At a committee hearing Wednesday, Army General Albert Wilkening presented three major recommendations for Wisconsin to improve its evacuation plan in case of a catastrophic disaster.
The Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, Military Affairs, Small Business and Government Reform held a public hearing at the Capitol to discuss Wisconsin's ability to prepare for and respond to disasters. The committee focused on the current weakness of Wisconsin evacuation plans and the ways to improve upon them.
Wilkening and Wisconsin Emergency Manager John Smith presented a report evaluating Wisconsin's current state of emergency precautions. This report contained 13 lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and other disasters and recommendations that would correct these past mistakes. These recommendations could be implemented as early as December.
Both Wilkening and Smith stressed the importance of having mass evacuation plans instead of the small-scale provisions currently in place. They said new large-scale plans would require much more cooperation and coordination between state and local government. Public safety would also be more costly, as much more evacuation transportation and more effective communication will be needed for this plan according to Wilkening.
In order for new large-scale evacuations to be successful, Wilkening suggested strong cooperation between neighboring towns and cities. He stressed the importance of creating regional planning in order to be able to better prepare, plan and provide supplies for emergencies.
After Hurricane Katrina, Wilkening and Smith said it is important to give special attention to the disabled and elderly population of Wisconsin. In past emergencies and disasters, this group of people has been forgotten, misplaced or left behind, they said. Currently, nursing homes and hospitals are required to work with the state during emergencies but Wilkening and Smith said extensive planning, better leadership and coordination would be needed to ensure the safety of the elderly and disabled.
Committee Chair Sen. Ronald Brown, R-Eau Claire, stressed the importance of keeping disasters plans up to date.
\To not pick up plans on a regular basis and review them and update them cause them to be improved is truly a weakness,"" he said.
