When disaster strikes, it's important to be prepared. The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) has developed guidelines for the New Orleans metropolitan area, including 26% of Lake Charles, to help citizens evacuate safely and efficiently. The American Red Cross and United Way offices have copies of the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Guides available for distribution. In addition, Louisiana requires all public elementary and secondary schools to create, maintain and implement a crisis management and response plan.
This plan should ensure that all students, teachers and school employees are in a safe facility and prepared to respond in the event of an emergency incident or disaster. The Emergency Management Institute offers self-paced courses designed for people with emergency management responsibilities and for the general public. The six-step school emergency preparedness and management (REMS) process is also available to help create plans to continuously build and promote safe and healthy school communities before, during and after potential emergencies. The REMS Technical Assistance Center website contains free resources, training, and technical assistance (TA) for schools and their community partners, including many tools and resources on emergency planning and responding to infectious disease outbreaks. In the event of an impending emergency, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) will contact the designated emergency preparedness and recovery representative to remind them to complete and maintain the emergency preparedness and recovery panel (coming soon).
The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services has the primary responsibility to coordinate with local, parish and tribal governments, state and federal entities, support agencies, and non-governmental organizations to address the needs of mass non-medical care, emergency assistance, housing, and human services of disaster victims. It's important for Louisiana schools to be aware of their responsibility for the safety and care of students during emergency situations. To stay up-to-date on emergency updates, follow GOHSEP on Twitter or connect on Facebook.
