richard-moore-2.jpgGoverning will run a long feature, by Chris Swope and Zach Patton, on emergency preparedness in our forthcoming November issue.
In the meantime, to gain some insight into what is necessary to prepare for a disaster of massive scope, I spoke with Richard Moore (pictured), North Carolina's treasurer. Moore won plaudits for his handling of hurricanes Floyd and Fran as head of the state's public safety agency several years ago. (He was also honored by Governing as a Public Official of the Year in 2004.)
There are three "no brainers" when it comes to preparation, Moore said. One is that emergency management should be a regular part of a governor's agenda, not just something to worry about after disaster strikes. "If they're not in regular contact with the person who is charge of emergency management, they need to change their management structure."
Secondly, planning and preparations have to be well funded. The cost for a state of keeping 25 to 100 emergency professionals on board, even though they may be called into action just once in a decade, is dwarfed by the "astronomical downside risk" of not being prepared, Moore said.
Thirdly, chains of command and lines of authority must be cemented in advance. During an emergency in North Carolina, the person in Moore's old job automatically supersedes the authority of every other cabinet official. That's not just a good idea--that's in statute. Compare that to the bureaucratic infighting that took place before, during and after the time Katrina made landfall.
Another idea that North Carolina has implemented in recent years that other states might consider copying is the concept of sister cities. The state matches like communities from its western and eastern halves who each agree to pay the other's wages and overtime costs if there's a sudden blow to the tax base.
More importantly, officials from the two cities regularly visit their counterparts, becoming familiar in advance with the ins and outs of local regulations and protocols. That way, they can come into an affected area and act as instant, knowledgeable replacements or supplements for the local staff.hurricane-floyd-north-carolina-1.jpg
Again, compare that set-up with Louisiana. A medical team from Duke University flew into the state to help out, but soon had to get back on the plane because there was no one around who could grant permission to practice medicine in the state. If Louisiana had sister city arrangements with unaffected public health departments in Texas or Arkansas, they could have been put right to work.
It's this sort of common-sense planning that's neglected, since emergencies, by their nature, don't happen very often. The damage wrought by disasters are all too frequently described as "unimaginable." But the reality is that practically every kind and amount of damage has previously been experienced someplace else.
Photo: Damage from Hurricane Floyd in Tarboro, NC in 1999 (FEMA/Dave Gatley)
