Local organizations were bracing for a busy hurricane season

The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season ended with near normal activity a total of nine named storms, including five hurricanes. Local organizations that helped evacuees from Katrina and Rita were ready for whatever Mother Nature was going to throw their way. "We try to get our shelter facility lined up, make sure they are on line and make sure our volunteers are lined up, that they are trained and ready to go so whenever one of those disasters happens we can get a trained staff out there to immediately to start assisting the evacuees," explained Michelle Davison, American Red Cross. "We had to make sure to and coordinate with the police department, and the sheriff`s department to make sure we had security out here and the National Guards were out here also," said Chris Giordano, State Fairgrounds Manager. The Hirsch Coliseum was transformed in a shelter facility and as the days went on, more lessons were learned and even though agencies were prepared for the fundamentals last year now they are armed with more experience. "At a moments notice we opened up and accommodated them and this year the state really started planning for shelters for hurricanes which was a good move and we had an agreement with the State of Louisiana`s Department of Social Services," commented Giordano. "We have a warehouse this year, were we actually have cots, blankets, non perishable food items, toiletries, baby diapers, anything that we might need at a shelter," said Davison. 50 cots were immediately available after Katrina, compare that to 4,000 that are now in storage, not a bad way to end the quietest hurricane season since 1997.