparish.com
None. Web Site: http://www.ibervilleparish.com/
Y/N/P/
R
General
U
2. Is the emergency preparedness plan available by request DAP was given the plan and allowed to keep it as long as
Y
from the public? needed
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / Brochures are on the website and the parish is working to put
Y
website for the community readily accessible? the plan online as well.
A staff member said that the parish is in the process of
4. Is the emergency preparedness plan available online? N updating its plan but that the parish is having a slight problem
with the website that it is working to fix.
Evacuations
The plan addresses groups such as the "handicapped,
elderly, incarcerated, etc."If day care facilities are included in
N this group, the plan has information on evacuating day care
facilities?
facilities. The plan does not, however, specifically addresses
the evacuation of daycare facilities.
Y
are disabled?
Y
are elderly?
The plan addresses groups such as the "handicapped,
elderly, incarcerated, etc." If homeless persons are included
N in this group, the plan has information on evacuating the
homeless. The plan does not, however, specifically address
the evacuation of the homeless.
The plan includes information about hospital evacuations in
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? Y accordance with the evacuation of persons with special
needs.
19
Y
Decision Making
Y
plan clearly identify the individuals responsible for ensuring Y
Public Information
Y
The Director reports to the Parish President. The Director
oversees
E-notify/E-merge, the telephone ring-down system, cable-
television override, radio override, outdoor warning sirens,
and EAS stations. The Director distributes press releases and
emergency information packets.
decisions (and official recommendations) if there is an The public will be notified through same procedures identified
Y
electrical power outage in some part of, or all of, the by Question 17.
jurisdiction?
20. Does the plan describe how decisions will be transmitted to Decisions will be transmitted through the media, specialized
Y
individuals with hearing and vision impairments? telephones, and door-to-door.
The plan does not specifically reference business and
recreational travelers, but the plan indicates that all people in
21. Does the plan describe how business and recreational the region are notified per the communications identified by
P
travelers will be notified of the emergency? Question 17. If business and recreational travelers are
included in "all people in the region," then the parish does
have notification available.
22. Does the plan describe how non-English speaking The plan indicates that they can contact the Bell South
Y
individuals will be notified in other languages? language line and LSU.
23. Does the plan describe how the public will be notified of the The public will be notified through same procedures identified
Y
location of shelters? by Question 17.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
20
Jefferson Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis Contact Information
January 2009 Mr. Gene Tierney, Chair

No visit attempted; plan obtained online. Jefferson Parish Emergency Planning Committee
c/o Jefferson Parish Emergency Management
March 2009 1887 Ames Boulevard
No visit attempted; plan obtained online. Marrero, LA 70072
Phone: 504-349-5360 Contact Bob Darcey
Additional Information Fax: 504-455-9352
Email: bdarcey@jeffparish.net Web Site:
None. http://www.jeffparish.net
Y/N/P/
R
General
1. Has the local plan been updated within six months of the Portions of the plan were updated in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
U
last state plan update? Specific dates unavailable for many of 2008 updates.
Y
from the public?
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / The parish website contains a plethora of information related
Y
website for the community readily accessible? to emergency preparedness.
4. Is the emergency preparedness plan available online? Y http://www.jeffparish.net/index.cfm?DocID=5040
Evacuations
N
facilities?
6. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who http://www.jeffparish.net/downloads/5288/5702-
Y
are disabled? PubliclyAssistedEvacplan.pdf
7. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who http://www.jeffparish.net/downloads/5288/5702-
Y
are elderly? PubliclyAssistedEvacplan.pdf
See the "Special Needs" guidelines: http://www.jeffparish.net/
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes / P
index.cfm?DocID=2273
Under the Publicly Assisted Evacuation heading, the plans
N address a need for people who cannot transport themselves,
but is not specific.
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? Y http://www.jeffparish.net/index.cfm?DocID=2273
The plan identifies a specific evacuation route. Routes may
12. Does the plan provide a parish-specific evacuation route? Y change depending on the track of the storm and possible
rainfall flooding prior to landfall.
The Jefferson Transit "JeT" System will still run along the
regularly established routes but will be available for residents
Y who have no other means of transportation. Riders will be
taken to shelters designated in Jefferson Parish or to State-
designated shelters outside of Jefferson Parish.
Decision Making
14. Does the plan identify the individual with overall authority Kenneth L. Padgett is the Director of the Jefferson Parish
Y
for making decisions for that jurisdiction in an emergency? Department of Emergency Management.
21
There is a plan in place for establishing and operating an
Emergency Operations Satellite Support Office (EOSSO) in
order to facilitate continuity of operations and/or continuity of
government if conditions arise that prevent the essential
administrative functions from being performed within the
parish.
Public Information
Y AM 870, FM 101.9
decisions (and official recommendations) if there is an By radio, so “Yes” unless an individual does not have a
P
electrical power outage in some part of, or all of, the battery-powered radio.
jurisdiction?
P
N
22. Does the plan describe how non-English speaking The evacuation guide and map are available online in both
P
individuals will be notified in other languages? Spanish and Vietnamese.
Y
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
22
Lafayette Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis authorities and responsibilities, which requires
parish offices of homeland security and
January 2009 emergency preparedness to “[c]ooperate with the
Onsite attempt. Refused access to plan, claiming that state and federal government and any public or
director must approve. Director not available. No plan private agency or entity in achieving any
obtained. purpose of this Chapter and in implementing
programs for disaster emergency mitigation,
March 2009 preparation, response, and recovery.” RS
March 9, 2009 29:729(E)(12).
DAP first contacted the Lafayette Parish Emergency
Planning Committee office by phone. We called a number Disaster Accountability Project is a nonpartisan,
from the contact list and spoke to Crystal Royer. We non-profit organization providing accountability
requested to see the emergency preparedness plans, and and oversight to the nation's disaster prevention,
Ms. Royer told us that she needed permission from her response, relief, and recovery systems through
boss William “Bill” Vincent before she could allow anyone monitoring and policy research. DAP's website is
to see the plans. Mr. Vincent is usually “on the road” or “in http://www.DisasterAccountability.org. A toll-free
and out of the office.” Ms. Royer agreed to leave Mr. hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) is available as a public
Vincent a message and to call us as soon as she could service for disaster survivors, workers and
find him. volunteers to report critical gaps in disaster
prevention, response, relief, and recovery
March 10, 2009 services or planning.
We visited the Lafayette Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Preparedness located at 800 South Buchanan We would like to view the plan by this week, and
St. without an appointment at approximately 1:00. The can visit your office tomorrow to view the plan.
office is underneath the courthouse and has a separate Preferably, if the plan is available in electronic
entrance at the rear of the building. There is an inner set format, you could e-mail the plan to this email
of doors that are always locked and visitors are admitted address. Your prompt attention to this matter is
into a waiting area via a buzzer system. The office is greatly appreciated. Feel free to contact me with
visible from the waiting area but we were not allowed into any further questions.
the office. We asked to speak with Ms. Royer, and were
told to sit in the waiting area because she was at lunch. Thank you,
Linda Laverne is the assistant director and came out to
speak with us. Ms. Laverne was slightly suspicious at first Volunteer, Disaster Accountability Project
but after we identified ourselves and explained why we
were there she was happy to speak with us and seemed March 12, 2009
very friendly. Ms. Laverne informed us that we would not We called in the afternoon to follow up on our email to Mr.
be able to obtain a copy of the plan, but that we could Vincent. Ms. Laverne was not in the office and we spoke
schedule an appointment to view the plan contingent on to Ms. Royer again, who did not know of our email and
Mr. Vincent's approval. She told us again that Mr. Vincent informed us that the office had been very busy and would
was “in and out of the office” and that she would contact continue to be very busy because the office was applying
us when she found him. Ms. Laverne left to go to a for grants due at the end of the week. Ms. Royer said that
meeting. We took one copy of each pamphlet in the the next week would be a better week to view the plan.
waiting area and we left the office. We thanked her and said that we would call Ms. Laverne
the next day if we had any questions.
March 11, 2009
Ms. Laverne requested that we send an email stating who March 13, 2009
we are and what we do so she could have our request on We called on Friday and spoke with a secretary named
record. I sent the following email: “Janie” and asked for Ms. Royer. Ms. Royer said that the
Dear Mr. Vincent, office had not heard from Mr. Vincent yet, and that they
would contact us as soon as they heard from him. Overall,
I am a volunteer with the Disaster Accountability the office was friendly and responsive but we were unable
Project (DAP), and I have been in contact with to obtain a copy or schedule a meeting to view the
your office since Monday. I would like to view emergency preparedness plans. We talked to different
and/or obtain a copy of Lafayette Parish's people on different days and Mr. Vincent appears difficult
emergency plan. This request is consistent with to locate. Obtaining Mr. Vincent's approval appears to be a
Louisiana Code RS 29:729 — Parish homeland complicated process and prevented us from seeing the
security and emergency preparedness agency plan this week.
23
 Surviving the storm: A guide to hurricane
Additional Information preparedness
 Water purification
The Lafayette Parish homepage is  Avoiding Flood Damage: A checklist for
http://www.lafayettegov.net. The hurricane preparedness homeowners
portion of the site is located at  Flash flood: The treacherous torrent
http://www.lafayettela.gov/lcg_ep/index.asp and is divided  Hurricane evacuation guidelines
into five sections: Louisiana recovery information, general  Tornado safety rules
preparedness, weather, evacuation plan, and local news.
 How to help children after a disaster: A guidebook
Within these sections are mostly links to third party sites
for teachers
run by the state or FEMA. One of the few links that does
 Hurricane awareness: Action guidelines for school
contain information that is specific to Lafayette is the
children
Homeland Security site for Lafayette.
 Tornadoes...nature's most violent storms: A
The Lafayette City - Parish Office of Homeland Security preparedness guide
and Emergency Preparedness is linked from the site  Hurricanes...the greatest storms on earth: A
above and is located at http://www.lafayetteoep.org. This preparedness guide
is the department tasked with preparing the emergency  Emergency preparedness checklist
preparedness report. The report is not on the website. The  Lafayette Parish evacuation route map
site has electronic copies of some of the pamphlets found  Lafayette Parish 9-1-1 Communication District
in the Lafayette office. The site has links to traffic  Hurricane handbook: How to be prepared during
information, weather, federal agencies, and local hurricane season
cooperative agencies such as Acadian Ambulance and the  Louisiana Citizen Awareness & Disaster
Lafayette Civil Air Patrol. Evacuation Guide
 Louisiana Citizen Awareness and Disaster
The Lafayette Parish homepage has more information Evacuation Guide Volume 1: Southwest
regarding emergency preparedness than the Homeland The majority of the pamphlets, though, are at least 15
Security and Emergency Preparedness site, although years old, and some are nearly 40 years old.
there is some overlap since both sites link to many of the
same federal agencies. Contact Information
Many pamphlets were available at the office, including
 Don't wait until it's too late: A pet owner's guide to Mr. William R. Vincent, Chair
disaster preparedness Linda Laverne, Assistant Director
 Flood: Are you protected from the next disaster? Lafayette Parish Emergency Planning Committee
 Hurricane-Floods: Safety tips for coastal and c/o Lafayette Parish Office of Homeland Security and
inland flooding Emergency Preparedness
 Preparedness in apartments and mobile homes P. O. Box 3286
Lafayette, LA 70502
 When you return to a storm damaged home
Phone: 337-291-5075
 Cleaning Flood-Damaged Homes
Fax: 337-291-5080
 If we can't find you, we can't help you Email: eoc@lafayettegov.net
 What to do in case of a chemical emergency Web Site: http://www.lafayetteoep.org
 The next one could have your name on it!
Y/N/P/
R
General
NR
The office said that DAP needs to make an appointment with
2. Is the emergency preparedness plan available by request the director to view the emergency preparedness plan. The
U
from the public? director did not have time available to schedule a meeting
that week.
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / Some information is online and pamphlets and brochures are
Y
website for the community readily accessible? available in the office.
4. Is the emergency preparedness plan available online? N Information on flood/hurricane preparedness and evacuation
procedures are available online, but the plan itself is not
24
online.
Evacuations
NR
facilities?
NR
are disabled?
NR
are elderly?
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes / NR
9. Does the plan include information on evacuating schools? NR
NR
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? NR
12. Does the plan provide a parish-specific evacuation route? NR
NR
Decision Making
NR
plan clearly identify the individuals responsible for ensuring NR
continuity of decision making if the individual identified is NR
Public Information
NR
appear to be adequate in terms of their ability to reach all NR
NR
jurisdiction?
NR
NR
NR
NR
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
25
Lafourche Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis original document was scanned in. He said that he is
currently reviewing the plan but mostly in terms of haz-mat
January 2009 disasters since things went fairly smoothly after Hurricane
January 5, 2009 Ike. We told him our main concern was that the plan was
We first contacted the parish by phone at (985) 532-8174. not updated since 2004 and he assured us that this was
We spoke with Chris Bourdreaux on the phone at indeed not the case. He also informed us that though this
12:15pm, and asked him whether we could obtain an is the plan that his parish has in place and the plan that is
updated copy of the parish’s evacuation plan. He said followed in their parish, the 2004 plan has yet to be
there was a plan on the website, which we acknowledged approved by the state. We are not sure what this means.
but pointed out was listed as updated in December 2004. In this email, Mr. Bourdreaux also included a number of
He said that this was the current plan, which had been files that indicate how residents will be picked up from
revised in bits and pieces since 2004, and that this was a shelter areas, including diagrams, maps, and aerial
“bad week” to visit. We also spoke with Eric Benoit and images of where buses will help evacuate residents
Ann Bruno who said the same. without transportation.
January 6, 2009 March 2009

Our team arrived at Lafourche Parish government offices March 9, 2009
around 12:30pm. The main receptionist said she would We first contacted the parish by driving to the parish. We
contact Chris Bourdreaux’s secretary, who got back to us were unable to locate the exact office, so we contacted
after approximately 8-10 minutes to let us know he was the parish by phone at (985) 532-8174. There was no
out to lunch. We returned at 1:30pm, at which point the answer, so we left a message with the receptionist
receptionist told us she called Chris and he would be out answering machine. We then found the address, and
to see us momentarily. About 10 minutes later, she came stopped by, and no one was available to speak to us
out to tell us that he was actually in a meeting with the because no one was in the office.
parish president that would take an undetermined amount
of time. Upon telling her we would wait, she asked us what March 10, 2009
it was we were looking for. She told us anything Chris We telephoned the parish office and spoke to the
would be able to give us is on their website and we could receptionist. The receptionist gave us to Chris
just print it off from there. She told us he would be able to Bourdreaux’s secretary. We left a message, asking Chris
give us nothing newer than what was on the website. to call us back, and asked for a copy of the updated parish
evacuation plan.
January 7, 2009
We contacted parish president Charlotte A. Randolph to March 11, 2009
inform her that we were unable to meet with Mr. We telephoned the parish office again, and reached Chris’
Bourdreaux when we visited, and that we would like an secretary. She stated that she knew what we were looking
updated copy of the plan. She apologized that we had a for, because people had been by two months earlier
bad experience at the offices, and informed us the plan asking for the same thing, and directed us to the website,
was online. When we pointed out it was a 2004 plan, she and that nothing had changed on the evacuation plan that
confirmed it and said that she had the updated plan on her was in place the last time people called. We were told that
desk and she could make it available to us. When we said the plan is updated every year.
we couldn’t come, we asked if her office could fax the
updated plan to us. We were informed by Ms. Randolph’s Additional Information
secretary that the fax information had been passed on to
Mr. Bourdreaux, who would get in touch with us. Ms. None.
Randolph also insisted that hurricane planning should be
in the forefront of everyone’s mind now, since it is only Contact Information
now that there is time to think about it. She did not accept
the excuse that plans only have to be ready by hurricane Chris Bourdreaux, Director
season. 4876 Hwy 1; Mathews, Louisiana 70394
PO Drawer 1661
January 8, 2009 Raceland, Louisiana 70394
Mr. Bourdreaux called us about 8:45am this morning and Phone- (985)532-8174
told us that the plan that is available online is the most chrisb@lafourchegov.org
recent plan. This is the plan this his parish currently Eric Benoit, Executive Assistant
follows. Mr. Boudreaux assured us that the plan is ericb@lafourchegov.org
updated annually and that the 2004 reference on the Ann Bruno, OEP Clerk
bottom of the document is there because that is when the brunoaf@lafourchegov.org
26
Y/N/P/
R
General
N The last state approved revision was in 2004.
Y However, you have to search their website to find it
from the public?
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / They have the 2008 Louisiana Citizen and Awareness and
Y
website for the community readily accessible? Evacuation Guide in a PDF
4. Is the emergency preparedness plan available online? Y They have an Action Plan (138 pages) available in a PDF
Evacuations
5. Does the plan include information on evacuating day care They assign responsibility to the Transportation Officer for
P
facilities? evacuating them
6. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who Assign various offices/officers to be responsible for people
P
are disabled? with varying degrees of disabilities
Assigns someone to "address their needs," and vaguely
P alludes to a transportation officer assisting those who need
are elderly?
support
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes / P Again, assigns various departments to deal with evacuations
School Transportation Officer is authorized to transport
9. Does the plan include information on evacuating schools? P school children to shelters, but no specifics on schools as a
whole
N
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? P Same as number 8
It says insert map in the appendix, but there is no map. Also,
12. Does the plan provide a parish-specific evacuation route? P their website does include a full map contained within the
Awareness and Evacuation guide
Elderly without vehicles are taken care of by the Aging
Director. The disabled are taken care of by Health Unit
Director. Residents who do not have their own transportation
13. Does the plan specify means of evacuating people without are advised to call the Emergency Operation Center to
P
independent transportation? arrange for pick-up at a centrally located assembly areas. It
says insert map in the appendix, but there is no map. Also,
their website does include a full map contained within the
Awareness and Evacuation guide.
Decision Making
Y The Parish President is in charge
plan clearly identify the individuals responsible for ensuring Y It goes through the emergency Operations staff
continuity of decision making if the individual identified is Y Parish Administrators then Parish Directors
Public Information
17. Does the plan clearly identify how the decisions will be Y Decisions will be transmitted primarily through the media
27
Somebody without any access to a battery-powered radio
appear to be adequate in terms of their ability to reach all P
may not be able to get the news in case of a power-outage
19. Does the plan describe how the public will be notified of An adequate communications system has been developed
decisions (and official recommendations) if there is an and plans for improvement have been formulated. Auxiliary
P
electrical power outage in some part of, or all of, the power is available for most components of the
jurisdiction? communication networks.
Assigns responsibility to the Public Information Officer, but
P does not specify how the information will actually be
disseminated
21. Does the plan describe how business and recreational It deals with the public in general, and doesn't specify
N
travelers will be notified of the emergency? anything about travelers
Assigns responsibility to the Public Information Officer, but
P does not specify how the information will actually be
disseminated
23. Does the plan describe how the public will be notified of the Through "the use of any and or all communications systems
Y
location of shelters? available"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
28
Livingston Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis get directions to OEP from his staff. Went to OEP office at
2:40 – no one available.
January 2009
January 5, 2009 Additional Information
Made calls to Office of Emergency Planning (OEP)
seeking information on disaster plans, evacuation plans, The parish’s website is rudimentary. A general information
and shelter information. Left message. brochure on emergency procedures appears on the
parish’s website; very little of it was based on specific
January 6, 2009 information or characteristics of Livingston Parish.
Visited OEP in Livingston area and spoke with Assistant Evacuation plans are not present on the website.
Director Josh Randall. We were told Director Brian Locations of shelters are not present on the website. No
Fairburn was unavailable because he was in “meetings.” information concerning access for the disabled is
However, the employees present were unable to provide provided. To date there has been no response to our
us with any plans or information concerning locations of requests to see plans.
shelters or their accessibility by the disabled. It was
unclear whether the plans did not exist, or that the Contact Information
employees were evasive or did not want to reveal the
plans to the general public. We left our contact Office of Emergency Planning
information, but received no call back that day. Brian Fairburn, Director
Josh Randall, Deputy Director
January 8, 2009 Directions to physical location: Exit 19 off of I-12, turn right
Made call to OEP office: no answer, left message. and go about ½ mile. The building is on the right in a
gated area, push button and they let you in, it’s a trailer in
March 2009 the back of the lot.
March 9, 2009 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1060, Livingston, LA 70754-
Researched what was available online. 1060
Phone: (225) 686 - 3066
March 11, 2009 Fax: (225) 686 - 7280
Called around 2:45 pm to make sure there was someone Website: http://lpoep.org/
there, was informed that Mr. Fairburn was unavailable due
to meetings all day and the part time office staff was Office of the Livingston Parish President
leaving at 3. We were still 30 minutes away. Mike Grimmer, President
Physical Address: 29261 Frost Rd., Livingston, LA 70754
March 12, 2009 Mailing Address: P. O. Box 427, Livingston, LA 70754
Again called for physical address, no answer. Went to Phone: (225) 686 - 2266
office of Parish President. He was unavailable, but we did http://www.livingstonparishla.gov
Y/N/P/
R
General
NR No response to DAP's request.
U No response to DAP's request.
from the public?
Y They are available online.
Evacuations
NR
facilities?
NR
are disabled?
29
NR
are elderly?
NR
NR
Decision Making
NR
Public Information
NR
NR
jurisdiction?
NR
NR
NR
NR
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
30
Orleans Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis information we heard the day before regarding the
updates in other languages. He said that Mr. Ignelzi knows
January 2009 much more about the plans and that we would have to
January 6, 2009 request them from him personally.
Our team arrived at City Hall without an appointment, and
we found our way to a cramped office on the ninth floor. March 13, 2009
Tom Ignelzi and Tim Thomasson, emergency managers We visited the office again at approximately 9:00 AM and
for the Orleans Parish in the Office of Homeland Security met with Mr. Ignelzi. He informed us that on the previous
and emergency preparedness met with us. With no day when Mr. Thomasson learned we were waiting to see
advance notice, they received us warmly, and sat with us him, he had called Mr. Ignelzi to meet us instead but Mr.
for about 45 minutes answering questions and laying out Ignelzi had also left for the day. We asked Mr. Ignelzi for a
the emergency preparedness plan for Orleans Parish (the copy of the preparedness plans, but he refused to give us
CAEP). The Orleans plan is a living document, updated a copy. He repeated that nothing had changed and
constantly. Since the document is always changing, the claimed he had already given a copy to our organization
emergency managers reminded us that the plan we got two months ago even though he “didn't have to.” He
would continue to evolve; nonetheless, without hesitation claimed he was co-operating with us and it was
they gave us an electronic copy of the entire plan, in reasonable to not have to give us another copy until it was
addition to brochures (in English, Spanish, and updated. He was more than willing to talk about his job
Vietnamese) with information relevant to the public. With and what the office is doing to improve the plan and how
very little space and few resources, as is typical in many to make the evacuation process more efficient. The
local government offices, the emergency managers “Department of Social Services” is in charge of registering
conduct an impressive amount of community outreach and the city's evacuees. The department's current system is
training, soliciting feedback from citizens about named “Phoenix,” but Mr. Ignelzi claims that Hurricane
improvements to the plan. They also have tailored their Gustav proved that the “Phoenix” plan needs to be
plan to be responsive to their parish’s distinctive needs – a replaced. The Department of Social Services has a new
large amount of people who need to be evacuated in director and Mr. Ignelzi claims that the new director will
emergencies, and limited resources. work with the Department of Emergency Services to
implement a more effective registration system. Overall he
March 2009 was friendly and appears to enjoy sharing the details of
March 11, 2009 his work, however, he did not want to go through the
We contacted the Orleans Parish Office of Homeland process of giving us the plan a second time.
Security and Emergency Preparedness by phone and
spoke with Thomas “Tom” Ignelzi at approximately 10:30. Additional Information
He informed us that he had not updated the plan since our
group last spoke with him in January, but that we could Information also available at www.nolaready.com. There is
drop by the office any time. Mr. Ignelzi informed us that his also a 311 system for residents to register for special
office is planning on launching an updated website soon. assistance and ask questions about the CAEP.
The updates will supposedly include more translated
documents and evacuation videos in American Sign Contact Information
Language. They claim to be in the final stages of this
update and that it will be done well before hurricane Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
season. No Date provided. Preparedness
1300 Perdido Street, Rm 9E06
March 12, 2009 New Orleans, LA 70112
We visited the office unannounced at approximately 3:00. Phone: 504.658.8700
The door to emergency manager Tim Thomasson's office Fax: 504-658-8701
was unlocked but he was not there. A woman in his office Web Site: http://www.cityofno.com
called him for us and left a message explaining who we
were and that we were waiting to see him. She called his Emergency Managers:
cell phone, and left another message. We waited for Mr. Tim Thomasson, Emergency Manager
Thomasson until 4:30, when we tried another floor to look Thomas Ignelzi, Emergency Manager
for Mr. Ignelzi. We found Mr. Ignelzi's office on the 9th floor 504-658-8700
but he had left for the day. We spoke with Carlos who is in tdignelzi@cityofno.com
charge of updating the website. He repeated the
31
Y/N/P/
R
General
The Office of Emergency Preparedness did not hesitate to
1. Has the local plan been updated within six months of the offer the materials on the website but did not offer a copy of
R
last state plan update? the plan. The Office gave DAP a copy two months ago and
did not want to give DAP another copy.
N
from the public?
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / The website appears user friendly and has an extensive list
Y
website for the community readily accessible? of preparedness and emergency materials.
The official “emergency preparedness plan” used by the
office is not on the website.
Evacuations
R
facilities?
R
are disabled?
R
are elderly?
R
R
Decision Making
R
Public Information
R
decisions (and official recommendations) if there is an R
32
jurisdiction?
R
R
R
R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
33
Plaquemines Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis of Emergency Preparedness at 9:30 A.M. Mr. Truxillo was
at a meeting. I called back at 1:30 P.M. and Mr. Truxillo
January 2009 was not available. I left a message with the receptionist.
Brochures accessed online. No plan obtained.
Additional Information
March 2009
Brochures accessed online. No plan obtained. None.
March 16, 2009 Contact Information

I spoke with the receptionist at the Plaquemines Parish
Homeland Security Office of Emergency Preparedness at Homeland Security
3:30 P.M. The receptionist explained that the Office of Emergency Preparedness
Plaquemines Parish’s emergency plan was not available 8056 Hwy 23, Suite 308, Belle Chasse, LA 70037
online and that I needed to speak with Mr. Phil Truxillio, Homeland Security/OEP
the Director of Homeland Security, to obtain a copy of the (504) 274-2476 • (504) 297-5636 (fax)
plan. Mr. Truxillo was unavailable at that time. Phil Truxillo, Director
Phone: (504) 274-2476
March 17, 2009 Fax: (504) 297-5635
I called the Plaquemines Parish Homeland Security Office Email: ptruxillo@plaqueminesparish.com
Y/N/P/
R
General
1. Has the local plan been updated within six months of the Detailed information is provided on the web, but the office
NR
last state plan update? refused to provide a copy the parish's plan.
N
from the public?
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / Available on the parish website
Y
website for the community readily accessible? http://www.plaqueminesparish.com/EMP.htm
Information about the plan is available online, but the full plan
is not online.
Evacuations
NR
facilities?
NR
are disabled?
NR
are elderly?
NR
NR
34
Decision Making
NR
Public Information
NR
NR
jurisdiction?
NR
NR
NR
NR
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
35
St. Bernard Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis disaster prevention, response, relief, and recovery
systems through monitoring and policy research.
January 2009 DAP's website is
January 8, 2009 http://www.DisasterAccountability.org. A toll-free
Plan obtained. Met with John Rahaim at 10:30 am hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) is available as a public
 Participated in a hurricane exercise in July 2008 service for disaster survivors, workers and
 Tabletop exercise next week in Baton Rouge volunteers to report critical gaps in disaster
 Emergency broadcast on 1580 am prevention, response, relief, and recovery
 Mobile station with siren & emergency notification services or planning.
system & generator We can come by your office tomorrow to
 IRIS program – catalogs resources across view or pick up a copy of the plan. Alternatively, if
parishes the plan is available in electronic format, you
 After-action report published & available to the could e-mail the plan to this address.
community Thank you,
 Many states use the same contractor for
Volunteer, Disaster Accountability Project
transportation support
March 12, 2009
March 2009
As I did not hear from Mr. Rahaim, I sent him a second e-
March 11, 2009
mail:
At 10:00 a.m., I talked to Mr. Rahaim on the telephone.
He asked with whom I was working. I said that I was with
Dear Mr. Rahaim,
the Student Hurricane Network and the Disaster
We spoke on the phone yesterday regarding
Accountability Project. Mr. Rahaim then said that the
your parish's emergency response and evacuation
parish does not make its emergency plan available to the
plan. I am a volunteer with the Student Hurricane
public. I explained that other volunteers had been able to
Network and the Disaster Accountability Project. I
obtain a copy of the plan in January. Mr. Rahaim said that
would like to obtain and/or view a copy of St.
since the last student groups were in town, the various
Bernard Parish's emergency response and
parishes in this area got together to decide whether they
evacuation plan. Your prompt attention to this
should make this information available to the public. He
matter is greatly appreciated.
said that we could send him an e-mail containing the
The volunteers who viewed St. Bernard
name of the person requesting the plan, contact
Parish's plans in January were impressed with the
information, organization information, and why we wanted
thoroughness of the plan. However, there were
the information. He said he would have to get together
several items missing from plan:
with the other parishes to decide whether we could get the
plan. Following this conversation, I e-mailed him the  The plan contained no procedures for
following message on 3/11/09 at approximately 11:45 am: ensuring the effective evacuation of schools
and day care centers.
Dear Mr. Rahaim,  The plan did not describe how decisions will
We spoke on the phone earlier this morning. be transmitted to individuals with hearing and
I am a volunteer with the Disaster Accountability vision impairments.
Project (DAP). I would like to view and/or obtain a  The plan did not describe how non-English
copy of St. Bernard Parish's emergency response speaking individuals will be notified in other
and evacuation plan. This request is consistent languages.
with RS 29:729 — Parish homeland security and  The plan did not contain explicit procedures
emergency preparedness agency authorities and for ensuring the effective evacuation of
responsibilities, which requires parish offices of residential facilities (assisted living/nursing
homeland security and emergency preparedness homes/group homes/retirement communities).
to “[c]ooperate with the state and federal  The plan did not contain explicit procedures
government and any public or private agency or for evacuating the homeless.
entity in achieving any purpose of this Chapter  The plan did not specifically describe how
and in implementing programs for disaster business and recreational travelers will be
emergency mitigation, preparation, response, and notified of the emergency.
recovery.” RS 29:729(E)(12).  Although the parish's web site contains a lot
Disaster Accountability Project is a of helpful information for parish residents, the
nonpartisan, non-profit organization providing actual evacuation plan is not available online,
accountability and oversight to the nation's nor is it otherwise easily available to the public.
36
I understand that your parish is hesitant to pieces from the last review and furnished a copy of the
make your plan available to a group like DAP. parish evacuation plans (one for evacuating people and
Regardless of your reservations, Louisiana state one for evacuating pets). He said that the parish updates
law requires that you cooperate with our the plan annually; the updates must be completed by May
organization. RS 29:729 — Parish homeland 1 each year. He said that the parish has made a lot of
security and emergency preparedness agency progress in the past couple of years, but they still do not
authorities and responsibilities requires the parish have enough staff to do everything they would like to do.
Office of Homeland Security and Emergency He mentioned that working with FEMA can be difficult and
Preparedness to “[c]ooperate with the state and it often takes a long time to get the money for various
federal government and any public or private projects. Rebuilding is taking a long time, and therefore
agency or entity in achieving any purpose of this the parish does not have a hospital, a nursing home, or
Chapter and in implementing programs for any homeless shelters (and according to Mr. Rahaim,
disaster emergency mitigation, preparation, there are no homeless people within the parish).
response, and recovery.” RS 29:729(E)(12).
Our group plans to give a press release Additional Information
tomorrow reporting, among other things, how
easily we were able to obtain emergency None.
response plans from various parishes. Not all of
the parishes have been forthcoming with their Contact Information
information, and many parishes' plans are not as
complete as your parish's plan. This is a great John Rahaim
opportunity for your parish to gain some positive Assistant Director of
press regarding your emergency preparedness. Homeland Security
We appreciate your assistance. Director of Emergency Preparedness
Thank you, 8201 W. Judge Perez Dr.
Chalmette, LA 70043
Volunteer, Dsiaster Accountability Project (504) 278-4267
(504) 442-1040 Cell
Mr. Rahaim called me upon viewing this second e-mail. jrahaim@sbpg.net
He said he that had every intention of giving us the plan;
he “just wanted something in writing because sometimes Craig Taffaro, Parish President; Assistant: Lenor Duplesis,
people come by wanting these things for other purposes.” 504.278.4268
He said we could come to his office the following morning
at 9:00 to receive a copy of the plan. David B. Dysant, Director of Home Security/Director of
Recovery, 504.278.1597; Assistant: Joanna
March 13, 2009 Ragas,504.278.1593, jragas@sbpg.net
I met with him on 3/13/09. He addressed all of our missing
Y/N/P/
R
General
Y Updated in November 2008.
The plan is available from Mr. Rahaim, but an individual must
P submit a request in writing in order to obtain a copy of the
from the public?
plan.
Brochures are available and are distributed to the public
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / through churches and at various events. There are some
Y
website for the community readily accessible? resources on the parish website (www.sbpg.net). The plan
itself is not available online.
Evacuations
N
facilities?
37
are disabled?
Y
are elderly?
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes / N
N
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? N
The route is not specified in the plan itself, but a Louisiana
12. Does the plan provide a parish-specific evacuation route? P Emergency Evacuation Map and Guide is available online at
www.sbpg.net.
Y
Decision Making
Y by title, not name; OEP director
continuity of decision making if the individual identified is N
Public Information
Y
appear to be adequate in terms of their ability to reach all N
N
jurisdiction?
N
N
N
Y
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
38
St. Charles Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis an actual copy we had to file a FOIA request. The plan
that we did view, Hazard Specific Annex: Tropical Storm
January 2009 and Hurricane, gave a detailed account of officials
January 5, 2009 responsibilities during emergency situations. To give us a
Called 985-783 5050 and spoke with personnel from better understanding of the information we were viewing in
12:07-12:11pm. DAP first spoke with Laurie from EOC and the emergency plan, they explained the topography of the
was then transferred to speak with Brandon Touchard in parish and also stressed the role of the industrial plants in
order to discuss St. Charles Parish’s local disaster plan. the parish in relation to evacuation plans. We also had the
Mr. Touchard explained that the parish usually follows the opportunity to meet with the Parish Public Information
state disaster/evacuation plan. At times they will call for an Officer, Ms. Renee Allemand Simpson, who explained how
earlier evacuation than the state if the situation seems the office notifies local residents of emergency
particularly serious or dangerous. When DAP asked for a information.
local plan he did not seem to know what she was referring
to. After further explanation he requested a detailed e-mail March 2009
so he could better assist us. We composed an email Week of March 9, 2009
detailing our request and sent it to We talked to a parish official who indicated that the parish
Communications@scpeoc.org on January 5, 2009 at would like to keep their own unique plan because of
12:30 PM. partnerships with other parishes, and because it makes
them better prepared for the needs of their own citizens.
January 6, 2009 They work with a parish to the north and run their own
The following day, DAP traveled to St. Charles Parish in shelter with that parish. Also, the fact that they have a
order to see if we could obtain a copy of the local disaster nuclear power facility may also add to the amount of
plan. When we visited the office the receptionist told us resources, and may be why their plan was the most
that everyone who had knowledge of the plan was in a detailed of all the plans we reviewed.
meeting and that we had to make an appointment to see
any of the local disaster plans. We called back and Additional Information
scheduled a meeting for 1:00 PM that afternoon.
None.
When DAP returned, DAP met with Mr. Touchard,
Benjamin Botnick, and Steve Sirmon from Homeland Contact Information
Security/EOC for St. Charles Parish. We were given a
description of the evacuation plan, explanations of the Jason Tastet, Director
“high risk” nature of the parish, and had an in-depth St. Charles Parish
discussion about various components of the evacuation Department of Homeland Security and Emergency
procedures. The staff answered our questions and Preparedness
showed us to their Emergency Operations Center. We 15045 River Road
requested a copy of the local evacuation plans and were Hahnville, LA 70057
told that guidelines for residents were available on the (985) 783-5000
parish website. However, we were told that we could only (985) 783-5050
view the evacuation annex in the office. In order to obtain www.stcharlesgov.net
Y/N/P/
R
General
Y Updated on 3/6/2009.
Y Available at the office.
from the public?
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / Y The plan is not online, but the staff indicated that they put
website for the community readily accessible? their guidelines online. The staff did not feel that it was
necessary to place the plan, which encompasses four large
binders, online because the plan includes internal agency-
related information. Staff wanted to pull the information most
relevant to the public from the plan and make that available
39
online.
Evacuations
Y
facilities?
Y
are disabled?
The plan makes no specific reference to the elderly, but the
7. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who plan includes information for special needs persons, people
P
are elderly? who are prisoners in their home, nursing homes, and non-
institutionalized disabled persons.
The plan makes no specific reference but may include the
N homeless as "special needs persons," who are addressed in
the plan.
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? Y
Y
Decision Making
Y
Public Information
The plan gives the public information through the following:
- Fixed sirens
- Helicopters (non-populated areas)
- Telephone alerting system
- Government Access Channel
17. Does the plan clearly identify how the decisions will be - Radio
Y
transmitted to the public? - Cable Company Emergency Access System
- National Emergency Access System
- Alert teams with portable sirens and public addressing
speakers
- Media
- Alerts available through sign-up on the parish website
Y Same procedures as in question 16.
jurisdiction?
20. Does the plan describe how decisions will be transmitted to Y The plan states that the parish uses the TTY/TDD System to
40
individuals with hearing and vision impairments? warn these individuals.
The plan states that they use the same procedures as in
Y question 16, especially helicopters for those travelers that are
hunting or camping in the area.
N
Y
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
41
St. James Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis
Contact Information
January 2009
No visit attempted. Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
Department
March 2009 P.O. Box 106
March 9, 2009 Convent, LA 70723
Visited St. James Parish’s website Phone: 225-562-2364 or 225-562-2200
(http://www.stjamesla.com/James/index.asp) to view the Fax: 225-562-2269
information supplied by the Homeland Security Email: oep@stjamesla.com
Emergency Preparedness office. They do not provide their Website:
emergency preparedness plan online. http://www.stjamesla.com/James/EmergencyPre.htm
March 10, 2009 St. James Parish Emergency Preparedness

Drove to St. James Parish’s Office of Homeland Security Employees
and Emergency Preparedness. Unfortunately, no one in Eric Deroche, Director
the Emergency Preparedness Office was available at the Phone: 225-562-2346
time we visited. We called the phone numbers provided on Email: eric.deroche@stjamesla.com
their website and left a message requesting information
about how to view the emergency preparedness plan. No Francis Hymel, Assistant Director
response was received. Phone: 225-562-2310
Email: francis.hymel@stjamesla.com
Additional Information
Tiffany Chauvin, Administrative Assistant
Emergency Preparedness Guide: Phone: 225-562-2265
http://www.stjamesla.com/James/EmGuide.htm Email: tiffany.chauvin@stjamesla.com
Y/N/P/
R
General
NR
2. Is the emergency preparedness plan available by request No one was available in the Office of Emergency Planning or
U
from the public? by phone. Messages were not returned.
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / Detailed information available at: http://www.stjameslaw.com/
Y
website for the community readily accessible? James/EmergencyPre.htm#Table Of content
Evacuations
NR
facilities?
NR
are disabled?
NR
are elderly?
NR
42
NR
Decision Making
NR
Public Information
NR
NR
jurisdiction?
NR
NR
NR
NR
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
43
St. John the Baptist Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis her that the library only had one volume of the 3 volume
emergency disaster plan for the parish. The plan we were
January 2009 able to view at the library was most recently updated in
January 5, 2009 the late 1980s. We are going to call Ms. Gilmore back on
DAP spoke with Kathy Gilmore, Assistant Director of 1/8/09 to verify that that is the most recent plan or
Emergency Management of St. John the Baptist Parish on determine whether there is a more current plan. At 3:15
January 5, 2009.The call lasted approximately 8 minutes. PM, DAP attempted to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (985)
The receptionist picked up and DAP was passed to Ms. 652-9513 but was unable to connect. At 4:50 PM, DAP
Gilmore. DAP asked Ms. Gilmore if St. John The Baptist attempted to contact the Sheriff’s Office again at (985)
Parish had an evacuation plan. She explained that there 652-9513, but an electronic recording indicated that the
was a Southeast Louisiana Evacuation Plan. She did not sheriff’s office was closed.
specify if her plan was the same or if St. John the Baptist
Parish had their own plan. She stated at various times that January 8, 2009
the plan filled two or three volumes. She further stated that DAP spoke to Ms. Gilmore on 1/8 at 3:55 PM in order to
the evacuation plan depended on the type of disaster and inquire about updates to the parish evacuation plan. Ms.
there was a different plan for chemical plant meltdowns or Gilmore informed me that updates are made to the 1988
transportation disasters. She explained that the plan filled Council-passed parish plan. The updates might not be
three 4” binders and would take an hour and a half to readily noticeable, if they were even in the binder at the
photocopy. She said that we could not come and review it library. I asked about the currency of the updates , and
or photocopy at our own expense. was told that certain parts of the plan (annexes) were
She refused to meet with us saying that she had just updated as recently as November 2008 following
returned from a month-long vacation and would not have Hurricane Gustav. She specifically noted that the
any time this week. She also stated that she would be in a Transportation section was updated after Gustav, as well
meeting on disaster preparedness all day Tuesday and as two other parts. I asked if this information is available to
Wednesday. She also refused to allow anyone else to give the public and she said that that it was, but only in the
us a copy of the plan. library. Additionally, these updates are placed in the library
binder only after they are approved by the Parish Council.
January 6, 2009 She stated that the plan would soon be revised to a
DAP visited St. John the Baptist Parish Office of greater extent in accordance with state and federal
Emergency Preparedness at 11:45 AM. The office was regulations (Emergency Function Annexes).
located at 1801 West Airline Highway, LaPlace, LA. The
receptionist greeted us and attempted to locate Kathy March 2009
Gilmore, Assistant Director after we requested a copy of Week of March 9, 2009
the evacuation/disaster plan. Ms. Gilmore emerged briefly We went to the Emergency Operations Office and there
from a meeting with “the FEMA people” and refused to wasn't anyone in to show us the plan at the time. When
provide us with a copy of the plan. She stated that two of we called Kathy Gilmore, she was leaving the office for the
the three volumes were in the back of her car. When rest of the week, but indicated that a copy of the plan is
asked if there was another copy of the plan she informed kept at the St. John the Baptist Library-Central. We went
us that the St. John the Baptist Parish’s plan was available to the library and the staff could not find their copy of the
at the local library. At approximately 12:15 PM, DAP plan.
visited the parish library located 2920 Highway 51
Laplace, LA. We spoke with two reference librarians Additional Information
including Kay McKey. After browsing the shelves, we were
able to locate two binders with the latest updates listed as None.
having been made in the 1980’s. The librarians took our
contact information and Ben’s contact information in order Contact Information
to follow up if they located an updated plan.
Paul Oncale, Director of Public Safety
January 7, 2009 (985) 652-2222
At 3:00 PM, DAP called the St. John the Baptist library at St. John Parish Administration
985-652-6857 and left a message for the librarian he had 1801 W. Airline Highway
spoken with the day before, Kay McKey to see if she had LaPlace, LA 70068
turned up a later version of the plan. Shortly after, DAP (985) 652-9569
received a call back from Ms. McKey. Ms. McKey informed
44
Y/N/P/
R
General
NR
DAP was directed by the Office of Emergency Preparedness
2. Is the emergency preparedness plan available by request to the local library, but no copy of the plan could be located
N
from the public? by library staff. The plan that DAP volunteers found in
January 2009 was last updated in the 1980s.
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / There are many different guidelines and information on the
Y
website for the community readily accessible? website, but no copy of the plan is available.
Evacuations
NR
facilities?
NR
are disabled?
NR
are elderly?
NR
NR
Decision Making
NR
Public Information
NR
NR
jurisdiction?
45
NR
NR
NR
NR
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
46
St. Martin Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis None.
January 2009 Contact Information

No visit attempted.
Sheriff Ronnie Theriot
March 2009
Onsite visit completed. Plan obtained. Phone: (337) 394-3071
Fax: (337) 394-5705
Additional Information Email: ohsep@stmartinsheriff.org
Y/N/P/
R
General
N May 2008
Available at the St. Martin Parish 911 Dispatch
Y Center/Emergency Preparedness Center located in Parks on
from the public?
Hwy. 31 and Cypress Island Highway.
N
Evacuations
U
facilities?
Y
are disabled?
Y
are elderly?
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes / Y St. Martin Parish School Board assists with transportation.
9. Does the plan include information on evacuating schools? Y St. Martin Parish School Board assists with transportation.
N
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? U
In addition to the plan, there are signs posted throughout the
parish that indicate the proper evacuation route.
Y St. Martin Parish School Board assists with transportation.
Decision Making
Y Lieutenant Colonel Larry Landers
plan clearly identify the individuals responsible for ensuring Y The plan delegates responsibility to multiple committees.
16. Does the plan describe an orderly means for ensuring Y
47
continuity of decision making if the individual identified is
Public Information
Information will be transmitted through local community
Y networks, including parish-wide communications and warning
networks.
U
jurisdiction?
N
U
U
Y
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
48
St. Mary Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis office. The plan is not available online
January 2009 Additional Information

No visit attempted.
None.
March 2009
March 17, 2009 Contact Information
I called the office at 2 p.m. and the receptionist did not
know anything about the emergency plan and said the Duval H. Arthur, Jr., Director
director would give me a call back if he had any Courthouse Bldg, Rm 500
information about the plan. 500 Main Street
Franklin, LA. 70538
March 18, 2009 Phone: (337) 828-4100 ext 135
I called again after the director did not return yesterday’s Fax: (337) 828-4092
call and the receptionist said the director was out of the Email: darthur@stmaryparishla.gov
Y/N/P/
R
General
NR
U
from the public?
Some information about what to do in the event of a disaster
Y is available on the parish's Office of Homeland Security &
Emergency Preparedness website.
Evacuations
NR
facilities?
NR
are disabled?
NR
are elderly?
NR
NR
Decision Making
NR
15. When the top decision maker makes a decision, does the NR
49
plan clearly identify the individuals responsible for ensuring
Public Information
NR
NR
jurisdiction?
NR
NR
NR
NR
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
50
St. Tammany Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis threat posed.
January 2009 March 2009

January 6, 2009 March 9, 2009
We called the St. Tammany Department of Homeland We conducted preliminary research via the St. Tammany
Security and Emergency Preparedness to request the Office of Homeland Security website.
evacuation and disaster plans. St. Tammany refused to
give out their plan because they claimed that it was illegal March 11, 2009
to give out such plans to the public. This is contradictory to We attempted to visit the OHSEP office but were unable to
Louisiana Code RS 29:729 which requires parishes to locate the physical address. We called the site and left a
make their plans available to the public. When asked if we message. After waiting for an extended period and having
could get a copy or just look at a copy they claimed that received no contact, we moved on to another parish.
we needed approval and would not be able to get
approval until Friday or next week. We were told that they March 12, 2009
would call us back and we still have not received any We successfully located the OHSEP office and were met
communication. by the Director, Dexter Accardo. Despite Louisiana Code
RS 29:729 which requires parishes to make their plans
January 7, 2009 available to the public. Mr. Accardo stated that the St.
We drove out to St. Tammany to request the evacuation Tammany emergency evacuation plan could be obtained
plans in person. We spoke with Rodney Hart the Deputy by the public via a formal FOIA request. He also stated
Director of St. Tammany’s Department of Homeland that he would be happy to answer specific questions but
Security and Emergency Preparedness. He explained to that the emergency plan itself contains "sensitive
us that he could not give us the evacuation plan. More information" and was therefore reticent to furnish said
specifically he explained that St. Tammany’s evacuation documentation. He also attempted to downplay the
plan was very broad and generic because it followed the importance of providing a St. Tammany specific plan, both
State evacuation plan. We asked him whether or not they because it was purportedly based on the Louisiana state
had special services to evacuate people who are not "50/40/30" plan as referenced on the state website and
mobile, like the disabled, sick, elderly, and other because any emergency response is subject to so many
constituents without vehicles or means to get out during variables that any written plan would likely be deviated to
an evacuation. He explained to us that the people a large degree. The only document Mr. Accardo furnished
basically take care of themselves. A neighbor will go with was a Louisiana Citizen Awareness & Disaster Evacuation
another neighbor during an evacuation, he also explained Guide for the Southeast (dated 2008).
that they have volunteers and special trucks to get the
disabled and the sick out through the St. Tammany When asked about OHSEP efforts to contact and or
Council of Aging. They have a database that is set up to transport the elderly/ disabled, Mr. Accado stated that the
identify people who might need assistance because they OHSEP worked with church organizations and a non-profit
are elderly, sick or disabled. However they do not have a called S.A.L.T. (he was unsure what the full acronym
set plan for people who might not be able to afford to get represented) in order to identify residents who are elderly
out of the parish on their own. or disabled in the parish. Apparently, these efforts are
conducted during local events, meetings, etc. Disabled/
Louisiana has special services that are provided State- elderly residents of the parish have their contact
wide. When I asked if the parish offered any of these information entered into a database and are contacted by
services Deputy Director Hart explained that those were the OHSEP before an approaching storm hits. Volunteer
State services and the parish had nothing to do with those trucks are then used to pick those residents up and
services. They do not work with the state to help provide transfer them to designated shelters.
these services in their area. This can be problematic when
it pertains to actually rendering the services when they are Mr. Accardo also talked about the local outreach the
needed. OHSEP does in order to educate people about the
importance of flood insurance, assessing the severity of
St. Tammany has several locations that are assigned as an approaching storm and obtaining a weather radio
shelters throughout the parish. However, these locations (which best facilitates communication during emergency
are not publicized and they will not publicize or give the weather conditions, particularly if electricity and phone
location of the shelters until the Storm hits. The reasoning lines are unavailable).
for this procedure was because they don’t want people
lining up outside shelters from other areas and at shelters Shelters: We asked about the protocol for designating and
that will not be used for that specific storm or disaster. He publicizing shelters throughout the parish as part of their
explained that the shelters are assigned according to the public brochures and Mr. Accardo informed us that it was
51
against policy to do so. Apparently, shelters are identified that he would follow up with DAP next week.
and announced after the storm hits because they are
chosen based on the impact of the storm and capacity Additional Information
considerations.
None.
It's worth noting that Mr. Accardo maintained a very
defensive posture about providing documentation that Contact Information
governs the parish's response to disaster/ emergency
weather situations. Dexter Accardo, Director
St. Tammany Homeland Security & Emergency Operation
March 13, 2009 Center
We contacted Mr. Accardo at his office and explained that 510 East Boston Street
a FOIA request had already been sent to his office from Covington, LA
the Disaster Accountability Project in January 2009. He Direct Line: (985) 898-5209
stated that the request was probably "stuck" in the legal General Phone: (985) 898-2359
department after which, I explained that I would send a Fax: (985) 898-3030
copy of the original request to him via email. He stated
Y/N/P/
R
General
The plan is not available on the parish website and could not
be obtained from the parish office. All comments in the
R column below are based on an interview with Dexter
Accardo, Director of St. Tammany Office of Emergency
Preparedness.
The Director of the Homeland Security & Emergency
Operation Center stated that a FOIA request was needed.
P When informed that a FOIA was already submitted in
from the public?
January, he indicated that he would follow-up with the legal
department and contact DAP with a status update.
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / Both online and on-site at the Homeland Security &
Y
website for the community readily accessible? Emergency Operation Center office.
Evacuations
R
facilities?
R
are disabled?
R
are elderly?
R
R
52
R
R
R
jurisdiction?
R
R
R
R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
53
Tangipahoa Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis have a major impact on Tangipahoa's ability to get a new
plan in place. He provided a two page document that he
January 2009 sad represented Tangipahoa'a evacuation plan (last
January 6, 2009 updated in Jan 2007) but said that he felt confident the
We spoke with Dawson Primes, the Director of new plan would be in place by the end of this year. He
Tangipahoa’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency also noted that one of the revisions made after Katrina
Preparedness which is located in the local courthouse in was that the radio stations will broadcast transmissions
Amite. When speaking with Dawson, he was unwilling to out of the OEP office so that emergency spots will be
provide any information. He was uncooperative and transmitted in a timelier manner. Also, the National
explained that he was not going to give any evacuation Weather Service provides a program (for a fee that will be
disaster plans because it was in the process of revision paid via grant money) that allows residents to download a
and their current plan was five years old. He explained weather service monitor on their computers- allowing them
that the old plan was considered null and void and did not to see weather alerts immediately at any time.
have anything to produce for their current plan. He
explained to me that the documents were not publicly Note: Many of the efforts to modernize are very worthwhile
accessible and that he was not going to give them to me, but don’t address residents (particularly older ones) who
although Louisiana Code requires the plans to be may not be computer savvy or individuals who may not
accessible to the public. He explained that giving the have the means for computer and/ or Internet access.
document to us is not going to help his agency so he was While it was great to have him be so forthcoming, it is
not going to give it out. difficult to hold individuals accountable when there are no
written benchmarks to compare actual outcomes to. Also,
January 7, 2009 this is not conducive to maintaining transparency among
We drove over to Tangipahoa to request the disaster plan individuals who may not be comfortable asking pointed
in person. We were not able to speak with Dawson questions to state agents.
because he was in a “meeting”. His secretary gave us
several pamphlets, a survivor guide for Tangipahoa, and Additional Information
an evacuation map. However we were not allowed to
speak with anyone regarding the evacuation plan, disaster The Council on Aging conducts surveys that identify and
plan, services, or shelters. register residents who are elderly or disabled and the
Parish Office of Homeland Security (both onsite and
March 2009 online) registers residents who have no means of
March 9, 2009 transportation. In the event of an emergency, databases
We searched online for a plan through the Tangipahoa are broken down by municipality, residents are contacted
website, but could not find one. and their need for transportation is confirmed, after which
they are transported with the use of vans form the parish
March 11, 2009 school board and the council on Aging.
We went to Amite, which is where the OEP for Tangipahoa
is located. After 5 minutes, we were allowed into the back Worth noting that one of the weaknesses in Tangipahoa's
to speak with Mr. Primes. This was approximately 2:30 current plan is that it doesn't address the needs of non-
pm. In contrast to what was reported in January, Mr. English speakers as they are only recorded in English
Primes, the Director, was extremely helpful and (any television spots are also done in sign language so
informative during our conversation. When asked for a residents with hearing impairments who have a knowledge
state emergency plan, Mr. Primes explained that the of sign language are addressed). The same applies to
county just recently received several grant award letters radio transmissions, etc.
that would help fund their efforts to completely overhaul
and modernize their disaster preparedness and Contact Information
evacuation plans. He explained that the parish just
recently hired a company that specializes in the creation Tangipahoa Office of Homeland Security and
of disaster preparedness and emergency evacuation Emergency Preparedness
plans (CDM) to create one for the parish and update their Dawson Primes, Director
website (venture totaling approximately $60,000). It’s Tangipahoa Parish Courthouse Annex
worth noting that Mr. Primes mentioned that some 206 East Mulberry
parishes are suffering from both a lack of financial Amite, Louisiana 70422
resources and perhaps a lack of staff who realized the 985-748-3211
importance of modernizing their systems as a result of 985-748-9602
being on the parish boards for such long periods of time. 985-748-7050
He seemed to believe that the new grant funds would
54
Parish President – Gordon Burgess Phone: (985) 748-3211
P.O. Box 215 Fax: (985) 748-7576
Amite, LA 70422
Y/N/P/
R
General
The Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness
Director informed DAP that the overall plan was over 5 years
old but provided a small portion that was updated in January
R 2007 that addresses evacuation and shelter procedures.
Tangipahoa parish is in the process of having the entire
parish plan overhauled and expects it to be updated and
available to the public in six months.
2. Is the emergency preparedness plan available by request The full plan was not available, but a 2-page evacuation and
N
from the public? shelter plan was furnished.
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / Brochures are available both online and on-site at the
Y
website for the community readily accessible? Homeland Security & Emergency Operation Center.
Evacuations
R
facilities?
R
are disabled?
R
are elderly?
R
R
R
R
18. Do the means identified for transmitting the decisions R
55
R
jurisdiction?
R
R
R
R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
56
Terrebonne Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis Preparedness Project Office began with a phone call. We
left a message and did not receive a call back. We then
January 2009 drove to Terrebonne Parish and stopped at the parish
January 5, 2009 office in Houma. We met with the director Earl Eues and
The DAP team first contacted the parish by phone. We asked to see the emergency plan. He told us that
spoke to a staff person at noon about getting the Terrebonne is in the process of redoing their emergency
emergency plan. We were told to call back in the preparedness plan. Earl told us that the prior plan was not
afternoon to speak with the director, Earl Eues, who would going to be used this year and a new plan would be in
be the only one authorized to release the plan to us. We effect by May 15. We were not allowed to see the other
contacted Mr. Eues at 4:15pm. He insisted that there was plan because they said it would not help us since it is not
no plan available for review, since they were updating it, being used. Mr. Earl had interacted with Disaster
with the goal of having it done by June 1st for hurricane Accountability Project volunteers before and said he was
season. When asked about last year’s plan as an frustrated with the way DAP was handling the process of
alternative, he said it had been torn apart in order to attaining these plans. He mentioned that he told DAP
create the new plan. He also said he would be away from when the plans would be released, which has not changed
the office for the rest of the week and unavailable to talk since, and even after he conveyed this information there
to. have been multiple DAP groups requesting this
information. He asked for us to make an appointment the
January 6, 2009 next time we wished to talk to him so he can prepare any
Met with Mike Deroche at from the Terrebonne Parish information we are requesting and to make the overall
Department of Emergency preparedness at 11am. We experience more professional.
spoke for about 15 minutes. The parish is currently
working to re-vamp their emergency plan and assured us He did assure us that the plan would be filed in the public
that it will be complete and available by June 1st, library when it is complete, and filed with the parish Clerk
beginning of hurricane season. Mike said he would send of Courts. He also said ideally it will be posted online.
us the updated copy as soon as it was ready if we left him
our contact information. Additional Information
When asked what would happen in the event of a disaster Shelters (for Tropical Storms, category 1 and 2 storms)
now, Mr. Deroche said that if there were to be a “small”  South Terrebonne High School- 3879 Hwy 24,
scale emergency in the parish, there are a number of Bourg, LA
designated shelters. Residents of the parish are made  Evergreen Junior High- 5000 West Main St.,
aware of these shelters in supplemental materials that are Houma, LA
distributed to them in May via the local newspaper.  Houma Junior High – 315 Charles St., Houma, LA
Shelters are designated by region of the state. There are
 Legion Park Middle – 710 Williams Ave, Houma,
at least two known supplements in regards to hurricane
LA
evacuation information available to citizens of Terrebonne
 Schriever Elementary – 2052 W. Main, Schriever,
aside from the actual plan itself.
LA
Mike directed us to TRAC, a non-profit that works with the  Southdown Elementary – 1124 St. Charles St.,
parish. This office provided us with literature and Houma, LA
pamphlets that are distributed to residents in Terrebonne  Terrebonne High School – 7318 Main St., Houma,
and Lafourche parishes. TRAC had published guides LA
leading up to 2007, but did not publish a 2008 guide and  West Park Elementary- 201 Stadium Drive,
will not be publishing a 2009 guide due to lack of funding. Houma, LA
They usually receive the majority of the funding from Category 3 or higher
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), along  Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center- designated
with charity organizations such as Oxfam. parish pick-up point
January 7, 2009 Contact Information

We called the parish again to see if there would be any
type of plan whatsoever available to avoid a poor review Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
of the parish, but no phone calls or emails were returned. Preparedness/Public Safety
500 Honduras Street; Houma, LA 70360
March 2009 24 hrs: (985)873-6357
March 9, 2009 Email: oep@tpcg.org
Our interaction with the Terrebonne Emergency Director: Earl Eues
57
Office Manager: Barbara Dupre 985-437-0433 (mobile)
Emergency Contact: Mike Deroche; mderoche@tpcg.org; www.tpcg.org
Y/N/P/
R
General
R
DAP was assured that the plan is in the process of being
updated and will be available on May 15. While not available
now, Eues said the plan will “ideally” be available to the
N public online when it is finished, and will be filed with the clerk
from the public?
of court and put in the public library. The parish's Director of
the Office of Emergency Preparedness was unwilling to
provide a copy of the “old” plan.
N
Evacuations
R
facilities?
R
are disabled?
R
are elderly?
R
R
Decision Making
R
Public Information
R
18. Do the means identified for transmitting the decisions R
58
R
jurisdiction?
R
R
R
R
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
59
Vermilion Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis under private organization. If the parish was accountable
for a day care it would be in the plan. I asked if another
January 2009 volunteer was to return what would make sense based on
Office visited; plan obtained. their plan revisions. She mentioned Nov/Dec 2009. She
said ‘you see our office this is it’. Their main issue is being
March 2009 under staffed and funded to work plans more timely. She
March 9, 2009 expects they will work on it based on the next emergency.
Contact by phone. The administrative assistant was very
friendly. Her name was Phyllis. She immediately shared Additional Information
they were working on their emergency preparedness plan.
The Director Rebecca Broussard was on vacation. I None.
should call back tomorrow.
Contact Information
March 10, 2009
I arrived end of their work day 4PM; Phyllis was there. She Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
had clocked out but Rebecca Broussard the Director was Preparedness
still there so I should wait. Rebecca arrived momentarily. Rebecca Broussard, Director
She did provide me with the existing plan on CD. She Phone: (337) 898-4308
showed me a stack of paper to be inserted into the Fax: (337) 898-4309
existing plan which was equal in size (4 inch doc). We Email: vpoep@cox-internet.com
discussed their recognition for special needs in their 100 North State Street, Suite 200
emergency preparedness plan. We discussed why day Abbeville, Louisiana 70510
care was not included. Rebecca clarified day care falls
Y/N/P/
R
General
The plan is from 2003. DAP received the plan on a disc. The
1. Has the local plan been updated within six months of the parish showed DAP the revisions that are not ready for
N
last state plan update? approval in paper format. The parish received grant money to
update the plan, but a new plan is not due until 2011.
Y
from the public?
N
Evacuations
The Director of the Office of Homeland Security & Emergency
Preparedness explained the parish depends on private
daycares to create and manage their own evacuation plans.
N If a daycare center falls under parish jurisdiction, the parish
facilities?
will create a plan for that center. Annex C of the plan does
mention working with Superintendent of schools to
disseminate information.
Annex C - Sec 4 highlights communicating to special needs
6. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who members of the community (non-institutionalized disabled,
P
are disabled? elderly, non-English speaking, hearing impaired by telephone
or door-to-door.
7. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who See the comment above and the Council of Aging
P
are elderly? communication plan.
8. Does the plan include information on evacuating residential Y Mentioned in Annex D - Evacuations
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes /
60
9. Does the plan include information on evacuating schools? Y Annex C - Communication with Superintendent of Schools
10. Does the plan include information on evacuating the Annex D - Evacuations mentions using shelters for
N
homeless (including homeless shelters)? evacuations.
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? Y Annex O – detailed and extensive discussion of hospitals.
12. Does the plan provide a parish-specific evacuation route? Y Annex D - Evacuations provides a detailed map.
Y Annex D
Decision Making
Y President of Parish (Police Jury President)
The planning Department supplies necessary personnel to
carry out tasks.
16. Does the plan describe an orderly means for ensuring The plan lists the Office of Emergency Preparedness,
continuity of decision making if the individual identified is Y Director of the Office, Directors of supporting agencies. This
unavailable, incapacitated or unwilling to implement the duty? is also referred to in Appendix E - Lines of Succession.
Public Information
Y
Y Annex L - Utilities
jurisdiction?
20. Does the plan describe how decisions will be transmitted to Communications to the hearing impaired by telephone and
Y
individuals with hearing and vision impairments? door-to-door.
21. Does the plan describe how business and recreational Door-to-door communications may assist, but travelers are
P
travelers will be notified of the emergency? not mentioned specifically.
22. Does the plan describe how non-English speaking Communications to non-English speakers by telephone and
Y
individuals will be notified in other languages? door-to-door.
Y Annex C - Warning and Annex D - Evacuation
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
61
West Baton Rouge Parish
Visit Log/ Analysis to even enter the gate, a person must have their
driver’s license scanned. It must be a driver’s license;
January 2009 a state ID is not enough. Once in the office, the office
Calls were made to the Office of Preparedness on both manager, Lisa Ogden, appeared to be evasive. She stated
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 and Thursday, January 08, that Deano Moran was out at a meeting and would not be
2009. On both occasions, the office representative available. I asked if he would be back that afternoon and
responded that they were too busy to answer any she said she didn’t know. She then said we needed an
questions we had. When attempting to schedule a appointment, but the director was not available to meet
meeting, we were told that they were too busy to plan that week.
such a meeting in the current day. We were told this on
both days. We have received no calls back. Also, searched websites again. www.wbrlepc.org is not a
correct website, but is provided on Director’s card and
The actual evacuation plan is not posted anywhere online. www.wbrcouncil.org does not appear to have the
An online brochure provided basic evacuation information. emergency plan. I contacted Ms. Ogden via email to
Some basic planning information can be found on inform her of this.
http://www.wbrlepc.
net/serviceareas/ServiceAreaDisplay.asp? March 13, 2009
p1=1123&p2=Y&Sort, and emergency shelter information Did hear back from Ms. Ogden, 11:00 AM via email. The
can be found at correct address is .net, not .org. There is a lot of
http://www.wbrlepc.net/serviceareas/ServiceArea information and provisions online. Rather extensive plan
Display.asp?p1=1129&p2=Y&Sort. The brochure provides provided online. The link on the main WBR website is
instructions for various disaster types and specific groups wrong and the link on the card of the director is wrong.
at risk. The site describes procedures in case of flooding, Those both are wbrlepc.org whereas the actual site is
hurricanes, chemical spills, tornadoes, and terrorist wbrlepc.net. The .net extension has a lot of information on
attacks. Listings of terrorist threats and hurricane grades the plan. The office did seem somewhat evasive, but the
were described. The site also lists the ways in which the plan that we have appears to be relatively complete http://
citizens of the parish would be notified in case of an www.wbrlepc.net/Images/Interior/wbr%20parish%20esf-
emergency. Notification systems include television, 1.pdf
telephone, and siren warnings as necessary. Further
instructions are given for school children and family Additional Information
evacuations, but no specifications are given for the
disabled. Although the brochure includes a limited None.
evacuation plan and list of emergency shelters, there is no
information about whether the evacuation procedures and Contact Information
shelter list comport with any parish plan.
West Baton Rogue Office of Homeland Security /
The staff for the Parish Homeland Security Office seemed Office of Emergency Preparedness
less than willing to answer any of our questions or Sharlot Edwards, Chairperson
concerns regarding these plans. Also, the parish did not Office: 2413 Ernest Wilson Dr., Port Allen LA 70767
seem to take into consideration the needs of the disabled. Mail: P.O. Box 757, Port Allen LA 70767
Most importantly, no plans are actually posted online. Toll Free: (225) 346 - 1577
Phone: (225) 346 - 1577
March 2009 Fax: (225) 346 - 0284
March 9, 2009 Website: http://www.wbrlepc.net
We did preliminary research on West Baton Rouge, it did
not show any plans for evacuation. I sent in a request for Office of the West Baton Rogue Parish President
information email to the address provided on line. There is Riley Berthelot, Jr., President
a lot available for preparedness and information on 880 N. Alexander Ave.
hurricanes generally, but no actual plan. P.O. Box 757
Port Allen LA 70767
March 12, 2009 Phone: (225) 383 - 4755
Went to the West Baton Rouge office which is in Port Fax: (225) 387 – 0218
Allen. The OEP is inside of the secure port area. In order http://www.wbrcouncil.org/
62
Y/N/P/
R
General
1. Has the local plan been updated within six months of the last
U
state plan update?
DAP was not provided with the plan when it was requested;
P however, eventually, DAP found the plan online. DAP was
from the public?
required to make an appointment.
3. Is an emergency preparedness brochure / pamphlet / flyer / http://www.wbrlepc.net/serviceareas/ServiceAreaDisplay.asp?
Y
website for the community readily accessible? p1=1139&p2=Y&Sort=
http://www.wbrlepc.net/serviceareas/ServiceAreaDisplay.asp?
4. Is the emergency preparedness plan available online? Y
p1=1139&p2=Y&Sort=
Evacuations
N
facilities?
6. Does the plan include information on evacuating those who The plan refers to other agencies having responsibilities in the
P
are disabled? event of a disaster.
P See #6.
are elderly?
The plan includes residents of these facilities in the group that
facilities (assisted living / nursing homes / group homes / P
will be provided transportation.
10. Does the plan include information on evacuating the The plan speaks of those without transportation, but doesn't
N
homeless (including homeless shelters)? specifically mention the homeless.
11. Does the plan include information on evacuating hospitals? P
Y
Decision Making
Y
plan clearly identify the individuals responsible for ensuring that Y
the decisions are implemented?
Public Information
Y
18. Do the means identified for transmitting the decisions The plan does not include any provisions for communications
appear to be adequate in terms of their ability to reach all P in languages other than English. While emergency radios are
individuals in the jurisdiction at the time of the emergency? encouraged, they are not provided.
decisions (and official recommendations) if there is an electrical P The plan refers to emergency radios.
power outage in some part of, or all of, the jurisdiction?
63
20. Does the plan describe how decisions will be transmitted to Communications will be transmitted through the radio and
P
individuals with hearing and vision impairments? television.
Y
22. Does the plan describe how non-English speaking The plan says addresses the only non-English speaking
P
individuals will be notified in other languages? population (Spanish).
Y
64
St. John The Baptist
West Baton Rouge

% Fully or Partially
East Baton Rouge

% Fully Compliant
Plaquemines
St. Tammany
Assumption
Tangipahoa
Terrebonne
St. Bernard
St. Charles
Com pliant
Checksum
Livingston
Lafourche
Vermillion
St. James
Jefferson
St. Martin
Lafayette
Question
St. Mary
Iberville
Orleans
Acadia
Iberia
NA
NR
NT
N
R
Y
P
No.
1 Plan update d in last six m onths? 14% 14% 3 5 0 3 0 0 6 5 22 N N Y R U U NR N NR R NR Y Y NR NR N NR R R R N U
2 Plan available to public? 32% 50% 7 7 4 4 0 0 0 0 22 P Y Y N Y Y U Y U N N P P U N Y U N N N Y P
3 Brochures available to public? 86% 91% 19 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 22 P Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y N Y
4 Plan available online ? 18% 18% 4 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 N N Y N N Y N Y N N N N N N N N N N N N N Y
5 Info re: evacuating day care s included? 9% 14% 2 7 1 1 0 0 6 5 22 N Y N R N N NR P NR R NR N Y NR NR U NR R R R N N
6 Info re: evacuating dis abled included? 32% 50% 7 0 4 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y P R Y Y NR P NR R NR Y Y NR NR Y NR R R R P P
7 Info re: evacuating elderly included? 27% 50% 6 0 5 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y P R Y Y NR P NR R NR Y P NR NR Y NR R R R P P
Info re: evacuating re sidential facilitie s
27% 41% 6 2 3 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y N R Y P NR P NR R NR N Y NR NR Y NR R R R Y P
8 include d?
9 Info re: evacuating schools include d? 32% 36% 7 3 1 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y N R Y N NR P NR R NR N Y NR NR Y NR R R R Y Y
10 Info re: evacuating hom eles s included? 0% 0% 0 11 0 0 0 0 6 5 22 N N N R N N NR N NR R NR N N NR NR N NR R R R N N
11 Info re: evacuating hos pitals included? 27% 36% 6 2 2 1 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y N R Y Y NR P NR R NR N Y NR NR U NR R R R Y P
Plan include Paris h-s pe cific evacuation
41% 50% 9 0 2 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y Y R Y Y NR P NR R NR P Y NR NR Y NR R R R Y Y
12 route ?
Info re: evacuating people w /o
41% 50% 9 0 2 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y P R Y Y NR P NR R NR Y Y NR NR Y NR R R R Y Y
13 indepe ndent trasportation?
Plan ide ntify individual w / overall
45% 50% 10 0 1 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y P R Y Y NR Y NR R NR Y Y NR NR Y NR R R R Y Y
14 authority in an em erge ncy?
Plan ide ntfy chain of com m and and
50% 50% 11 0 0 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y Y R Y Y NR Y NR R NR Y Y NR NR Y NR R R R Y Y
15 re sponsibilities?
Plan ide ntify continuity of decis ion
m ak ing if break in chain of com m and 45% 45% 10 1 0 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y Y R Y Y NR Y NR R NR N Y NR NR Y NR R R R Y Y
16 occurs?
Plan ide ntify how decis ions w ill be
50% 50% 11 0 0 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y Y R Y Y NR Y NR R NR Y Y NR NR Y NR R R R Y Y
17 transm itted to the public?
M e ans of com m unication adequate to
27% 45% 6 1 4 0 0 0 6 5 22 P Y P R Y Y NR P NR R NR N Y NR NR Y NR R R R Y P
18 re ach all people in case of em erge ncy?
Plan ide ntify lines of com m unication to
27% 41% 6 1 3 1 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y Y R Y P NR P NR R NR N Y NR NR U NR R R R Y P
19 public during pow er outage?
Plan ide ntify how hearing and vis ion
14% 41% 3 2 6 0 0 0 6 5 22 P P P R Y P NR P NR R NR N Y NR NR N NR R R R Y P
20 im paired w ill be notified?
Plan ide ntify how visitors to the s tate
14% 23% 3 5 2 1 0 0 6 5 22 N Y N R P N NR N NR R NR N Y NR NR U NR R R R P Y
21 w ill be notified?
Plan ide ntify how non-Englis h s pe ak ers
14% 27% 3 4 3 1 0 0 6 5 22 Y N N R Y P NR P NR R NR N N NR NR U NR R R R Y P
22 w ill be notified?
Plan ide ntify how public w ill be inform e d
45% 50% 10 0 1 0 0 0 6 5 22 Y Y P R Y Y NR Y NR R NR Y Y NR NR Y NR R R R Y Y
23 of s he lte r locations ?
Y 14 18 9 1 18 14 1 8 1 1 1 9 18 1 1 13 1 1 1 1 15 11
N 5 4 7 2 3 4 1 3 1 2 2 12 3 1 2 5 1 2 2 2 5 2
P 4 1 7 0 1 4 0 12 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 9
U 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 1
NA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NR 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 0 20 0 20 0 0 20 20 0 20 0 0 0 0 0
R 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 20 20 0 0
% Fully Com pliant 61% 78% 39% 4% 78% 61% 4% 35% 4% 4% 4% 39% 78% 4% 4% 57% 4% 4% 4% 4% 65% 48%
% Fully or Partially Com pliant 78% 83% 70% 4% 83% 78% 4% 87% 4% 4% 4% 48% 87% 4% 4% 57% 4% 4% 4% 4% 78% 87%
65

Report On Southern Louisiana Emergency Preparedness, Spring 2009

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Southern Louisiana Emergency

Appendix: Aggregated Results

Plan Evaluation Rubric

Parish January March

 % Fully Compliant: Of the 23 criteria assessed, the

Question Y/N/P/ Comment

Additional Information John Boudreaux, Director

March 2009 Disaster Accountability Project is a nonpartisan,

Ms. Downey: Sincerely,

January 2009 Mr. Ronnie Rockforte, Chair

January 2009 Mr. Gene Tierney, Chair

January 6, 2009 March 2009

March 16, 2009 Contact Information

March 10, 2009 St. James Parish Emergency Preparedness

January 2009 Contact Information

January 2009 Additional Information

January 2009 March 2009

January 7, 2009 Contact Information

West Baton Rouge

East Baton Rouge

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