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Hurricane Rita
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.S. Department of Transportation Preparing for Hurricane Rita with <br />Equipment, Personnel and Vehicles to Aid in Evacuation, Relief and <br />Repair <br /> <br /> <br /> WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile air traffic control <br />equipment, <br />technical personnel, trucks, buses, airplanes and ocean-going vessels <br />are now <br />in place to support the massive federal, state and local effort to <br />prepare for <br />Hurricane Rita, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta <br />announced <br />today. <br /> "We are working hand in hand with federal, state and local <br />officials to <br />make sure they have every available transportation asset in place to <br />get <br />people out, supplies in and key facilities back up and running in <br />areas where <br />Hurricane Rita is expected to make landfall," Secretary Mineta said. <br /> Secretary Mineta noted that the U.S. Department of Transportation <br />is <br />taking the following steps to support Federal Emergency Management <br />Agency and <br />the states of Texas and Louisiana as they prepare for Hurricane Rita. <br />The <br />Secretary noted that additional resources will be provided as <br />requested by the <br />states: <br /> <br /> Aircraft and Air Traffic Control <br /> * Securing aircraft to evacuate Texas residents, as well as <br />Hurricane <br /> Katrina evacuees, by air from Houston to Ft. Smith and from <br />Corpus <br /> Christi and Beaumont to Smyrna, Tennessee. <br /> * Putting six MD-80 aircraft on standby in Baton Rouge, <br />Louisiana to <br /> support another airlift out of Louisiana if needed. <br /> * Pre-positioning mobile communications and navigational <br />equipment along <br /> with technical personnel in Austin, Texas and Baton Rouge to <br />deploy <br /> after the storm passes to restore basic air traffic control <br />services. <br /> * Maintaining a small staff at Houston aviation facilities to <br />reactivate <br /> key equipment as soon as possible after the storm leaves the <br />area. <br /> <br /> Buses <br /> * Providing over 650 buses in response to requests from Texas <br />and <br /> Louisiana officials to help to support evacuation efforts. <br /> * Working with transit agencies across the country to identify <br />additional <br /> buses that can be acquired and deployed to support evacuations <br />in Texas <br /> and Louisiana as needed. <br /> <br /> Trucks and Supplies <br /> * Delivering one tanker of diesel fuel, six trucks of tarps, <br />five trucks <br /> of plastic sheeting, two trailers filled with cots, one <br />trailer filled <br /> with tents and one filled with sleeping bags to FEMA staging <br />areas in <br /> Texas. These deliveries are in addition to supplies already <br />provided <br /> to the region as part of the Hurricane Katrina response. <br /> * Putting ten trucks on standby at Ft. Sam Houston in San <br />Antonio to move <br /> additional supplies as needed. <br /> * Suspending rules limiting hours of service for truck drivers <br />in the <br /> affected region so emergency and repair crews will be able to <br />work as <br /> needed to support evacuation, recovery and repair operations. <br /> <br /> Trains and Equipment <br /> * Working with railroad operators, the Association of American <br />Railroads <br /> and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association <br />to <br /> identify hazmat cars in Texas and Louisiana and evacuate cars <br />as <br /> needed. <br /> * Maintaining an expedited process for issuing waivers to allow <br />rail <br /> operators to clear damaged equipment in order to resume <br />operations <br /> after the Hurricane passes through the region. <br /> <br /> Ports and Shipping <br /> * Staging personnel with expertise in repairing port <br />infrastructure in <br /> New Orleans to deploy as needed to support repair efforts. <br /> * Maintaining twelve Ready Reserve Vessels in New Orleans (4); <br />Port <br /> Sulphur, Louisiana (1); Houston (2); Orange, Texas (3); and <br />Beaumont <br /> (2) so they will be available to provide power, equipment and <br />housing <br /> for workers in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. <br /> <br /> In addition, personnel from the Department of Transportation are <br />working <br />with state and local officials to assess transportation <br />infrastructure in the <br />regions likely to be affected by Hurricane Rita. These teams are <br />beginning to <br />develop plans to quickly repair and rebuild roads, bridges, ports, <br />pipelines <br />and airports should they be damaged by Hurricane Rita, Mineta noted. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />SOURCE U.S. Department of Transportation <br />
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