Hurricane Zitchard; D’Iberville holds a Hurricane Drill
By Cheryl Rasbury
Editor, Biloxi-D’iberville Press
On Wednesday, June 18, at 7a.m., city crews got the word from Jay Williams, Emergency Management Coordinator for the city of D’Iberville to mobilize and begin moving all trucks, heavy equipment, generators and other items necessary to run the city to higher ground. Immediately, Al Gombos, Public Works Director, assembled his men. Within minutes, keys were distributed, tasks were assigned and the yard was cleared as they headed to the staging area at the Bobby Eleuterius Recreational Complex.
At 8:30 a.m., Williams stood before a room full of city officials, department heads and representatives from all areas of the city. They initiated the Incident Command system and began assessing their readiness to deal with the Category 1 storm that was gaining strength, headed for D’Iberville and expected to make landfall within 51 hours.
It was all part of a full-scale Mock Hurricane Drill. The exercise is designed to get all emergency officials and city employees trained, focused and prepared to protect the citizens and property of D’Iberville in the event of another storm. In this full scale drill, as much equipment as possible was actually moved and the real time to complete procedures was recorded. In some cases, such as boarding up city buildings, only segments of the procedure were actually done and the completion time was estimated.
“We are doing this so we can realistically evaluate the time it will take to mobilize and lock down the city,” said Williams, “That way we know exactly what has to be done. The rest of our time is 100% for the citizens.” The rest of the day was spent in a so-called Table Top drill where the participants continued to play out the scenario as the storm grew in strength and continued closer to land. As each Mock Advisory was issued, officials played out when to issue evacuation orders, when shelters in Harrison County would open, when sand bags would be available, where to house emergency crews and all other aspects of their preparedness plan. “If we do this now, it gives us a base.” said Williams, “Each storm is different and each one will have something come up that will be a hurdle that wasn’t planned for, but; if we follow the base, we are that much faster getting to the citizens,” he continued.
During the day, one of the biggest obstacles discussed was the reluctance of citizens to believe the storm will hit them and the resistance to leave. Rupert Lacey, Director of Harrison County Emergency Management, called it the “Katrina Syndrome.” Simply put, it is those who say, “I made it through Katrina, I’ll ride it out.” It is a dangerous mindset. Each storm is different. “Katrina wasn’t the perfect storm,” continued Lacey. It was dry. Had it been a wet storm like Camille, it would have been much worse.” The most important thing city officials said that the public can do is to be prepared. Have a plan. Let someone know what that plan is and then stick to it. Don’t try to wait until the last minute to heed warnings. Lacey made the following recommendations for preparing for a storm:
- Remember in slow-moving, evacuation traffic, you will burn more gas. Start now by putting five or ten dollars aside every week. Keep it in a jar or box that you can pick up and take with you. If a storm hits, you will need cash!
- When planning your evacuation route, remember to consider roads coming from other areas that will converge in the same location. For example, U.S. Highways 59, 49 and 98 all meet in Hattiesburg. Chances are residents in those areas will be evacuating right along with those from South Mississippi.
- Lacy asked that citizens keep in mind, “These are not storm preparations alone, they are All-Hazard preparations. At any time there could be a catastrophic event such as a chemical spill in the community that would require mass evacuation of residents.” The steps taken to prepare and practice now could mean the difference in saving lives later.
Lacey said that advances in technology have made predicting the movements and landfall of storms very dependable; however it still isn’t an exact science.
