To Prepare For A Hurricane, Do What Winning Teams Do: Get A Game Plan.

HURRICANE GUSTAV

Baton Rouge, LA, August 26, 2008 – The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) will keep the Crisis Action Team (CAT) activated to monitor Hurricane Gustav. Although Hurricane Gustav is too far out in the Atlantic to determine landfall, GOHSEP and its local, state and federal partners are closely monitoring this hurricane. GOHSEP will remain in contact with the National Weather Service (NWS) as well as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Florida to get the most up-to-date information available on this hurricane as it progresses.

Governor Bobby Jindal said, "We are continuing to monitor this storm as state government agencies, including the State Police and the Louisiana National Guard, have been put on standby so we are ready to quickly respond if the storm heads our direction. GOHSEP officials are working with parish leaders to ensure they have their emergency plans in order, and I encourage all Louisiana families again to review their gameplans, go to GetAGameplan.org and make sure you have the supplies you need and a plan in place should a hurricane come to your area. The time to act is now. We all need to be prepared and ready to respond, from the citizen level and at every level of government."

Louisiana residents are reminded to visit www.GetAGameplan.org - a website for residents to use to prepare their homes and their families for a hurricane. The Get a Gameplan website contains information and tools needed to prepare for a possible hurricane. According to the National Weather Service release as of 4 o’clock today, Hurricane Gustav is near 18.4N and 73.2W or about 60 miles west-southwest of Port au Prince, Haiti and about 180 miles southeast of Guantanamo, Cuba. Gustav is moving toward the northwest at 10 mph. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to 75 mph compared to the near 90 mph winds earlier today, which makes Gustav a Category 1 hurricane. Hurricanes are rated on the 5-step Saffir-Simpson scale. Categories 3 or higher are considered ``major'' storms with winds of 111 mph and higher.

National Hurricane Center weather models show the storm either heading in a westerly direction toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula or steering northwest and moving into the central Gulf of Mexico by early Sunday. “As the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, we want to make sure that residents of Louisiana are better prepared for the next storm,” said Mark Cooper, GOHSEP Director, “Now is the time to make sure that you have an evacuation plan and know what to bring with you if Gustav threatens the coast of Louisiana.”

GOHSEP is providing accurate news updates to residents by sending emergency alerts to email accounts, cell phones and other personal communications devices. Help us protect you by signing up for this vital service. It takes just a few minutes for you to sign up on the Internet. If you are deaf or hard-of-hearing, you can receive emergency alert messages via text message.

How to Sign Up for Alerts – An Easy, Step-by-Step Process
• Visit www.mystateusa.com
• Click on “Sign Up Here” under “AlertSense” on the left side of the homepage
• Provide your email and zip code • Providing your name is optional, • All personal information will be kept strictly confidential
• Indicate alerts you would like to receive by selecting from a list of weather and non-weather related options
• This allows you to receive alert information direct to your email address.
• To receive alerts via text message, provide your cell phone or other personal communications devices, and the name of your service provider.
• Signing up for the alerts is free. Depending on the terms of your contract with your service provider, you may incur charges for receiving text messages.
• Read the “Terms of Use” and if you are in agreement, check the box that says, “I accept the Terms of Use.”
• Click on the “Sign Me Up” button
• If you decide that you would like to stop receiving emergency alerts on your cell phone, cell phone or other personal communications devices, simply return to the www.mystateusa.com website, go to the “AlertSense” page and click on “Unsubscribe Me.”

This “opt-in” service is part of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), a modern alert and warning system that sends life saving information to many people as possible over multiple communications devices. For updated information on Hurricane Gustav visit www.ohsep.louisiana.gov or to get a family plan visit www.getagameplan.org.