Hurricane-Prone States Fall Short on Communications, Report Says

A new report has found serious shortcomings in the communication equipment of states that are most likely to be hit by the worst hurricanes in the country. But many of the states slammed in the report say it’s just plain wrong.

The Associated Press’ Jim Davenport says the report, by the First Response Coalition, uses government data and news reports to assess how well equipped Atlantic and Gulf Coast states are to communicate in an emergency.

In the report, Davenport says the Coalition praises South Carolina for having a good system, but says Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas all have work to do.

But some state officials are concerned that the report’s analysis seems to rely mostly on a single newspaper story. For example, Davenport says the report cited issues with North Carolina's radio system and contended that some local governments are refusing to use it.

“That’s not correct,” Renee Hoffman, at the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, told Davenport. “They have not talked to anybody in North Carolina. I would not put a whole lot of credibility in this report.”

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