Gov should be in charge of evacuations, group says

A state task force recommended today that the governor should be in charge of ordering evacuations and ensuring supplies are available in the event of a natural disaster in Texas, a move designed to avoid the chaos surrounding the Hurricane Rita evacuation. The task force heard testimony and gathered information in six cities and made recommendations in five areas: command, control and communication; evacuation of people with special needs; fuel availability; flow of traffic; and public awareness.

"The process could have been smoother," Gov. Rick Perry said while announcing the findings of the task force, which held a series of hearings around the state. "This report will improve planning and coordination, which will result in more effective hurricane response when lives hang in the balance and every second counts."

Centralized control over evacuations would be an improvement over the system allowing local officials to order them, the task force found. But Perry noted that even a well-developed and orderly plan can't circumvent gridlock if people don't listen.

"There is a reason they call it chaotic when there is a hurricane or any other major disaster like that," Perry said. "And there are always going to be those who don't necessarily follow our instructions."

Perry said he'll take some of the panel's suggestions to the Legislature. But he's right about the people who don't follow instructions — the Rita evacuation was somewhat smooth on paper, but people got spooked, misinterpreted instructions and didn't do what they were asked to do, and we ended up with a hellish situation. What worries Houstonist is the possibility that people will remember how hard things were during that evacuation, so they won't take a future storm seriously — and that could be the one that really does some damage.

KHOU has the task force's full report available as a PDF.