BRUCE P. BAUGHMAN

DIRECTOR, ALABAMA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

WRITTEN TESTIMONY

BEFORE THE

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM

ON

THE STATE OF ALABAMA'S PREPARATION FOR

AND RESPONSE TO HURRICANE KATRINA

NOVEMBER 9, 2005

Good morning. My name is Bruce Baughman. I am the Director of the
Alabama Emergency Management Agency. I wish to thank you, Mr. Chairman
and members of this Committee for providing me this opportunity to
testify regarding our response to Hurricane Katrina.

My testimony today is focused on Alabama's Emergency Management program,
and how we prepared for and responded to Hurricane Katrina. During the
last two and a half years, we have developed a comprehensive emergency
management program that includes well coordinated, trained, and
exercised plans, procedures, and personnel. As a result of our efforts
we have successfully responded to three hurricanes within the past 13
months. This success has not come easily; it has taken the commitment of
local governments, state agency heads, and political leadership at all
levels of government within the state. Additionally, under Governor
Riley's leadership, emergency management has become a priority for his
administration. The result is that within emergency management we have
been able to develop strong relationships with key state agencies, the
state legislature, and local governments. These relationships have paid
big dividends in responding to disasters and emergencies. Areas that
have been strengthened include training, exercises, logistics, mutual
aid, communications, mass care, health and medical, fire and rescue, and
evacuation.

Our response to Hurricane Katrina was built around our established plans
and procedures which were augmented by lessons learned from previous
disasters, especially Hurricane Ivan. On August 26th, we identified the
threat from Katrina and began preparations and pre-planning. We notified
key state agencies, dispatched liaisons to coastal counties, activated
the State Emergency Response Team, and activated the Alabama Mutual Aid
System. We talked to FEMA Region IV, and began twice daily
teleconferences with federal agencies and surrounding states. We
requested FEMA's Emergency Response Team ­-- Advance Element, which
arrived on August 27th.

We determined the projected quantities of commodities and emergency
teams that would be required, and requested that FEMA pre-stage them at
Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery. Due to the magnitude of Hurricane
Katrina, and the number of states affected, FEMA was able to provide one
million gallons of water, seven million pounds of ice, and 1.3 million
Meals Ready to Eat.

Governor Riley's Office and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency
coordinated a combined federal, state, and local response to Katrina
that was extremely effective. Katrina caused only two deaths in our
state, and those victims died in an automobile accident.

The success of our State program depends on far more than just the
Alabama Emergency Management Agency. We depend on our close partnership
with state agencies, such as the Alabama National Guard, the Departments
of Public Safety, Public Health, Transportation, and others. We depend
on our federal partners at FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, the
Department of Defense, and many others as well. But most of all,
regardless of where you are in the emergency management community,
successful and efficient operations are significantly dependent on the
strength of local emergency management agencies, and most importantly,
the involvement of political leadership. We depend on these local
emergency management directors to communicate with their elected
officials and communities as they effectively coordinate with us at the
State level to meet their emergency management support and needs. The
information they provide us drives the disaster response at the state
and federal level. After all, we are not first responders, but emergency
managers, and our job is to support local government with resources when
their own resources are exhausted.

It is the job of emergency managers to coordinate the development of
plans to describe how all these organizations will work together. These
plans exist at the local, state, and federal level. Each plan describes
how they will secure assistance from their neighbors or next higher
level of government when their own resources are exhausted. However,
emergency plans are [not]{.underline} documents that are written and
placed on a bookshelf, only to be forgotten until the next disaster;
rather they are living documents, subject to constant testing and
revision. Plans exist at the core of any emergency management program,
second only to emergency managers themselves in being essential to the
program.

It is often said in emergency management that plans are
[useless]{.underline}, planning is [essential]{.underline}. The plan
itself can do nothing. But people who understand the plan, its component
organizations, and its procedures for protecting people and requesting
outside assistance are well positioned to effectively respond to a
disaster. Alabama EMA reviews and approves the counties' plans, and
ensures they follow current guidance related to all aspects of disaster
response. Alabama has written its State Emergency Operations Plan to
mirror the National Response Plan, in terms of organizational structure,
so each level of government is well positioned to work with one another.

Training and exercises are major components of any emergency management
program. Last year we conducted 59 federal, state, and local exercises.
We have conducted hurricane exercises with coastal county Emergency
Management Agencies. We have conducted exercises for Governor Riley and
his cabinet. In addition, we have held hurricane workshops to further
orient emergency managers to the risks associated with hurricanes and
the agencies that respond to them.

Exercises may have different target audiences, but share the same goal,
which is to raise awareness of how emergency plans will be implemented.
Exercises are well funded through Homeland Security Grants, with one
exception that I wish to raise regarding exercise funding. Currently,
federal exercise funding with the Department of Homeland Security must
be terrorism or Weapons of Mass Destruction oriented, which inserts
artificiality when we conduct natural hazards exercises. Our exercises
would be more realistic if this element was not required.

Training is used as an effective tool to introduce emergency managers
and first responders to disaster specific topics. The federal government
can provide leadership here by developing or sponsoring detailed
training in the National Incident Management System and the Incident
Command System. Additional training areas in need of federal leadership
are logistics, damage assessments, and Incident Action Planning.
Emergency management training is not simply a matter of funding; a
federal agency, logically the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
should be charged with developing or facilitating the development of
training in these areas.

Let me now mention a few major issues facing the emergency management
community in preparing for natural disasters. Funding, of course, is a
major concern for [all]{.underline} government programs. The Emergency
Management Performance Grant (EMPG) is the states' only source of
funding for natural hazards preparedness. The State of Alabama received
\$3 million in EMPG last year, the majority of which was passed on to
county emergency management programs. Compare this to the \$22 million
we received for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program
(CSEPP) affecting only six counties in Alabama, or \$25 million for
Terrorism and Preparedness, or \$750,000 for the Radiological Emergency
Preparedness Program (REP) affecting only two nuclear power plants. The
disparities in funding are obvious, and the challenges associated with
EMPG funding are a major problem facing emergency management.

To establish accountability in the allocation of EMPG funds, Alabama has
established a system for distributing dollars to counties based on their
progress towards compliance with the Emergency Management Accreditation
Program (EMAP) standards. EMAP is a tool for examining emergency
management programs and evaluating their readiness to respond to
disasters. Additionally, under Governor Riley's leadership, Alabama has
implemented one of the nation's first programs of minimum standards for
emergency managers. Our program requires specified experience,
education, and training to ensure our emergency managers are well versed
in the fundamentals of disaster response.

Alabama concurs with the Department of Homeland Security that federal
funding should be threat based. However, natural disasters should be
factored in and used as a basis for funding. Alabama has been struck
repeatedly by natural disasters; we have received 31 federal
declarations in the past ten years. It is my recommendation to you that
Congress consider increasing EMPG funding across the board, and
reenergizing the Hurricane Preparedness and Earthquake Preparedness
Programs.

Alabama used Homeland Security funds to purchase equipment for the
recently established Alabama Mutual Aid System (AMAS). AMAS consists of
47 standardized teams located across the state, such as Heavy Rescue,
Medium Rescue, Light Rescue, Swiftwater Rescue, and Hazardous Materials.
AMAS provides Alabama cities and counties assistance to one another,
rather than depending on state or federal assets.

With Homeland Security funds, Alabama ordered eight mobile
communications vehicles. We are still in the process of completing
communications plans in each county to identify specific communications
resource shortfalls. We use the Southern LINC network as our primary
method for communicating with county EMAs and those involved in disaster
response. The Southern LINC network, which uses the same technology as
Nextel, is commercially owned and operated, so the cost to the state is
manageable. The National Weather Service provides regular briefings to
all state and county EMA employees via the Southern LINC network. There
were approximately 115 additional LINC portable units activated and
delivered for use in the field for this disaster.

We purchased six (6) additional satellite telephones for Hurricane
Katrina, bringing the total number to 19. These satellite telephones
were distributed to personnel in the field and worked very well. We are
in the process of rebuilding our statewide UHF radio network, which will
provide an additional layer of redundancy should the Southern LINC
network fail. We encountered no communications problems during Hurricane
Katrina.

We have also established, as an emergency support function, a liaison
with private relief organizations. Governor Riley has established a new
office under his administration, the Governor's Office of Faith Based
and Community Initiatives. This office coordinated and provided
appropriate support from volunteer agencies such as the Red Cross,
Salvation Army, Seventh Day Adventist Services, and others. This office
has provided on-site manpower support in our Emergency Operations Center
so that the coordination between the State and the volunteer relief
organizations is enhanced. For example, instead of having a Salvation
Army and a Red Cross food canteen on the same street, we are making sure
that we are spreading the resources out to avoid duplication of
services.

[]{.mark}

Governor Riley possesses the legal authority under Alabama law to issue
a mandatory evacuation order and he does so at the recommendation and
request of local government. Once such an order is issued, then the
evacuation process is initiated. Our office coordinates with the
counties and with our state agencies, specifically Department of
Transportation and Department of Public Safety, for the implementation
of such evacuation.

The information we use for evacuation decision making is based on
studies conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The evacuation
clearance times reflected in these reports is, I believe, incomplete and
outdated based upon the data models that we are using. We are basically
showing a clearance time of 22 -- 24 hours to complete an evacuation of
our communities. I personally do not think that this clearance time is
any longer valid. Additional funding is needed for the Corps of
Engineers to complete and update these studies. On a state level, we
need to re-evaluate our evacuation plans and reduce the clearance times
or properly reflect accurate data in our reports.

In the context of evacuation, we feel the greatest need for improvement
is in interstate coordination. If a storm headed towards the Gulf Coast
takes a westerly turn, it will strike Louisiana first and then
Mississippi. Therefore, Alabama will receive traffic from evacuees of
those states along our Interstate 10, which is a major East-West
Interstate route, which then presents a problem to Alabama because we in
turn need to route them north, by way of Interstate 65. We feel that
there needs to be more of a formalized process for interstate
coordination of evacuation between neighboring states. We believe
federal government can provide us greater assistance in accomplishing
our objective of moving traffic from other states through Alabama.
Alabama may not be under a direct threat of a disaster; however, Alabama
would be directly affected and would incur expenses in providing safe
and expedited travel from these states to communities in Alabama out of
harm's way.

We have implemented two significant methods of evacuating our coastal
counties, one of which is known as zoned evacuation, where coastal
counties are divided into zones to facilitate public notification when a
hurricane is approaching, and the other is a contra-flow traffic
process; whereby we reverse-lane Interstate 65 in order to route traffic
in a more efficient manner. Not all states with an interstate route are
capable of doing the contra-flow method. However, it would behoove
states and the federal government to work in a cooperative effort to
develop a means in which to better prepare these evacuation routes in
order to become capable of using the contra-flow method.

FEMA has established an Evacuation Liaison Team (ELT) which participated
in daily conference calls with the state to coordinate interstate
evacuation. I think it can be better; however, the ELT is primarily
being used only in FEMA, Region IV based in Atlanta, which presents a
problem for states that are outside that particular region. It does not
encompass states in areas west of the Mississippi River, like Louisiana.
It would be my recommendation that this ELT process needs to be
established and replicated in all ten (10) FEMA Regions. Historically,
there has been some resistance from the Department of Transportation
from their Regional Emergency Transportation Coordinators (RETCOs) from
region to region in developing and enhancing this evacuation liaison
team concept. In summary regarding the ELT, I clearly think it can be
improved upon a federal level between the FEMA Regional Offices.
However, as for the ELT process during Katrina, it worked very well for
the State of Alabama.

[]{.mark}

Based upon our exercises and lessons learned from previous disasters we
have been able to assess our need for commodities and equipment that are
necessary during the initial days prior to a disaster entering the state
and shortly after leaving the state. We have identified our need on the
state level to provide certain emergency management support to our local
governments such as in the areas of ice, water, meals ready to eat
(MREs), generators, cots, and roofing supplies. []{.mark}

Alabama believes, and my experience supports such a belief, that each
hurricane prone state needs to establish a warehouse stocked with a
modest amount of these commodities so that they are readily accessible
for immediate distribution to a disaster impacted community. Time is of
the essence when it comes to our response to the immediate needs of the
community. Therefore, we recommend that a properly stocked warehouse be
established in each state, as appropriate.

We have been able to identify what we believe is an adequate or
appropriate amount of money and an accurate list of commodities that are
necessary to accomplish this warehouse mission. However, the problem is
that the cost incurred in this particular project in most cases is
beyond the capability of state government. Therefore, we are asking for
FEMA's assistance in funding such an initiative. Alabama's greatest
concern is the timeliness of receiving commodities, such as ice, water,
and meals ready to eat into the state once the storm makes landfall so
that we can make distribution to our customers as soon as it is safe to
do so. This is the basis of our belief that the aforementioned volume of
commodities need to be established, pre-staged, and warehoused prior to
the storm making landfall. In the event that Alabama is spared the full
effect of a hurricane, then those commodities that Alabama does not need
immediately can either be retained or transferred over to neighboring
states that were impacted by that disaster and where the need is
greater.

[]{.mark}

In conclusion, I believe the onus for establishing and maintaining
effective emergency management programs is on state and local
government. The federal government provides overall coordination and
much needed funding. Each level of government depends on the others to
coordinate an effective disaster response.

FEMA needs to be empowered to do its job. It needs a budget commensurate
with its responsibilities for emergency preparedness and response. And
regardless of where it is located in the federal structure, it needs to
be led by a professional emergency manager, with the authority and
resources to coordinate effective disaster response. You can assist us
in a number of ways, including providing us with relevant training, to
establish the base level of knowledge among emergency managers. You can
assist us by increasing Emergency Management Performance Grant funding,
and by relooking and reenergizing the Hurricane Preparedness and
Earthquake Preparedness Programs. You can assist us by building FEMA's
logistics capacity. And lastly you can assist us by directing the
Department of Energy to establish a program for addressing fuel
shortfalls in disaster impacted areas.

The shortcomings of the disaster response that prompted this
investigation did not occur after Katrina formed in the Gulf of Mexico.
The shortcomings brought to light by this hurricane revealed issues of
emergency preparedness that were years in the making. I only hope each
organization impacted by Katrina learns from its experience, and is
better prepared for the next storm. I am confident Alabama is committed,
not only to learning its lessons from past storms, but insuring that we
do all that we can not to make the same mistake twice.

Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the committee, I would like to
thank you again for your time, and would welcome any questions you may
have.