BENTON -- Scott County commissioners will meet weekly with the county's emergency management director in an effort to better prepare the county for emergencies.
With the recent earthquake on the heels of hurricane devastation along the Gulf Coast, preparing for emergencies is on everyone's mind, according to Martin Priggel, presiding commissioner. He said during the regular County Commission meeting Tuesday that weekly meetings with Joe Burton, emergency management director, should help county officials "get a better handle on all of this."
"And it's something that needs to be pushed," agreed Burton. "There is a lot of stuff that needs to be looked at."
Unlike a hurricane, there is no warning for an earthquake, Burton said.
Burton also suggested the possibility of a train with hazardous waste derailing in this area. "We're not prepared for that," he said.
In the event of a toxic train derailment, the county may have to respond by evacuating and finding shelter for residents in the Chaffee and Oran areas. "We don't have any evacuation plans for the cities," Burton said.
Burton said, "Every disaster plan should be written on a worst-case scenario." For this area, that means preparing for a earthquake of around 7.0 on the Richter scale, he said, and by preparing for a catastrophe of that magnitude, the county should be able to handle less severe events.
The county's mandated emergency plan that was drafted with funds from the State Emergency Management Agency is a good one "but it doesn't for far enough," Burton said. "They're generic when you look at them."
Evacuation would be necessary on an even larger scale in the event of an earthquake that breaks levees and causes flooding here. "It's not in our plan - it's not in the state plan," Burton said of evacuations.
He said an evacuation would have to move people west because even the seismically-designed Emerson Bridge may not survive a major earthquake for a route across the Mississippi River.
"I want to keep pushing forward on this - get our plan as good as it can be," Commissioner Jamie Burton said.
Burton said training will be needed in addition to a good plan.
"I figure the first three days we're on our own," Burger said of the situation following a major disaster. Burton said it could be as long as three weeks.
Officials also discussed how schools would respond with parents from Benton trying to get to students at Kelly schools.
Burton said there needs to be a system for releasing children to their parents or approved guardians, "because if you don't we're going to lose kids."
Burton said he wants to schedule a meeting for everyone who has a role in the county's emergency operation center so officials can go over their roles and responsibilities and discuss the chain of command.
Burton also recommended the county appoint Joel Evans, county developer, as its public information officer for emergency situations.
Commissioner Dennis Ziegenhorn said there is a lot awareness right now, but that awareness has to be sustained.
Burton said there is a limit on what the county can do because of limited funding.
One of the purchases county officials have on the list is satellite phones which don't depend on local towers to maintain communications.
In other business Tuesday:
* Burger said the county has spent its entire fuel budget for both the sheriff's and road and bridge departments with two and a half months left to go.
The high fuel costs end up taking money that could otherwise be spent on funding improvements, Burger said.
* The grant for the county's Web site ends Dec. 31, according to Evans.
"Web usage continues to be high," he said. "It's about three times what it was a couple of months ago."