Local Emergency Response Teams Prepare for Hurricane Disasters

Hurricane season has been quiet so far. Yet, Ark-La-Tex emergency response teams are already preparing for another Katrina-like disaster. Last year, Hurricane Katrina slammed South Louisiana with a force few could imagine. Probation and Parole officer William Tuggle was there. His unit evacuated thousands of Orleans Parish inmates and protected New Orleans firefighters. This hurricane season Tuggle`s emergency response team is facing a new challenge. "We basically have to be prepared to go and camp out on an interstate 72 hours before a storm hits," Tuggle said. The Department of Probation and Parole will be in charge of contraflow, directing traffic out of south Louisiana into Baton Rouge and Mississippi. Yet, this time, the team has an advantage: planning. "We just want to put our resources where they`re needed the most," Caddo Bossier Probation and Parole district manager, Louis Stacks said. "We don`t want to have people standing around, we need to know what needs to be done." At least 15 Caddo-Bossier probation and parole officers will head down south just hours after their state office issues the call. However, many officers will stay in the Ark-La-Tex, preparing for the evacuees that could be headed our way. "Hopefully, we won`t ever have to do this again,but, you have to be ready in case you do," Tuggle said. Teams will leave with trailers full of supplies, both for the crews and any locals who might be in need."We`ll plan for the unexpected and do the best we can," Stacks said. At this point, no one knows exactly what this hurricane season will bring, but, the lessons of Katrina won`t soon be forgotten. Agencies across Louisiana will be taking part in the emergency efforts. Off. Tuggle says his team could launch a practice run sometime this summer.