10/05:$15 mil FEMA contract awarded to developer of failed N.O. evac plan.

[pnwmom]

In July, 2004, Innovative Emergency Management was awarded $500,000 to develop an emergency evacuation plan for New Orleans. They held some workshops.

We all know how helpful those workshops must have been.

But IEM, unlike the city of New Orleans, was quickly given a second chance. In October, 2005, one month after the Katrina disaster, FEMA awarded the same company a $15 million long term contract to prepare for chemical disasters in a ten-state area.

Feeling safer now?

Katrina workshops:

"" F rom July 16–23, 2004, over 300 participants from Federal, State, local, and volunteer agencies participated in the Louisiana Catastrophic Hurricane Planning Workshop at the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (LOHSEP) in Baton Rouge. The purpose of the workshop was to develop functional plans for response to and recovery from a catastrophic hurricane striking southeast Louisiana, including the City of New Orleans.

Driven by a predetermined scenario, entitled Hurricane Pam, the participants developed 15 functional plans over the course of the week, including: pre-landfall activities; unwatering of leveeenclosed areas; hazardous materials; billeting of response personnel; distribution of power, water, and ice; transport from water to shelter; volunteer and donations management; external affairs; access control and re-entry; debris; schools; search and rescue; sheltering; temporary housing; and temporary medical care.

The scenario involved a slow-moving Category 3 storm making landfall near Grand Isle in the early morning. In the scenario, the storm, sustaining winds of 120 mph at landfall, spawned tornados, destroyed over 75% of the structures in its path, and left the majority of New Orleans under 15–20 feet of water. The workshop was sponsored by FEMA and LOHSEP, with a weather scenario designed by the National Weather Service and damage and consequences developed by IEM, Inc. of Baton Rouge. IEM, Inc. also facilitated the workshop sessions.

From November 29–December 3, over 90 participants met in New Orleans to continue planning for three topics: sheltering, temporary housing, and temporary medical care. These three topics were chosen by the workshop’s Unified Command as areas that needed continued group planning. The outcome of these workshops is a series of functional plans that may be implemented immediately. Along with these plans, resource shortfalls were identified early, saving valuable time in the event an actual response is warranted. It is because of the dedication of every workshop participant that Louisiana is much better prepared for a catastrophic hurricane. Walt Zaleski of the National Weather Service briefs Greg Padgett of IEM and other participants during the Louisiana Catastrophic Hurricane Planning Workshop in Baton Rouge. "

(From a PDF file at this link: http://leninology.blogspot.com/2005/09/politics-of-weather-3-shyness-of.html)

Innovative Emergency Management press release on their Chemical Emergency planning contract:

BATON ROUGE, LA., October 17, 2005 - IEM, the disaster consulting and homeland security corporation, today announced that it has won the FEMA contract to provide planning and preparedness support services to the billion dollar Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP). CSEPP is one of the nation's largest emergency preparedness efforts, involving eight chemical weapons stockpile sites, 10 states, 40 counties and more than one million people.

Jack Long, IEM's director for program integration and the program manager for this work, said, "IEM has assembled a strong team uniquely capable of helping CSEPP continue to meet its Congressional mandate of ensuring 'maximum protection' for communities around the chemical stockpile sites.

"Our unique set of analytical tools helps FEMA carry out its risk-based approach to emergency management. This ensures that resource allocation decisions are based on data that shows where resources will have the most impact on protection."

IEM's emergency management experts have supported CSEPP since 1993. IEM will deliver the latest work under a blanket purchase agreement with FEMA, which jointly manages CSEPP with the U.S. Army. The contract has an estimated value of more than $15 million over the lifetime of the project.

http://www.ieminc.com/Whats_New/Press_Releases/pressrelease101705_fema_pi.htm

[SutaUvaca]

1. WTF???

I swear to god, every damn jounalist with a "wire" service must be also on the take. Why is such baldassed graft not constantly being shouted at by our "press"??