Team Tasked with Assessing Response to Irene

How well did Connecticut’s public and private sectors respond to Tropical Storm Irene? That’s the question before a newly formed panel comprising professionals from a cross-section of disciplines.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced today the creation of the State Team Organized for the Review of Management of Irene (S.T.O.R.M. Irene). The team, which composed of people with diverse professional backgrounds in the military, disaster relief, municipal government, non-profit and labor sectors, will review the performance of the state and its partners — including the utilities and municipalities — in terms of the preparedness and response and recovery efforts related to Tropical Storm Irene, according to a release from the Governor’s Office.

“Now that peoples’ power has been restored, the initial FEMA declarations are signed, offices are opened and the recovery effort is well underway, it’s time to move forward with a comprehensive assessment of how the State of Connecticut prepared for, handled, and is recovering from Irene. And I don’t just mean state agencies, or the power companies; I mean the entire state,” Malloy said. “Yes, it’s important to understand why power was out for so long, but it’s just as important to understand how state agencies performed, how local officials performed, and how the private sector reacted.”   

To ensure the review encompasses more than just the most recent event, S.T.O.R.M. Irene members will also be tasked with looking more broadly at the state’s disaster preparedness and response apparatus.

Members include:

• Joe McGee (Co-Chair): Vice President, Business Council of Fairfield County
• Major General James Skiff (Co-Chair): U.S. Army, Retired
• Peter Carozza: President, Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters
• Terry Edelstein: President, Connecticut Community Providers Association
• Lee Hoffman: Attorney, Pullman & Comley Environmental Law and Energy and Utility Matters
• Scott Jackson: Mayor, Hamden
• Robert McGrath: Former Fire Chief, Stamford
• Cathy Osten: First Selectman, Sprague

“We need an honest assessment of what we did right, what we could have done better and what needs to be done the next time we have a weather-related event such as Tropical Storm Irene,” Malloy said. “This isn’t about pointing fingers or placing blame, it’s about making sure that we are as prepared as we can be the next time this sort of event occurs.”