Sheriff Doug Hebert III organized a hurricane preparedness meeting last week and included mayors, fire and police personnel along with other officials in the parish.
“It was an organizational meeting,” Hebert said. “It basically got everybody together on the same page.”
Presentations were made by representatives from the National Weather Service and Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP). Roger Erickson, National Weather Service, explained the upcoming hurricane season is predicted to be active. He reviewed names on the list and other information that his agency provides for communities. Neale Fruge of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security also reviewed the pre- and post-storm processes for requests for equipment, supplies, etc.
Hebert said it was important to review the steps necessary and get everyone thinking about what they will need if the parish is hit by a hurricane. He said every request, etc. would go through his office when a storm is involved. He said they also discussed creating check lists before a hurricane arrived, because leaders in each community knew their weak points in their infrastructures.
During the last hurricane, some of the biggest issues were water supplies, sewer pumping stations and the need for more generators. He said the check lists would help communities know if they could purchase these supplies or if they would need assistance. When a hurricane is predicted for the area, these communities could notify the sheriff what their anticipated needs would be. He said this way requests could be made earlier, so supplies would be ready quicker after a hurricane.
Hebert said he believes it was a good meeting, and a great way to think about flooding, road closures, supplies needed, etc. before an event occurred. After the event, he said things get difficult for leaders who have to deal with all the problems associated with the storm.
Kinder Mayor Wayland LaFargue said the group has met twice now, and he believes the meeting helped the group line up the resources they could use in regards to a hurricane. He said there is always hiccups, but the meeting has allowed the group to begin preparations and to understand the process required to receive help.
“I’m glad we met,” LaFargue said. “I know everybody’s on the same page now. There was some good information given. We now know who we need to contact and how to speed up the process.”
Oakdale Mayor Gene Paul was pleased with the outcome of the meeting. He said there was lots of information shared.
“It was good information overall on preparedness,” Paul said as he commended Hebert. “I feel like last year things happened days after the hurricane, and I felt it should have been sooner.” He believed this meeting would help things to run smoother and quicker if a hurricane struck again.
“This is something we haven’t had in the past. It was a big step forward in communications,” he said.
Oakdale’s interim Fire Chief Eric Maricle said the meeting explained the chain of command and how to proceed to secure supplies and equipment if necessary. He said they learned how each branch would operate when a hurricane is involved as well as what would be expected from the fire departments. He said the fire departments in the parish were earmarked as distribution centers.
“It’s us taking care of the community and what needs to be done,” Maricle said about the preparedness paln. “It explained who we would contact and the process we would follow to get supplies.”
Hebert said more meetings could occur as parish leaders work together to be prepared to respond to the needs of communities and the parish.
