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"Philly could be quickly overwhelmed in disaster" |
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Posted: July 13 2006 at 9:08am |
Jul 13, 3:08 AM EDT
Report: Philly could be "quickly overwhelmed" in major disaster PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The city of Philadelphia needs to be better prepared to handle a major disaster such as Hurricane Katrina or a terrorist attack, according to a new report on the city's emergency readiness. The report by consultant James Lee Witt, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says gaps in resources and procedures mean the city could be "quickly overwhelmed in a large-scale or catastrophic event." The million-dollar review, ordered by Mayor John F. Street, began in January. The report was to be released at a news conference Thursday. The report concludes that Philadelphia lacks
current strategies, documents, staffing and tools for handling a major
disaster, as well as "well-defined" processes for helping residents
with special needs. The city also does not have a comprehensive
evacuation strategy with neighboring counties, cities and states, the
report said. The analysis includes 200
recommendations to make the city safer. The administration does not
have an estimate of how long those steps would take to put in place or
how much that would cost. "This can't be a report that sits on the shelf,"
Pedro Ramos, the city's managing director, told members of the
editorial board of The Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday. The city plans to double the $450,000 budget for
the city's emergency management office and hire a deputy managing
director to oversee an overhaul of the office, Ramos said. The report
said the current five-person emergency management staff was
insufficient. In light of what happened in New Orleans, the
report looked at how well Philadelphia could handle things without help
for 72 hours after a catastrophe, and found that the city Office of
Adult Services could help as many as 2,000 people and the American Red
Cross could shelter about 10,000. But if 100,000 or more people were
displaced, the city would have to make a "comprehensive effort" to line
up contracts to feed and shelter them, the report said. Cited as the two most urgent matters for the city
were ensuring communications for rescue workers in rail and subway
tunnels and equipping city ambulances with two-way radios to talk to
hospitals. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has
estimated that wiring the tunnels to ensure communications would cost
at least $20 million. Ramos said the city could make some recommended
changes, such as an increased role for public health and medical
officials in emergency planning. Others would need federal action, such
as providing 100 more Transportation Security Agency inspectors at
Philadelphia International Airport. Ramos said a $1 million-plus public education
campaign was planned for September to inform residents about what they
should do in an emergency. He said the city had to make emergency
information more accessible. "We can't expect the public to go fishing through
Web sites for information," he said. "We're going to be coming at you
like a Frito-Lay campaign to get you to buy into emergency
preparedness." http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PA_PHILADELPHIA_DISASTERPAOL-?SITE=PASTR&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT |
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