Transcript of Advisory Conference Q & A
October 9, 2007
Marty Bahamonde, FEMA:
Do we have any questions?
Brad Puffer, New England Cable News:
Governor Rell, maybe I could ask you a few questions; Brad Puffer with NECN. The first would be, do you feel another disaster is inevitable after the hurricane?
M. Jodi Rell, Governor of Connecticut :
We've prepared for it. We don't want to think that it is inevitable, but I have to tell you, we've been drilling for hurricane possibilities. We expect flood waters. We've seen that already in Connecticut. Governor Lynch is talking about having had three floods. We experienced last April, some very, very heavy rains and some floods that followed.
The hurricane season has been good to Connecticut over the last couple of years, but all predictions are that there might be another hurricane that heads our way at some time in the future. We have prepared for that.
One of the first things that we did, of course, was to make sure we had evacuation routes that we coordinate and plan with our mayors and first selectmen and the police chiefs, etc. along the coastline communities. We have set up with them, an evacuation route. We have also set up with them, shelters that are within their areas where they would go to.
One of the things I said this morning is that when assessing the shelters, we discover we thought that some people had more cots than they did and they thought we had more cots. So we used some of our homeland security dollars to purchase additional cots. This good planning on our part really has put it into place some of the things that we found lacking because of our drills.
I would like to do a real drill experience and start moving people to see how efficiently we can do that. And towns are very much on board for doing things like that. But, it is that old story, it is practice that makes it work. And that's exactly what we've been doing.
Brad Puffer, NECN:
Would you say you now have confidence that FEMA will be there effectively when Connecticut or other New England states need them?
Governor Rell:
I am very confident that FEMA has stepped up to the plate in more ways than one.
When we needed them last year, one of the things we were explaining about the floods in Connecticut, for example, was that immediately we were trying to determine what we can do. Shall we declare an emergency? Because you don't know whether you're allowed to yet. I mean this is one of our discussions. And when I say allowed to because we didn't have facts and figures. We didn't know how much damage there was. We didn't know how many homes were affected, and the dollar amount to it.
And so for us, we started just collecting that information as best we could and FEMA was very helpful in saying, 'Don't stop, just because you don't have enough right now - enough documentation to declare an emergency. Continue to gather that information and we will help you in reassessing that.' So, we found that very helpful.
It was also very comforting to know that we weren't standing there alone, that we had someone with us - people that were guiding us, trying to get this information. And you have to remember this was over Memorial Day weekend, when we were trying to get people who were frankly shell-shocked. They were looking at homes that were flooded, in some cases, homes that had literally drifted down the river. They weren't interested in looking to us to say, 'I'm from the government, I'm here to help you.' They were interested in, what am I going to do? Where am I going to live? They didn't think that we, as a state, or that the federal government under FEMA would be there to help them.
So, we needed to get that message out and that's where again FEMA stepped right up to the plate. When they were there, they could not have been smoother, more efficient than what we needed in those days following the floods.
I hope I answered your question. That was a long answer; I apologize.
Marty Bahamonde, FEMA:
Any more questions?
Brad Puffer, NECN:
Maybe I'll just ask Governor Lynch one more question. Just following up - how is Alstead doing two years out?
John Lynch, Governor of New Hampshire:
We actually have a selectman here from Alstead. So you should feel free to talk with him. But Alstead and the people of Alstead have really shown a remarkable resilience. And, as the selectman Joe McCarty I think would attest, we saw the people of Alstead really come together - neighbor helping neighbor, lots of volunteers. Again with the response, helping families right away and then the recovery, making sure that the families who need our help, need their help, were able to get it.
There is still more work to do in Alstead - more work in terms of the infrastructure, more work in terms of helping some of the families. The hardest part, I believe, in terms of an effective response, and we've seen this in New Hampshire, is really helping the families who've lost everything. That's the biggest challenge I think that we faced.
And by that, I mean they've lost heir homes, they lost the foundations, in some cases, the land on which that foundation was built. And in many cases they still have a mortgage on the home they have lost. So the need that they have can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. That I believe is really a major challenge that we face. But I think, although there is still more work to do - I think Alstead really has come together in a remarkable way, in no small part due to the leadership of the that the selectman have had in that town.
Reporter:
How will the people come forward in a time of need? Say a small town like Alstead is hit again, unfortunately there is a flood, I know that you will have a FEMA representative assigned to the state, but how will the other states be a part of this? Will they all be advised - I mean setting up resources? How does it actually work as a basic unit?
Governor Lynch:
Well, we can ask Art to respond to that as well. But one of the things I have noticed and I would echo what Governor Rell said, I think under Art, really FEMA has undergone a cultural shift. That there is no longer that adversarial relationship that I saw a bit off three years ago. That FEMA is really there on our side, working together, supporting us, trying to understand what our needs are, and trying to help with those needs.
Now, FEMA working with us will be instrumental in getting information out to people. And that is one important aspect of what we talked about this morning as well. How will individuals know, for example, whether they qualify for assistance and what assistance is available to them? Now, that is critical for the families in Alstead and other parts of New Hampshire, so they know right away what assistance will be available for them.
Art, during the most recent flooding in April, was there touring with me, looking at some of the flooded-out areas in Merrimack county, along with his boss. So they have shown a much more willingness to be cooperative in working with us in trying to help the families.
On a regional basis, and again I think Art can talk about that as well, we need to make sure that our responses are coordinated and that our decision-making is collaborative. And if there is in fact a need for the governor of Connecticut and myself to engage in a coordinated response, which could very well be the case. I think FEMA will play a role in making sure that that facilitation in fact occurs. And it is quite likely that in a future event, we will have to have a more coordinated response than for example, we had to have this time, just really relying on ourselves in New Hampshire for decision-making.
Art, do you want to add to that?
Art Cleaves, FEMA Region I Administrator:
Thank you, Governor. I think both Governor Rell and Governor Lynch have summarized it very well -- saying that the command and control coordination that FEMA can provide not only during a disaster, but preliminary to a disaster. We're operating a situational awareness room out in our bunker at Maynard, which keeps an eye on the situation every day.
I think, for us, the coordination during an event, key information back directly to the Governors so that they get the right decision-making information. I think you've summarized it really well, Governor. Thank you.
Marty Bahamonde, FEMA:
Alright. We appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Last Modified: Friday, 02-Nov-2007 10:29:07 EDT