Earlier this week, the Harvard School of Public Health released a survey on hurricane preparedness in Southern coastal areas, including New Orleans. In among the questions about having food and water on hand, being willing to evacuate, and having a plan to contact your family, one question stood out: Do you know the location of an evacuation shelter in your community?
New Orleans: 61% No
Other areas: 38% No
Why? If you read some of the comments from the USA Today story on this survey, you’ll get one answer: the people of New Orleans are stupid and ignorant.
Of course, that’s not the real answer.
The real answer is easy to find with Google. If you search for evacuation centers in Florida, you find a lovely trio of maps from the Sun-Sentinel showing evacuation zones and shelter locations and shelter details, like accessibility and pet-friendliness The paper did a great job of putting things in a friendly format, but they didn’t have to look hard to find the basic information: every county in Florida lists local evacuation shelters on their website.
Compare that to this, from the New Orleans website:
REFUGES (SHELTERS)
It should be noted that should the need arise, hurricane refuges will be opened in certain areas of the city. Only minimal services will be provided at the locations. Bring your own food, water and bedding. Eat a full meal before arriving.
Because of the eratic (sic) nature of a storm, refuge locations will not be pre-published.(emphasis added) Tune in to local radio and television for announcements of which locations will be opened.
Reception areas (shelters) will remain the same as in the past. Evacuation centers (shelters) will be open according to the direction and seriousness of the emergency.
No maps. No lists. Why should the New Orleans site offer so little information, while the counties of Florida provide so much?
Someone made a decision.
Consider this 2006 quote from Mayor Nagin about the evacuation plans for future hurricanes:
"There will be no shelter of last resort in the event of a major hurricane coming our way."
It seems that the officials in New Orleans believe that knowledge is a dangerous thing, that giving information about shelters will discourage residents from evacuating.
But New Orleans residents by and large intend to evacuate if a storm is headed their way, most so than residents of other hurricane-prone areas. In the same survey, only 15% of New Orleans residents said they will ignore an evacuation order, compared to 32% in other areas. But not everyone will evacuate – never has a major city achieved a 100% evacuation. Some people choose to stay because they fear getting trapped in their cars on the road. Some are convinced, evidence to the contrary, that their homes are safe. Some are socially isolated and do not know that an evacuation has been ordered. And others become trapped by circumstances – the car that doesn’t start, the ride that doesn’t show, the injury or illness that prevents escape, the storm that speeds up or changes direction. Is the city prepared to provide enough assistance to ensure that every last person can get out of the city? It seems unlikely, but by refusing to publish any shelter information, the city appears to be betting on it.
People need to know where to find shelter in an emergency situation. And there’s no excuse for not preparing them before a storm hits. Officials in Florida understand this, and trust that their people will use information about shelters responsibly, as a last resort, not as the primary plan for a hurricane. In New Orleans, people are not being given the information they need to protect themselves. And that’s a recipe for disaster. Again.