Homeland Security Emergency Response Resources in Place for Isabel

Release Date: 09/18/03 00:00:00

DHS personnel monitor the progress of Hurricane Isabel

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 18, 2003

Hurricane Isabel's long-awaited landfall happened mid-day Thursday, 24 hours after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) met their goals for pre-positioning thousands of people and hundreds of tons of emergency supplies for the Department's response to this massive and potentially destructive storm.

FEMA, part of DHS since March 1, has moved medical teams, communications equipment and personnel and more than 70 semi-trailers loaded with water, cots, tents, generators, portable toilets, emergency meals and plastic sheeting to states predicted to be in Isabel's path. FEMA's urban search and rescue teams, first-responders from selected fire and rescue departments across the country, have been activated and deployed close to Isabel's landfall.

The U.S. Coast Guard has rescue teams along the Atlantic Coast and inland to respond immediately to any call for assistance. Coast Guard personnel are stationed at county emergency management centers along the East Coast to pre-determine where rescues will be required and ready to dispatch more than 30 helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and large numbers of boats and ships. Long range C-130 aircraft continue to fly Hurricane Isabel's path, warning ships to the storm's destructive winds, and a Coast Guard C-130 is waiting to fly over the affected areas immediately after the storm passes.

FEMA's medical response includes Medical Management Support teams with MASH-type Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and Veterinary Medical Teams. These teams are ready to support local medical units that may lose facilities due to the storm's fury or become overwhelmed with casualties.

The entire Federal family is supporting DHS's emergency response to Hurricane Isabel. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has responded with ice and water. The Department of Defense has provided four military bases as mobilization and staging sites for response teams and supplies.

The American Red Cross (ARC) has shelters ready to house displaced people and two Red Cross kitchens, capable of serving 10,000 meals-a-day, in place to provide the necessary assistance.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and FEMA Director Michael Brown are maintaining close contact with governors in the states expected to be impacted by Isabel. They ask residents in the hurricane's path to monitor radio and television broadcasts and follow the advice of local emergency managers. A secure residence, a family emergency plan and an emergency kit stocked with food, water and a battery-powered radio with extra batteries will help residents be prepared for and survive this potentially destructive storm.

This page was last reviewed/modified on 09/18/03 00:00:00.