New Orleans, site of
Hurricane Katrina in 2005, will host a new event that focuses on emergency
preparedness.
The first International
Disaster Conference and Expo will take place Jan. 17-19, 2012 in New Orleans, organizers
announced. It will feature the newest technology and information on disaster-related
issues.
State agencies
participating include the governor’s office of Homeland Security and Emergency
Preparedness, the New Orleans mayor’s office of Homeland Security & Emergency
Preparedness, and Louisiana State University’s Stephenson Disaster Management
Institute.
“The IDCE will
provide a forum for emergency management and homeland security professionals to
be better prepared for and respond to emergencies of all kinds,” said Mark
Cooper, director of the governor’s homeland security office. “We look forward
to bringing these different groups together, both public and private and providing
the opportunity for them to learn from and support each other.”
Jimmy Mouton,
president and CEO of Imago Productions Inc., which is producing the event, said
he has high hopes for the conference.
“Our goal is to
create opportunities for those who work diligently to ensure our communities recover
from catastrophic events (and create) a forum that can bring greater
cohesiveness to such response and recovery efforts,” he said.
The conference is
expected to attract 20,000 attendees, 500 exhibitors and inject $20 million
into the New Orleans economy during the next five years, officials said.
