A CONFIDENTIAL report on homeland security readiness prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency rated U.S. Pacific territories as the least prepared to respond to acts of terrorism, according to Pacnews, which quoted American Samoa’s homeland security advisor Leiataua Birdsall Alailima in its report.
On a scale of 1 to 5, American Samoa was rated as the least prepared, with a 1.2 rating.
The CNMI was rated 1.8—a little higher than Guam’s 1.7 rating.
CNMI officials said the FEMA report reflects the situation in the island territories.
Jerry Crisostomo, the CNMI governor’s special advisor for homeland security, said the low ratings are due mainly to the Pacific territories’ isolation and their financial dependence on the U.S. government for anti-terrorism preparedness.
“Our resources to be better prepared are limited by funding and isolation,” Crisostomo told Variety.
However, he said the CNMI has shown improvements in recent months compared to the time when FEMA did the assessment.
The CNMI has been receiving federal funds and conducting anti-terrorism preparedness training.
“I hope the federal government would assess the individual jurisdictions to determine their specific needs,” Crisostomo said.
Crisostomo recently went to Washington, D.C. for a homeland security briefing and a meeting with Leiataua and other representatives of various states and jurisdictions.
Public Safety Commissioner Edward Camacho, in a separate interview, said: “Even though we were ranked low in preparedness, we remain committed to doing our best to be prepared. We have other things to think of, like what the report is saying— medical, police and social services.”
The FEMA report states that the territories are either marginally capable or not at all capable to respond to acts of terrorism.
Leiataua used the FEMA report to lobby federal authorities to double the homeland security budget for American Samoa and the other territories.
He said the federal government is operating under the premise that all states and territories already have high levels of services for homeland protection.
However, Leiataua said the islands are struggling with basic needs such as fire fighting services, police and medical services and they are more vulnerable than any of the other states.
In related news, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Emergency Management Office and the Division of Environmental Quality yesterday sponsored a half-day training on bioterrorism preparedness.
Dr. Dorothy A. Canter, toxicologist from EPA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., tackled issues relating to the threat of anthrax, the role of EPA and other emergency responders in bioterrorism incidents.
Her presentation, “Update on Agents of Bioterrorism,” covered the history of bioterrorism and discussed the remediation processes.
David Chargualaf, DEQ manager for air and toxic management branch, said the training strengthened the CNMI’s preparedness and awareness on bioterrorism threats.
(With a report from Pacnews)
