Disaster response team to aid relief

A disaster response team including officials from Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties has been formed to aid relief in areas destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

“This team is going to be needed. We know that we will be called on to help. It’s just a matter of when,” Douglas County Emergency Management Director Paula Phillips said Tuesday.

The Unified Response and Recovery Team from the four counties likely will assist rebuilding in Louisiana or Mississippi.

“No one county (in the joint enterprise) has enough resources to cover the entire need,” Phillips said. “As a result, we decided to combine our efforts.”

The team, which includes nine Douglas County public employees, includes police officers, firefighters, engineers, doctors and nurses.

The group will take its own equipment, food and sleeping bags, Phillips said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the counties, including overtime and benefits paid to the workers.

“This isn’t a volunteer group,” Phillips said.