Resolution 050806

..Title Authorizing City Council's Committee on Public Safety to hold a public hearing to investigate the City of Philadelphia's current policies and procedures in the event of a major emergency - In light of the latest terrorist and natural disasters, the need for a uniform plan is overwhelming; and, in furtherance of such investigation, authorizing the issuance of subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents to the full extent authorized under section 2-401 of the Home Rule Charter. ..Body WHEREAS, On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made history near New Orleans, Louisiana; and WHEREAS, The hurricane's storm surge breached the levees that protected New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain, flooding most of the city; and WHEREAS, This and other major damage to the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama made Katrina the most destructive and costliest tropical cyclone ever to hit the United States; and WHEREAS, Recent estimates have placed the death toll in the thousands and the damage higher than $200 billion, topping Hurricane Andrew as the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. Over a million people were displaced - a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the U.S. since the Great Depression; and WHEREAS, The possibility of terrorist incidents in the United States concerns many people; and WHEREAS, The main goals of terrorism are to disrupt the public's sense of safety, create feelings of vulnerability and fear, intimidate and coerce; and WHEREAS, There are five categories of weapons terrorists use to accomplish these goals- Chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals, Biological agents or toxins, Radioactive dispersal devices or "dirty bombs," Nuclear devices, Explosive and incendiary devices; and WHEREAS, During an emergency, the more we have planned ahead of time, the calmer and more assured we and our families will be; now therefore RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That City Council's Committee on Public Safety is authorized to hold a public hearing to investigate the City of Philadelphia's current policies and procedures in the event of a major emergency - In light of the latest terrorist and natural disasters, the need for a uniform plan is overwhelming; and, in furtherance of such investigation, is authorized to issuance of subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents to the full extent authorized under section 2-401 of the Home Rule Charter. ..End