The Vegas Voice - Preparing Our State
Preparing Our State (Vegas Voice October 2005)
For weeks, Americans have been bombarded by news reports and horrific pictures of the devastation and despair left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. First, we were shocked by scenes which we could not believe were really from the United States. This seemed more like something that would occur in a faraway third world country. Then Americans, with our characteristic generosity, opened up our hearts, our pocketbooks, and our homes to help those in such great need.
On and after the attacks of September 11, 2001, government at all levels responded quickly and efficiently and was lauded for these efforts by a grateful public. Unfortunately, both the performance and the reaction after Katrina have been just the opposite. In the first major test since 9/11, government failed in the face of a disaster. This is unacceptable.
Now, we must ask ourselves how this could have happened and whether we are any better prepared than Louisiana and Mississippi to face a natural disaster or man-made catastrophe here in Nevada. I'm very concerned that we may not be better prepared. Federal dollars have been cut from our Homeland Security budget. Many of our National Guard have been deployed to Iraq and are not available for their primary duty at home. Some of our first responders have antiquated communication equipment: In some cases, they would be unable to communicate with other emergency personnel in responding to a disaster. And there is no effective outreach program to educate the public on what to do in case of an emergencyhow to protect ourselves, where to go, how to get there.
We have both a potential problem and a great opportunity right in our backyard, at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). A recent report faulted security at the NTS. It found a lack of a team approach to security, a bias against training, and an absence of accountability (source: Las Vegas Sun, September 15). But rather than a potential danger to Southern Nevada, the NTS should be turned into an asset to homeland security nationwide. With its vast expanse and infrastructure in place, the NTS is an ideal place for training first responders from around the country: While some training is done there now, those programs should be greatly expanded.
On September 16, President Bush said: "Our cities must have clear and up-to-date plans for responding to natural disasters and disease outbreaks or a terrorist attack, for evacuating large numbers of people in an emergency and for providing food and water and security they would need." (source: Yahoo internet news, September 16) It's a tragedy that this comes after hundreds or even thousands died, many thousands lost family members and friends, homes, and jobs, and the national debt ballooned. What happened in the Gulf coast proves the President's point: We must be ready.
My primary theme for the upcoming governor's race is that government should do what it does best: educate our children, lock up the bad guys, provide needed services for the common goodand then get out of the way. We need smarter government, not bigger government. Being prepared for disasters clearly falls in the category of the common good and it is a smart use of government resources. We need a leader in Nevada who is willing to take on the tough challenges of updating the state's emergency management plan; who will appoint qualified security experts, not campaign donors, to head our state's Homeland Security agency and related departments; and who will work with Nevada's congressional delegation to get the money we need and deserve from FEMA.
We must learn from the faulty response to Katrina so that we will be prepared to respond to natural or man-made disasters in Nevada.
http://www.dinatitus.com/index.php?section=misc&id=38