What was learned from last year?

This Q and A interview is the second part of an interview with Dan Summers, director of Collier County's Bureau of Emergency Services.

Q. What don't we know about Katrina?

"Katrina was the world's largest pollution event. Before anything else can be done, workers have to environmentally remediate the first four feet of soil."

Q. What do we know about Wilma?

"We saw the largest-ever-sheltered population (9,500 people) in our history and we moved 1.5 million people out of harm's way. We're still in recovery, with no known end-date for when we'll be through with the repairs or when we'll get final numbers."

Q. What is "72 for You!?"

"It's a lot easier to add to a disaster kit, than to stock up at the last minute. Since 9-11, we tell everyone to be prepared — 12 months a year — to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours

Q. What is so important about a "judicious evacuation zone?"

"I'd rather be safe than sorry, but we do try to avoid over-evacuation. It's not like the old days when we said 'Everybody out!' We still want you to hide from the wind and run from the water, but our forecasting and surge models are so much better, we are able to evacuate more efficiently."

Q. Why did we lose 24 hours in the drawdown of National Guard?

"The war in Iraq has challenged the state's resources and the Governor has taken a more conservative posture. The cost was a consideration, too. We had woefully insufficient help at the distribution centers."

Q. What should we know about FEMA?

"Do not expect FEMA and government assistance to become entitlement programs. They are stop-gap measures-temporary emergency help-to help get over the impact of a disaster and are not designed to change your lifestyle. Don't expect more help than what we got last year; there may be fewer programs now because of fallout from Katrina."

Q. What became of the debris?

"We were lucky it was mostly vegetative debris and not construction matter like houses, roofs and siding. There were about 900,000 cubic yards of debris (roughly equal to 450,000 refrigerators!) at five temporary storage and reduction sites. The material was trucked out of county to various landfills to be used as boiler fuel for industrial and sugar refining plants."

Q. Is the first Saturday in June a good time to make hurricane preparations?

"To have a routine for review is a very good idea. Just don't wait until August."

Q. What challenges do you face this season?

"We need to network better with agencies in Immokalee, do a better job of rotating personnel to avoid fatigue and burn-out, get a better plan for supporting our fleet-we could use a fuel czar, and improve shelter operations with respect to supplies and communications."

Q. What do you think about commercial hurricane hunting trips?

"If it's not based on scientific research or assisting our recovery efforts, and coordinated with this EOC, they're not welcome."

Q. What are the best ways to keep up with what's happening?

"Get a battery-powered radio and/or a NOAH alert radio for during the storm. Go to our website www.collierem.org, or the FEMA site www.fema.gov, where you can get a step-by-step guide to emergency preparations for your home or business."