[StBernard] Louisiana and federal officials work together in disaster preparedness and response

[Westley Annis]

Louisiana and federal officials work together in disaster preparedness and
response 

BATON ROUGE-Local, state and federal officials are concluding a two-day,
hands on hurricane preparedness exercise designed to improve coordination
and response at all levels as the 2006 hurricane season approaches. 

The regional hurricane preparedness exercise was hosted in New Orleans and
involved participants working through disaster scenarios that included
critical decision making and action from pre-landfall to immediate response
and recovery. The exercise is being presented regionally as a series by the
U. S. Department of Homeland Security. 

This week's exercise, done in partnership with the State of Louisiana,
included emergency preparedness officials from local governments in south
Louisiana and from Arkansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Participants focused on using lessons learned after the hurricanes of 2005
and improving the preparedness and response to disasters. 

"I can assure you that Louisiana is prepared f! or hurricane season," said
Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to the participants. "We are prepared to
bring all of our resources to bear to support our local governments. Our
role at the state level has always been to lean forward to support the
locals and provide help where needed. And we stand ready to come to the aid
of our neighbors in a time of crisis, just as each of your states came to
our aid." 


Below are media information packets that provide more information about the
hurricane preparedness exercise. 




Hurricane Preparedness Exercise Series: Frequently Asked Questions

For a PDF file of the below Hurricane Preparedness Exercise Series:
Frequently Asked Questions please click
http://www.gov.state.la.us/assets/docs/PDFs/Media%20FAQ%20-%20Hurricane%20Pr
eparedness%20Exercise.pdf
<http://www.gov.state.la.us/assets/docs/PDFs/Media%20FAQ%20-%20Hurricane%20P
reparedness%20Exercise.pdf> 


What is the Hurricane Preparedness Exercise Series (HPE)? 
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is sponsoring regional Hurricane
Preparedness Exercises that will engage top officials from states and
territories along the U.S. Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard and adjacent
states within FEMA Regions I-IV and VI. The exercises will also include
participation from federal agencies, tribal entities, nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), and private sector partners. The Hurric! ane
Preparedness Exercise Series will feature discussion-based exercises,
preceded by a number of events with senior leadership at the state and
federal level, such as Senior Leadership Seminars and Mobile Education
Teams. 

What are the goals of the HPE? 
The primary goal of the HPE is to validate improvements to hurricane
response plans based on the 2005 hurricane season after-actions reports and
to identify immediate coordination and preparedness improvements needed
prior to the 2006 hurricane season. 

Who is participating in the HPE? 
The DHS Preparedness Directorate's Office of Grants and Training (G&T), in
coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is
spearheading the Hurricane Preparedness Exercises. Participation includes
appropriate components of the federal interagency, state and local,
territorial, and tribal representatives, in addition to nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs)! and critical private sector partners. 

What polici es will the HPE test and refine? 
The HPE will test and refine the plans, policies, and procedural changes
made at all levels of government following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and
Wilma. These plans include a new FEMA Concept of Operations and Evacuation
Plan for the 2006 hurricane season, changes to the National Response Plan,
and the newly sanctioned DHS Common Operational Picture. The HPE will also
serve as a forum to discuss and reinforce the principles of the National
Incident Management System (NIMS), which is the underlying incident
management structure for hurricane response activities at all levels of
government. 

How will lessons learned be gathered and implemented? 
One goal of the HPE is to identify and implement additional high priority
improvement actions prior to the start of the 2006 hurricane season on June
1. As part of the exercise after-action reporting process, participants will
collaboratively identify nece! ssary improvements and assign them to
responsible parties. DHS will provide states and localities with support in
tracking progress toward implementation of improvement actions, to ensure
that the exercises result in concrete preparedness benefits. 

What are the anticipated outcomes of the HPE? 
The HPE will communicate, refine, and validate the policies and plans that
the nation will rely on during the 2006 hurricane season. The exercises will
also address immediate coordination issues among federal, state, and local
emergency management agencies, and will build and strengthen existing
on-the-ground relationships that will be crucial to successfully responding
to hurricanes and other emergencies. 

Where can additional information about the HPE be found? 
HPE information has been posted to the DHS Website at www.dhs.gov/hpe <
http://www.dhs.gov/hpe> , the DHS Lessons Learned Information Sharing System
at www.llis.gov <http://www.llis.gov>  and the G&T Secure Portal at
https://odp.esportals.com <https://odp.esportals.com> . You must be a member
of the G&T Secure Portal to view the materials. Requests for access should
be sent to hseep at dhs.gov. For media inquiries, please call the DHS Press
Office at 202-282-8010. 



Region VI Hurricane Preparedness Tabletop Exercise 

For a PDF of the below Region VI Hurricane Preparedness Tabletop Exercise
please click
http://www.gov.state.la.us/assets/docs/PDFs/Media%20Overview%20-%20Hurricane
%20Preparedness%20Exercise.pdf
<http://www.gov.state.la.us/assets/docs/PDFs/Media%20Overview%20-%20Hurrican
e%20Preparedness%20Exercise.pdf> 

May 17-18, 2006 

Introduction 
In early 2006, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced
regional exercises to validate hurricane response plans and identify
additional immediate coordination and preparedness improvements in areas
with high hurricane risk before the start of the 2006 hurricane season. The
exercises are designed to increase ! coordination among Federal response
agencies, States, tribal nations, local jurisdictions, nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), and to identify best practices from previous events.
The exercises will take place in five Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) regions to identify planning and policy improvements that can be
implemented for the 2006 hurricane season and to provide a forum to exercise
the lessons learned from Federal and State after-action reports. 

Purpose 
The Region VI Hurricane Preparedness Tabletop Exercise (TTX) is designed t 
Address the key issues and lessons learned from all related after-action
reports and conferences 
Exercise key issues to determine what needs to be addressed in an
Improvement Plan 
Increase regional collaboration and communication 

Scope 
The Region VI Hurricane Preparedness TTX is a two-day facilitated exercise.
Players will be presented with a three-module scenario to discuss issues and
actions related to the Pre-landfall, Immediate Response, and Recovery to a
major hurricane in the gulf coast. The exercise is conducted in a no-fault
learning environment intended to foster open lines of communication, as a
tool for identifying planning and policy improvements. 

Scenario 
The Region VI Hurricane Preparedness TTX focuses on the Pre-landfall,
Immediate Response, and Recovery to Hurricane Oscar - a fictional,
potentially catastrophic Category 4 hurricane, making landfall on the Gulf
Coast. Participants receive a Situation Manual (SITMAN) with a detailed
scenario narrative that describes the simulated environment in which
participants will frame their discussions. 

Participants 
Participants include representatives ! from the following agencies: 
Abita Springs Police Department 
Advocacy Center 
Air National Guard 
Air Products 
American Red Cross 
AMTRAK 
Argonne National Laboratory 
Arkansas Department of Emergency Management 
BellSouth 
Best Buy 
Boeing 
Bryce Transport, Inc. 
Catholic Community Services, Diocese of Baton Rouge 
Cingular Wireless 
CSX 
Department of Agriculture 
Department of Defense 
Department of Energy 
Department of Health and Human Services 
Department of Homeland Security 
Department of Transportation 
Department of Veterans Affairs 
Dupr Transport, LLC 
East Baton Rouge Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
Preparedness 
Federal Bureau of Investigation 
Federal Aviation Administration 
Federal Highway Administration 
Federal Emergency Management Agency 
FedEx 
FEMA: Region VI and Region X 
Food an! d Drug Administration 
Hibernia Bank 
HOPE Coalition America 
Interoperable Communications Tactical Assistance Program 
JC Penney 
Jefferson Parish 
Kellogg, Brown and Root 
Lafayette Utilities System 
Louisiana Army National Guard 
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry 
Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism 
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality 
Louisiana Department of Education 
Louisiana Department of Labor 
Louisiana Department of Public Safety 
Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections 
Louisiana Department of Social Services 
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development 
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries 
Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness 
Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association 
Louisiana Motor Transport Association, Inc. 
Louisiana National Guard 
Louisiana State Police 
Louisiana Society for the P! revention of Cruelty to Animals 
Louisiana VOAD 
Lowe's Companies, Inc. 
Los Alamos National Laboratories 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
National Weather Service 
New Orleans Aviation Board 
New Orleans EMS 
New Orleans Fire Department 
New Orleans Mayor's Office 
New Orleans Office of Homeland Security 
Medical Emergency Response Center 3 
Metropolitan Hospital Association 
Ochsner Health System 
Oklahoma Department of Public Safety 
Oklahoma Emergency Management 
Oklahoma Highway Patrol 
Oklahoma National Guard 
Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security 
Oklahoma State Department of Health 
Operation HOPE 
Orleans Parish 
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 
Plaquemines Office of Emergency Preparedness 
Port of New Orleans 
Port of New Orleans Harbor Police 
Protection Technology 
Rapides Parish Office of H! omeland Security 
Regional Medical Response System 
Sandia N ational Laboratories 
Set Free Indeed Ministry 
Sewarage and Water Board of New Orleans 
South West Oklahoma MERC/EMSA 
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command 
St. Bernard Parish 
Target 
The BusBank 
The Salvation Army 
Transportation Security Administration 
United States Environmental Protection Agency 
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
United States Postal Service 
US Air Force 
US Army 
US Army Corps of Engineers 
US Coast Guard 
US Community Emergency Response Team 
US Customs and Border Protection 
US House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform 
US Joint Forces Command 
US Marine Corps 
US Postal Inspection Service 
US NORTHCOM 
US Small Business Administration 
Wal-Mart Stores 

Agenda 
The exercise will be conducted according to the following schedule: 

Day 1 (May 17) 
Reg! istration (8:30 a.m.) 
Opening remarks (9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.) 
DHS Situational Awareness Team (DSAT) and Common Operating Picture (COP)
briefing (9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.) 
Module 1 Pre-landfall briefing (10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.) 
Breakout group sessions (10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.) 
Lunch (1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.) 
Module 1 briefbacks (1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.) 
Module 2 Post-landfall/immediate response briefing (2:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.) 
Breakout group sessions (3:15 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.) 
Adjourn (5:45 p.m.) 

Day 2 (May 18) 
Registration (8:30 a.m.) 
Opening remarks (9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.) 
Module 2 briefbacks (9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.) 
Module 3 Post-landfall/recovery briefing (10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.) 
Breakout group sessions (10:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.) 
Lunch (1:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.) 
Module 3 briefbacks (2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.) 
Hot Wash and closing remarks (3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.) 
Adjourn (3:30 p.m.) 



-30-

The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's People
www.louisianahelp.org <http://www.louisianahelp.org>  1-877-HELPLA1
(877-435-7521)