Evacuation plans better, not perfect, agency official says

KENNER, La. (AP) - The five Gulf Coast states have good evacuation plans in place for tropical storms, but more work is needed to prepare for another major hurricane, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said Friday.

"I feel the region has more work to do to ensure that all groups would know where to go, when they should leave and whether they should go by plane, train or bus if they cannot drive," Mineta said

Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida all have contraflow plans to turn inbound highway lanes into outbound lanes during storm evacuations, Mineta said.

But he said there needs to be better coordination between local governments and between the states to avoid the kind of traffic jams seen in Texas as Hurricane Rita approached in September.

Mineta stopped at New Orleans’ international airport to announce his evaluation of the region’s evacuation plans. He said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., had asked for the evaluation before Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug. 29.

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