evacuteer.org goes to Thailand

New Orleans–In cooperation with Prince of Songkla University in Phuket, Province Thailand, evacuteer.org director Robert X. Fogarty will be spending the month of April studying the improvements in disaster preparedness of that community five years after the Asian Tsunami of 2004. This summer, Fogarty will be working in conjunction with the University of New Orleans and LSU Center for Transportation research on the improvements in New Orleans.

The main questions:

1. To what extent has Thailand’s individual, private enterprise and governmental preparedness systems improved since the Asian tsunami in 2004, and what innovations can be taken as lessons learned for New Orleans?
2. How can the lessons learned and preparedness strategies in New Orleans be applicable to Phuket with its similar population and tourist-based economy and vice versa?
3. How has private enterprise, specifically hotels and resorts, improved disaster preparedness techniques in regards to tourists, who usually have little or know knowledge of local hurricane or tsunami preparedness procedures in Phuket and New Orleans?
4. Finally, if we accept the premise that we learn from experience, what are the top 10 innovations in government, individual and private enterprise preparedness to have appeared in New Orleans and Phuket since the disasters?

During the trip, Fogarty will be blogging rom www.rxfogarty.com and evacuteer.org/thailand