The California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) is sending personnel with specialized technical skills to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to assist in the response to Hurricane Isaac, the agency announced yesterday.
The team from California, which is composed of three employees from Cal EMA and one from the Department of General Services, will be working for the next two weeks in nine of the hardest hit parishes. The team will be setting up computer banks to allow displaced survivors to apply for various types of assistance, according to a CalEMA press release.
The request for the team came from the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. The office requested personnel with experience in PC LAN, mobile satellite systems, data configuration and support switches, laptop support, Metro E Connections, T-1 Lines and DSL wireless networks.
“California knows all too well the impact of disasters on people’s lives and the importance of focusing on the long-term needs of those struggling to recover," said Cal EMA Secretary Mark Ghilarducci in a statement.
Temperatures in Louisiana are in the mid to high 90s as, according to the Associated Press, preliminary estimates from state emergency officials show that at least 13,000 Louisiana homes have been damaged by the storm. Flooding was particularly damaging in the Plaquemines and St. John the Baptist parishes, though the floodwaters are receding.
