Exercise Summary

Name

Kajun Kraken Functional Exercise 2026

Exercise Flyer

View Flyer

Date & Time

Apr 13 - 17, 2026 from 8 AM - 4 PM

Locations

GOHSEP - Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness

7667 Independence Blvd
Baton Rouge, LA 70806

Type

Functional

Point of Contact

Carmen Smith

Number of Participants

None Set

Max Attendance

100 (46 Open Seats)

Region

State

Mission Area

Mitigation, Response, and Recovery

Scenario

A major hurricane is projected to hit along southeast Louisiana and travel across central Louisiana and then making a turn to northern Louisiana, affecting major population centers, river systems, and transportation corridors, before exiting through northwest Louisiana. Areas along the storm track are expected to experience widespread flooding, power outages, downed trees, and catastrophic wind damage.

Objectives

Evaluate the ability to establish and maintain a Unified Command structure involving emergency management, fire/EMS, law enforcement, public works, and partner agencies within the first operational period to coordinate response activities and resource allocation.
Core Capabilities: Operational Coordination

Assess the ability to activate, staff, and operate emergency shelters for displaced residents, ensuring registration, feeding, medical support, police and/or LANG security, and functional needs services during the initial sheltering period.
Core Capabilities: Mass Care Services, Planning, and Public Health, Healthcare, And Emergency Medical Services

Test the Logistics Section’s ability to request, stage, track, and distribute critical resources (commodities, generators, personnel, shelter supplies) to affected jurisdictions within the first operational period. This would include contracting and one or two Level 3 PODS.
Core Capabilities: Critical Transportation, Logistics And Supply Chain Management, and Operational Coordination

Evaluate the ability to establish and maintain reliable primary and backup communications across EOCs, field operations, shelters, and partner agencies during hurricane response.
Core Capabilities: Operational Communications, Operational Coordination, and Public Information And Warning

Assess the ability of SAR teams to deploy, locate, extricate, and transport survivors from flooded or damaged areas, while ensuring responder safety and coordination with EMS and Unified Command while using Lily Pads operations. Transportations to shelters from the Lily Pad.
Core Capabilities: Mass Search And Rescue Operations, Public Health, Healthcare, And Emergency Medical Services, and Situational Assessment

Assess the ability of SAR teams to deploy, locate, extricate, and transport survivors from flooded or damaged areas, while ensuring responder safety and coordination with EMS and Unified Command while using Lily Pads operations. Transportations to shelters from the Lily Pad.
Core Capabilities: Infrastructure Systems, Operational Coordination, and Situational Assessment

Evaluate coordination, communication, and operational capabilities to a human caused incident during an ongoing natural disaster incident. Keys areas include validating emergency operations plans, evaluating resource requirements, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and assessing the effectiveness of public information and outreach strategies.
Core Capabilities: Intelligence And Information Sharing, On-Scene Security, Protection, And Law Enforcement, Operational Communications, Operational Coordination, and Situational Assessment

Evaluate the ability to issue timely, coordinated evacuation orders and public warnings before hurricane landfall, ensuring high-risk and transportation-dependent populations receive and act on guidance. Assess the accuracy and accountability of tracking evacuated individuals to designated shelters or host jurisdictions. Evaluate Joint Information Center operations in producing and disseminating clear, consistent public messaging on storm impacts, safety actions, evacuation updates, shelters, and recovery information.
Core Capabilities: Critical Transportation, Mass Care Services, Operational Coordination, and Public Information And Warning

Threat / Hazard

Evacuation Routes/Roads, Flooding, Hurricane, and Tornadoes

Sponsor

State

EMPG Eligible

No

Register for Exercise

Registration deadline is Apr 17, 2026 4:00 PM

Exercise Roster

Exercise registrants will be listed here along with their contributing role.