Business Services Industry

Experts Available To Discuss Federal Assistance, Hurricane Katrina

Business Wire, August 29, 2005

TOPIC: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is prepared to supply food and water to victims of Hurricane Katrina around New Orleans, according to an article by The Associated Press. While FEMA has readied medical teams and rescue squads, the Environmental Protection Agency has personnel in Baton Rouge who are prepared to deal with any chemical or oil spills that may occur. After declaring a state of emergency for Louisiana, President Bush made similar declarations for Mississippi, Florida and Alabama to make sure federal assistance will be readily available for disaster relief.

EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

Norris L. Beren is the executive director of the Emergency Preparedness Educational Institute and the author of When Disaster Strikes Home! Beren works with the public, first responders, and businesses in plans for everyday to uncommon disasters from fires, identity theft to hurricanes.

Denis Hector, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the University of Miami School of Architecture. Recently, he produced Hurricane Hazard Mitigation, edited with Beth Dunlop, in which he outlines a "Five-Point Disaster Plan." He is available to discuss how buildings, bridges, and other structures are built to handle stress.

John Howard, president of FloodSource Corp., has 25 years of technology consulting experience, most recently having applied his expertise to the flood hazard determination industry. Howard has worked with most of the large flood hazard determination companies as well as with many large mortgage lenders to help them improve their processes by utilizing the latest technology.

ExpertSource cannot guarantee the immediate availability of these experts or their familiarity with this specific issue.

Journalists seeking to interview any of these experts can obtain contact information by visiting http://www.businesswire.com/.> ExpertSource provides academic and industry experts to the media at no charge. Journalists are encouraged to submit queries to ExpertSource when seeking experts on specific subjects. An online registration form is available at the above web address.