The following is Senator Don White's
statement from a March 13 press conference in the State
Capitol Rotunda marking the week of March 12 through 18,
2006, as "Weather Emergency Preparedness Week" in
Pennsylvania.
"We are indeed fortunate to live in
Pennsylvania.
"I know it doesn't always seem the case,
but unlike those people living in Arizona or Minnesota, we
don't have to deal with sustained periods of extreme
temperatures.
"Nor, do we have to worry like the
residents of California that an earthquake will shatter our
homes and lives.
"We don't usually see the drenching rains
that torment the south, nor the dusty droughts that bake the
Midwest.
"But that doesn't mean that we don't have
to be prepared for surprises from Mother Nature. Just ask
the people in areas of the state that are still cleaning up
from Tropical Storm Ivan or the tornado that ripped through
the middle of the state last year.
"In some ways, the fact that we rarely
face cataclysmic conditions only makes it more difficult for
us to deal with them when they occur. People in Florida may
not like hurricanes, but they do know how to prepare for
them.
"As Chairman of the Senate Veterans
Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, I can say that
we have come a long way since September 11, 2001 in
developing a coordinate response to many emergency
situations and terrorists' threats.
"But, we still have a ways to go. In
fact, I don't know if there will ever be a point where we
can stand back and say that we as a state have done
everything to prepare for every type of emergency.
"One area in particular that we have made
strides is in the area of making citizens aware of the steps
they can take to prepare themselves and their families to
get by in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.
"As we have seen from the events in the
Gulf last year, it is important for people to be able to
handle the situations they are in until help can be
organized. As an aside, I would also like to publicly thank
the men and women of our National Guard for not only their
work as part of the relief efforts in the Gulf, but for all
of the time and energy they have put into helping their
fellow Pennsylvanians during weather emergency situations
here.
"As I said, we must work to raise public
awareness on the importance of being prepared and we must
continue our efforts to be prepared as a Commonwealth."
