In 2005, Hurricane Katrina showed just how ill-prepared the country was for a massive natural disaster. Since then, U.S. National Guard units have gathered every year to hash out hurricane plans and make improvements.
The number of conference participants has grown from a few representatives from two states to several hundred representatives from 30 states and the federal government.
This year's conference, held in downtown Tampa, ended Friday morning with National Guard officials saying that cooperation and communication have never been better among federal, state and local agencies.
The conference "is a problem-solving event," said Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of the U.S. Northern Command. Even though this past hurricane season left the nation largely unscathed, that's no reason to let the guard down, he said.
Discussed during the weeklong event were preparation, such as evacuations plans, and response, like search and rescue, he said. Technological developments in communication were also reviewed.
"The country has come an incredible distance since Hurricane Katrina," Renuart said, and if a hurricane of that intensity struck again, the response "would be very different from the aftermath of Katrina."
Still, no plan is perfect.
"Each storm has a unique personality," he said, "and creates its own unique circumstances."
Now preparations and response plans are in place not only in coastal states that are hit by hurricanes, he said, but also in inland states that might have to deal with evacuees and other emergency contingencies.
"We were lucky," this past year, said Juliette Kayyem, acting assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs in the Department of Homeland Security. "But that doesn't mean we always will be lucky."
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