Virginia Prepares for Hurricane Rita Impacts
Virginia Prepares for Hurricane Rita Impacts
Governor extends Declaration of Emergency; Reviews Fuel and Evacuee Preparedness
Governor Mark R. Warner today announced various actions the Commonwealth of Virginia is taking to prepare for potential impacts of Hurricane Rita, currently threatening the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana.
Governor Warner has extended the existing Declaration of Emergency, with all the regulatory and deployment powers already granted for Hurricanes Katrina, to cover the Commonwealth's response to Hurricane Rita. That means the Virginia Emergency Operations Center maintains full staffing around the clock.
"This has been a dramatic and devastating hurricane season for the United States, and Virginians both want to help, and face real impacts at home," said Governor Warner. "We continue to stand ready to take in evacuees to a well-organized facility at Fort Pickett where many of their needs can be met. Additionally, according to FEMA registrations, we continue to house almost 5,000 families, or an estimated 15,000 individual victims of Hurricane Katrina in home and hotels throughout the Commonwealth. Red Cross has assisted more than 7,600 individuals in Virginia."
"Additionally, we will be closely monitoring the impacts of this hurricane on gasoline supply in Virginia," said the Governor. "I would ask again that Virginians continue to make efforts to conserve fuel, not change their normal buying habits, and report gas prices that are substantially higher than the local market to our consumer hotline."
Potential Evacuees
As a result of Hurricane Rita's potential impact, FEMA has asked states to report how many more evacuees they can shelter. Virginia reported 1,400 available beds at Fort Pickett and the Virginia United Methodist Assembly Center, both in Nottoway County.
The Virginia Department of Aviation stands ready to coordinate potential flights of evacuated people into the Commonwealth.
Fuel Issues
Yesterday, the Governor requested and received an extension of the waiver from EPA that allow gas stations in the Richmond metro area to use non-reformulated gas, to expand the gas supply in at least one major region of the Commonwealth. The Governor is also renewing Virginia's request for a waiver in the Hampton Roads region. The non-reformulated supply would normally not be accessible to motorists because of air quality concerns. But as the summer ends, Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality expects no impact from its use, and it dramatically increases fuel availability.
Additionally, Governor Warner's Chief of Staff has asked state agencies to continue common sense fuel conservation measures, including: limiting business travel to only essential trips; carpooling whenever possible for necessary travel; avoiding topping off tanks and refueling only when necessary; and asking state workers to practice conservation in personal travel as well.
To report suspected price gouging, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Consumer Protection HOTLINE is toll-free in Virginia at 1.800.552.9963 or in the Richmond area at 804.786.2042.
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Press_Policy/Releases/2005/Sep05/0923.htm