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Tom Croci, Islip town supervisor, and former Homeland Security official, on LIPA security standards, and the outrage over the power outage situation o...
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-- -- devastation from hurricane sandy many long on are expected to be without power for Scott as long as Thanksgiving.
Joining us now Tom Croce Islip town supervisor and former Homeland Security systems used to work in the White House situation room under presidents bush.
And Obama sir thank you for being with us you know -- I think the big question everyone wants answered is.
-- very young -- right youth was our weather on the weather reporting the -- saying even before the storm hit we're gonna be out of power for seven to ten days.
We knew that and that we were not prepared for that help them.
That that's a really good question during our time and at the White House both in the situation -- then on the homeland Security Council staff.
We learned a lot of lessons from Hurricane Katrina those are written down congress was a part of that process.
And what we -- -- you have to pre warning assets you have to be sure that you're on a video teleconference.
With the state emergency operations centers with FEMA.
With the Department of Energy.
Making sure that all those resources are ready to go -- stage ready to -- into the affected area once the storm blows through.
In many cases that will increase response time the federal government tells us you have to be.
Able to sustain yourselves for about three days and then.
The federal support we'll come -- in this case it did not twelve days later we're still without power in many locations.
And in our case we didn't have -- on the ground until about eight days after the -- I know a lot of going on about how -- lot of people in New Jersey still without power to so at this point unfortunately I think.
There's nothing we can do except wait what do we do to prevent this from happening next time though -- the wires the -- underground going forward.
Well it depends -- -- are low lying areas that creates the flooding of the infrastructure.
And that's almost as big a problem as a power -- coming down in many cases more difficult repair but what you need is utility companies have to be part of that pre coordination.
Before these storms come in.
And they have to have a plan.
We got a plan handed to us in the middle of this recovery effort.
And then it was after we completed it after we expanded the manpower that information went to the utility company.
And nothing happened so we were still without power even know we've met the deadline.
So that's -- thing because you do you on the ground level as the -- the Townshend rising you did everything you're supposed to do right you do all your little Texan -- -- Pre storm post storm -- then.
The blame goes to the federal level doesn't.
Well I I think there's probably -- going to be a time for blame game.
But certainly in the Bush Administration.
We were able to you before a storm.
Get all of those resources in a room.
I have a pre coordination of video teleconference we -- -- monitoring that storm as it's coming in.
Three days out few days out one day out and make sure those resources are ready to go that's what we need to do going forward.
I don't know whether that happened this situation.
But as somebody who is coordinating the recovery efforts on the ground I can tell you you know it took us a long time to get those resources.
That's a problem and -- -- -- big picture though.
What does this say about how delicate our infrastructure is as far as terrorism goes I mean you could take us out like that apparently.
It's it's a concern.
Before the most that one of the greatest cities in the world.
We're sixty miles away from one of the greatest cities in the world it's the United States of America to have this fragile and electrical system.
Is a problem that that goes for.
Natural disasters or other.
-- hazards that to our Homeland Security.
And this is certainly something that's of concern something that we need to very quickly address as we go forward in the recovery phase.
Tom we need to start talk just keep talking about this you gotta come back Tom Craxi Islip town supervisor.
Thank you for being with us and I really hope all those people Long Island New Jersey.
-- -- -- everybody gets it back soon think you can buy.
