Hurricanes

State Involved in Mock Hurricane Exercise

Starts July 18th at State Office of Emergency Preparedness

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will participate in a hurricane evacuation exercise called “Hurricane Pam” starting next week. All state government agencies will be involved in response efforts for this week-long exercise.

The exercise will be based upon a real scenario where a slow-moving, heavy precipitation major hurricane causes significant flooding to New Orleans and surrounding parishes. The goal is to develop a response and recovery plan based on outcomes from this potential disaster.

DNR Emergency Coordinator Mariano Hinojosa of the Office of Conservation will assume the lead role for the agency and will work at the operations center throughout the exercise. Hinojosa said he and the DNR response team will identify strong points and weaknesses and have already spent some time preparing for the training.

FEMA Region VI and the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (LOHSEP) developed the concept of a hurricane exercise.

Editors: For more information, contact the DNR Public Information Office at 225-342-8955.