You would have thought this was some sort of joke, but it’s real! Atlanta’s local CBS news affiliate channel 46 decided to see what Atlanta, Georgia’s emergency evacuation plan is, in case of disaster. They found that there is no plan! While some cities like New Orleans may have failed to properly follow their emergency evacuation plan, at least they have a plan! Atlanta has no plan and when Atlanta-Fulton Senior Planner for Emergency Management, Suzanne Kinnick Lord was asked about a plan to evacuate the entire city, she responded by saying:

Don’t take my word for it! Watch this video of the entire report!

When asked:

She responded:

This idiot makes Michael Brown look like a genius!

She had to be reminded of WHY AND WHEN cities like Houston, TX had to evacuate their entire city! When you have the title “Senior” and are in charge of emergency planning, nobody should have to convince you that the entire city may have a disaster that requires a full scale evacuation!

All I’m wondering is when will Ms. Lord be fired and how did she get the job in the first place?

At least the mayor realizes that work needs to be done! Atlanta’s current emergency plan says that a plan will be developed and nothing has been developed yet! Bill Waugh a GA State University expert on the topic, says that any evacuation plan would have to be carried out over several days given the size of the city!

So folks, if you think other cities looked bad at managing an evacuation, just wait till the day Atlanta needs to evacuate!

update (11/28/2005 11:02AM ET): Added to The Political Teen’s open trackback thread.

update (11/28/2005 2:55PM ET): I did a little Googling for more information about Suzanne Kinnick Lord, to see if I could find information that would qualify her for the position of Atlanta-Fulton Senior Planner for Emergency Management. And I ended up finding this undated article, that had to have been published sometime after 9/11/2001:

So this woman is Atlanta-Fulton Senior Planner for Emergency Management and was not even working in the field just 5 years ago!!! Sometime after 9/11/2001 she took CPR and First Aid classes!!! OH MY WORD!!! Assuming she has her masters in public administration now (and who knows if she does), that’s all it takes to become Atlanta-Fulton Senior Planner for Emergency Management?!!! This is just shocking and awful! I don’t think people in Atlanta would feel comfortable knowing the person in this position is so inexperienced!!! Atlanta does have the busiest airport in the world! Atlanta is one of America’s major cities and a prime target for a terrorist attack!

update (11/28/2005 11:32PM ET): In a follow-up investigation channel 46 news found that most in city/state government don’t want to talk to them about this issue! Fulton County Commissioner, Lynn Riley was the only one willing to speak in the follow-up and felt that Suzanne Kinnick Lord’s response was unacceptable!

When asked about the issue, GA Governor Sonny Purdue punted and claimed 46 news was attempting to pit the state against the city! Chairperson of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Karen Handel also punted and would not talk! Handel and Mayor Franklin appoint the Atlanta-Fulton Senior Planner for Emergency Management! That is a call mayor Franklin and Ms. Handel need to answer for! And Handel is running for GA Secretary of State! Outside of this I’ve found Karen Handel to be good at what she does. But I want some answers about this before she’ll earn my vote! I hope others in GA feel the same and press her for answers! The former director of Atlanta-Fulton Emergency Management, June Cook said that he felt like:

He quit! Why are Atlanta officials ignoring emergency management? It explains how someone like Suzanne Kinnick Lord got in!

State agencies (GA-DOT and GEMA) already have some plans and are working on more plans. Those of course cover the entire state and are not specific to the issues within the most populated city in the state! The one that is the biggest target for terrorist!