Chertoff: Planning for disaster requires everyone
Finally on the issue of evacuation, which would apply if we had a natural disaster – obviously flooding is very much on people's minds. The critical element here is timely evacuation in advance of a flood. And that means people have to listen to local officials and state officials when they say get out.
Riding out the flood or riding out the storm when you've been told there is a mandatory evacuation is not only foolish on a personal basis but it actually has a negative impact, again, on others who may not have the ability to move themselves.
So one of the things I've been spending time on, particularly down in the Gulf, is making sure that we're working closely supporting our state and local partners where we are concerned about floods to make sure they have good evacuation plans, they know where people are going to be sheltered, they have the capabilities together, and they are educating the public about what they need to look for if in fact an evacuation has to be called for.
DUFFY: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
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