Official: Texas will track future hurricane evacuees

[TexasStooge]

BEAUMONT, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – Texas will track thousands of future hurricane evacuees by putting scannable ID bracelets on people as they're boarded onto buses and trains, the state's top emergency official said Tuesday.

Unveiling how the bracelets work to about 1,300 emergency planners at the state's hurricane conference, Governor's Division of Emergency Management Chief Jack Colley said the technology was part of the state's increased reliance on the private sector in disaster planning.

Colley said the bracelets were a direct result of the chaos that followed Hurricane Katrina, when hundreds of families were unable to locate loved ones who boarded buses and planes that were dispatched across the country.

In some cases, families separated by the storm weren't reunited for weeks.

"We were on the other end of that," Colley said. "We don't want to see that happen to our people."

In the city where Hurricane Rita plowed into Texas last year, state and county emergency planners gathered at the three-day conference to review the details of Texas' overhauled disaster plan.

The state revamped its plan this winter after hurricanes Katrina and Rita exposed deadly gaps in planning. Katrina killed more than 1,300 people along the Gulf Coast, and officials estimate that 137 died in Texas during a chaotic evacuation along traffic-choked and gas-deprived highways.

The conference at Ford Park – a large entertainment complex that served as a staging area for helicopters that airlifted evacuees during Rita – began a day after forecasters predicted another busy storm season that could produce up to six major hurricanes.

The hurricane season begins June 1.

If the state stages another evacuation, those who will rely on buses, trains or airplanes to escape will be tagged with a scannable bracelet before boarding. Officials will log their destination and, upon reaching a shelter, evacuees will walk through scanners that will let the state know they've arrived.

Operators at the state 2-1-1 system will have access to the up-to-the-minute tracking information and can inform families of a relative's whereabouts.

Colley urged county leaders to work with the private sector like the state has done, reaching out to energy companies to address fuel shortages and retail stores to provide food and water.

Colley said the state's new partnership with the private sector – what he called the most significant change in the state's new hurricane operations – was not an admission that the government is unreliable.

"The private sector is now very much a part of what we do," Colley said. "They're willing, capable and able."

Other counties are already following the lead. In Jefferson County, Emergency Management Coordinator John Cascio said he was receiving bids this week for vendors to provide things like fuel and food during a disaster.

Cascio said his county was stuck waiting for the federal government to provide essentials after Rita.

"Last time we had to wait, but that's not going to happen again," Cascio said. "We'll be a little more self-sufficient next time."

[Sean in New Orleans]

Louisiana is doing the same thing...it was on the news tonight in New Orleans.

[stormcrow]

Homeless and tagged, whats next, shirts with a large R for refugee

[HurryKane]

Uh oh. I smell a lawsuit coming out of this one.

[AdvAutoBob]

Homeless and tagged, whats next, shirts with a large R for refugee

If you're unable to care for yourself and look to others (i.e. the government) to help you out, I see no problem with this at all... Crass as that may sound.

[HollynLA]

I know for certain that if it was my family, I would gladly let them put bracelets on us, especially my children. It's a small price to pay to make sure we can get back to each other quickly. What excatly is the problem anyway, it's just a bracelet, not a shackle.

[skysummit]

I think it's a great idea. They're doing it here. There's still waaaay too many people missing from Katrina. Maybe if they would've done it last year, that number of missing people might be down some.

[southerngale]

My sentiments exactly, HollynLA and skysummit. I was kinda surprised by stormcrow's response. It's to help the evacuees.

[Lindaloo]

Homeless and tagged, whats next, shirts with a large R for refugee

Now where did this come from? Can you please not even play that card? I am sick of it!

[sunny]

Think of all of those children separated from their parents for MONTHS. I think this is a good idea.

[Jack8631]

If you don't want the bracelet..remove it. No big deal.