State Senator Michael Balboni announced that the Senate has approved $5 million in state aid for the Red Cross to improve its sheltering program on Long Island in order to be better prepared for emergencies.

The funding, included in the Senate budget, will allow the Red Cross to establish a comprehensive emergency sheltering program that identifies additional locations with generators, provides and trains staff, and contracts for stockpiling of food, medicine and other supplies.

Balboni (R-East Williston), chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Homeland Security, said, "Just like the strength of the New Orleans levees had been questioned before Katrina, we now have striking questions about the strength and adequacy of Long Island's (population 2.83 million) preparedness plans. This is an ideal opportunity to improve Long Island's "levee" before disaster strikes by improving our sheltering capacity."

A number of the vulnerabilities that exist in Long Island's current sheltering program were exposed during a public hearing conducted by Balboni and the Committee on Homeland Security last September in Mineola. The findings of the hearing were published in a report released in January of this year, entitled After the Storm...New York's State of Readiness.

Included in the report was chilling testimony provided by Long Island emergency managers, which revealed that maximum current sheltering capacity for Nassau and Suffolk counties is approximately 120,000. According to the testimony of a representative from the National Weather Service, in a Category 3 hurricane - which is likely to strike the Island in the coming years - 750,000 to 1 million Long Island residents would have to be sheltered.

Also revealed during the hearing was that most of the currently designated shelters do not have generators, and there has been no effort to preposition stockpiles of food, water and medical supplies. Staffing at these shelters has also not been adequately addressed and the counties have not yet developed lists of vulnerable populations, including elderly and disabled, who might require special consideration during a disaster response.

Balboni requested the state funding for Long Island in keeping with his commitment to work with Nassau and Suffolk counties to improve their emergency preparedness plans. The state appropriation would require a local match of 25 percent.