GOV. WANTS HURRICANE REPORT:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has directed state Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw to assess Texas’ ability to handle large-scale evacuations in the event of a catastrophic hurricane, the governor’s office announced. Perry expressed particular concern about the ability to quickly evacuate major population centers in the coastal areas of Beaumont-Port Arthur, Houston-Galveston, Corpus Christi and Brownsville-Harlingen. The assessment will include a review of existing evacuation routes, traffic control plans and intergovernmental coordination needed to manage such evacuations. It also will include a review of the state’s role in coordinating state resources needed at the local level. Perry directed McCraw to gather input from local community leaders along the coastal area of the state and from Texas legislators, as well as officials in Florida, as part of his assessment. He told legislators he would make recommendations based on the assessment and would share results of the study with them. The report is due by Feb. 15.