WASHINGTON (AP) -- Shaken by what they view as a slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, regional leaders are reviewing their disaster plans in hopes of avoiding a similar catastrophe.
The decision was made in a Thursday conference call involving officials from the District of Columbia and its suburbs. They talked about the storm that devastated much of the Gulf Coast and the lessons that could be learned, Montgomery County, Md., Executive Douglas M. Duncan said.
While short on specifics, Duncan said that in the event of a crisis here, state and local governments might have to be relied upon more than initially thought for distributing critical supplies and evacuating thousands of residents.
''My worry is that all the plans we have in place today are invalid,'' Duncan said. ''If we can't count on the feds, if we can't count on a timely response from them, we need to change our plans.''
Despite rattled confidence in the aftermath of the hurricane, the region remains well prepared for a disaster, said Thomas J. Lockwood, the Department of Homeland Security official responsible for the Washington area. He credits planning which largely began after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
''What we need to do is take the lessons learned from Katrina and roll it into our planning process,'' Lockwood said. ''People need to think about their personal responsibility of what they need to do for themselves and their loved ones in the event of an emergency before it happens.''
Both spoke at a news conference kicking off the ''Be Ready, Make a Plan'' campaign. The $4.5 million federally funded initiative is aimed at educating residents about what they can do to become self-reliant in an emergency, whether it is a natural disaster or terrorist attack.
Organizers say successfully managing such a calamity requires the public's help, but their research indicates only 39 percent of area residents are prepared for a crisis. The goal of the monthlong campaign is to get that figure up to 50 percent.
''You'd think given all that we've been through in the past few years, whether it's the events at the Pentagon on 9/11 or the sniper incident and Hurricane Isabel, that we'd be reasonably prepared and that our citizenry would know better what to do,'' said Fairfax County, Va., Executive Anthony H. Griffin.
Wallet-sized informational guides encourage residents to gather basic supplies such as enough water and nonperishable food to last three days, as well as first-aid kits and an extra supply of prescription drugs.
''Community preparedness really goes to the heart of response,'' said Tom Owens, fire chief for the City of Fairfax, Va. ''We've seen in the Gulf states that there's an element of reaction time before the resources can be mustered.''
