No one knows for sure whether this September will be a repeat of 2005, when hurricanes Katrina and Rita delivered devastating one-two punches to the Mississippi-Louisiana-Texas coasts. At that time, an estimated 4,500 evacuees flocked to Bell County shelters, some with just the clothes on their backs. With the help of Bell County cities, churches and hundreds of volunteers, the evacuees were fed, housed and helped with essential provisions until they could return home.
“Katrina and Rita taught everyone a big lesson,” said Thomas Pechal, Temple Fire and Rescue public information officer, who is assisting the city’s emergency management services.
Gustav is projected to become a major Category 3 hurricane when it churns into the warm, deep Gulf waters this weekend.
Meteorologists are still uncertain where it will make landfall, but should it whirl wind and water northwesterly, Bell County emergency personnel say they’ll be ready.
Storms Katrina and Rita exposed problems of poor communications and redoubling of relief efforts that strained the system, said Dennis Baker, Bell County emergency management coordinator. To solve that problem, city and county emergency personnel have begun twice daily teleconference briefings with state emergency personnel.
“This way, everyone’s on the same page,” Baker said.
Help will be coordinated and focused to avoid duplication of efforts and wasting resources, Baker said. He met with emergency management personnel in Killeen, Harker Heights, Belton and Temple on Wednesday afternoon.
Carol Morrisett, R.N., Scott & White’s safety compliance director, said the hospital has been on alert since Tuesday at 10 p.m. Scott & White personnel assessed bed availability in case Gulf Coast hospitals were forced to evacuate. This information is fed into a statewide database, available to all health care institutions.
“So now all hospitals in the state will know where beds are available should the need arise,” she added. Nursing homes have a similar system to locate available beds.
JP DeMeritt, emergency services director for the American Red Cross in Waco, also is gathering volunteers and support. The Salvation Army has been communicating with county personnel.
To reduce duplication, each coastal county is now partnered with an inland county. Thus, Bell County will receive evacuees from Brazoria County in emergencies. Because of its medical facilities, Temple is designated to receive Brazoria’s evacuees with special medical needs.
Others will go to shelters in Killeen, Harker Heights and Belton.
Wal-Mart, Performance Food Group and McLane have agreed to provide food in the shelters for the first 72 hours.
Since hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Brazoria personnel have been working to identify residents who would need transportation or any other special help. This information is then shared with Bell County.
In June, Brazoria County’s Office of Emergency Management reviewed its evacuation, transportation and shelter plans with Bell officials. Bell County is ready, willing and able to receive 1,500 Brazoria residents, Baker added.
Working with several Bell area veterinarians, the county can also open pet-friendly shelters so evacuees can stay close to their four-pawed family members.
“We now have a good communication system in place that we didn’t have before,” Morrisett said.
Scott & White has at the ready huge mobile units, called MASCHE kits, that can quickly deploy at an emergency site with medical supplies, linens, pillows and septic kits, among other supplies. Scott & White also has stored 96 hours of potable water and 300 cots for emergency use.
Adding to their readiness are frequent emergency drills involving hospitals, city and county personnel. The last major drill was July 1, involving Hamilton, Coryell, Bell, Mills, Lampasas and Falls counties.
In the meantime, as Gustav spins closer to the U.S. mainland, emergency personnel are keeping a watchful eye on tropical storm Hanna gaining momentum in the Atlantic.
“September is always the most active month for these storms,” Pechal said. “That’s why we train all year long for just this.”
pbenoit@temple-telegram.com
