Thirty-seven days out from the start of the 2006 hurricane season, David Paulison, acting director of FEMA, praised Alabama's hurricane preparedness. Paulison noted that the State has plans to pre-position supplies at designated shelter sites rather than in Kentucky or Tennessee, and that government agencies will be able to place back-up generators at gas stations and grocery stores in a storm's immediate aftermath.

The FRC lauds Alabama's efforts to apply the "lessons learned" from the 2006 hurricane season. But again FEMA has ignored the critical issue of emergency communications interoperability.

The FRC's new report, cited in the Washington Post, concludes that, as in many hurricane-prone states, Alabama's pursuit of communications interoperability is largely uncoordinated. State-level efforts are not being mirrored at the local level due to cost concerns. Consequently, when it comes to emergency communications, the state may be doomed to repeat Louisiana's tragic experience, where other agencies arriving into locally-affected areas are unable to communicate directly with local first responders.