According the recent study by DHS, West Virginia ranked 56 out of 56 US states and territories in preparedness for a major disaster.

It is interesting that the State Military Affairs and Public Safety Secretary (read West Virginia's Homeland Security Czar) cited West VA's lack of readiness to provide shelter to evacuees from the DC Area as a factor in the poor ranking. This made me recall a discussion on a recent Corridor H thread regarding that highway's critical role as a viable evacuation route for the DC area.

If Sen Byrd and friends play this right, we DC skiers might yet see Corridor H completed - maybe even expanded to 8 lanes, with fast food, cheap gas, and free Government cheese at every exit! Heck, Congress is going to spend our tax dollars anyway, might as well get a ski-expressway to the West Va Alps out of them! Personnaly, I think I'll open a 7-11 near Wardensville and stock plenty of Dom Perignon, porn, and lottery tickets for DCers to max out their FEMA cards.

Read the following article:

Feds say W.Va. least prepared for disasters

It's ironic you mention that, because around here a battle is starting to form over this very issue. The politicians in Moorefield for our county are trying to go up and beyond of doing preperation measures. One of these includes pushing Corridor-H. What's ironic is that the folks who supported Corridor-H, don't want it to be used for a mass migration of DCer's westward. In fact the heavy sentiment in this county by the majority of residents is "Go elsewhere, leave us alone."

In fact many residents in this area who have moved here from the metro DC area feel that a mass migration of a million or more people on corridor-h would never happen. Simply because it doesn't make sense. The obvious worst case scenerio is a dirty bomb or two goes off in DC and sends hundreds of thousands scattering, or even another airplane terrorist attack... much of the surrounding northern Virginia area would absorb the intial flow of people. Plus as this report says, most people will take 66 west and then shoot north or south on 81, 70 west, 50 west, 64 west, 95 south, etc.

I have to agree with the sentiment of this area. There isn't enough room, supplies, or ammenties to handle more than a few thousand people during a major emergency. There is no infrastructure in place. Also residents are fearful that we would be nothing more than a 'backup area for DC' and not be our own folks, area, communities, etc.

If you think about it, it's not like there is any major reason for WV to be a home to evacuees. Hurricanes? Not as bad as Lousiania. We get tropical left overs. Flooding? Not bad enough to take out all of DC. Any other natural disasters? Not really. The only thing close would be a 'major' terrorist attack in the form of bombs or a rogue nation shooting missles. Even then, look at NYC on 9/11. There was no draining of population out of NYC when the greatest manmade terriorist attack on our soil ever took place.

So really, WV is being honest as that report says, that we can't handle that many evacuee's. On top of that, the general consensus in this state is that unless the entire eastern seaboard is bombed off the continental US, there isn't going to be any event to spark a mass exodus extending from Ocean City to Leesburg. I wish people would think before they speak (referring to the absurd politicians).

I think they should hire Jesco White (the dancing outlaw) to run thier disaster department.

yo POWPOW how u bin,jessco is the man. Free american government cheese, dom peringon and a tube of testors, a hillbilly icon.