Emergency Officials Monitor Hurricane Ike, Ask Residents to be ...

Tag : Emergency Call

Emergency officials re-opened the Emergency Operations Center inBeaumont Sunday. They held a conference call where they spoke withstate officials and the National Weather Service.
They are preparing for another conference call at 10:30 Mondaymorning. Emergency officials want the public to know that noevacuations have been called in response of Hurricane Ike but theyare asking the public to be prepared.
Jefferson County Emergency Management Coordinator Greg Fountainsaid it's hard to believe another hurricane is heading towards thegulf just a week after a mandatory evacuation was called inresponse to Hurricane Gustav. Fountain said, "we are in a positionwhere we have to address the situation and the possibility ofsometime early next week going through the same scenario all overagain."
Fountain said he doesn't want to have to evacuate special needspatients again this soon after last week's evacuation. He said it'strying on the elderly and the first responders who worked round theclock to get them to a safe location.
But if Hurricane Ike heads towards Southeast Texas he plans to callfor an evacuation of special needs people at least 72 hours beforethe storm hits and a possible mandatory evacuation 35 to 40 hoursbefore it makes landfall. Fountain said, "we just have to watch itand make a decision as the week goes on but encourage citizens tofill their gas tanks up and to be prepared, have their familymembers ready in case we do evacuate again."
Fountain said if a mandatory evacuation is called he knows somepeople will make the decision not to leave and he is asking thosepeople to make sure they have enough food, water, and othernecessities to last for at least ten days.
Fountain said, "if we get everybody out of here and it doesn't hitand everybody is safe as Mayor Prince said she would rather have 50thousand residents angry with her then one dead as a result ofsomeone who did not evacuate."