It&8217;s the natural question, after all that happened with hurricanes Katrina and Rita in recent weeks: Are we ready?

Our local agencies and nonprofits proved in the aftermath of those storms that they can handle a large-scale and unprecedented crisis with few bumps in the road.

But what would happen if we were the community directly hit? While we&8217;re not a coastal city in the direct path of a hurricane, it&8217;s not out of the question to think Natchez and her sister cities could be affected by some major crisis. Just look at the chlorine barge incident of 1962.

Local officials quickly had to come up with an evacuation plan for residents living within a 3- to 5-mile radius of the site in the river where a barge carrying what one report said was &8220;the equivalent of as much of the poison gas as was used during the first World War.&8221;

Federal, state and local agencies &8212; including the National Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers &8212; had to work together and remain on guard during the weeks the Corps removed the chlorine tanks from the barge. Officials conducted drills and prepared for the worst.

We have no way of knowing whether we will ever experience something on such a level again.

But we must be prepared.

And we must have a plan to help those among us who are the most vulnerable, such as the elderly, small children and the poor.

We urge city and county officials to review their plans and make sure that everyone in our community would be taken care of in the event of an emergency.

Like Natchez officials in 1962, we must always hope for the best but prepare for the worst.