BOSTON - Calling for increased interstate emergency planning, Gov. John Lynch today opened the first meeting of a 21-member Federal Emergency Management Agency Regional Advisory Council.

Gov. Lynch serves as co-chair of the advisory council along with Connecticut Gov. Jody Rell.

The advisory council’s first meeting coincided with the second anniversary of the 2005 floods that took seven lives and caused widespread damage to the Town of Alstead and across Southwestern New Hampshire.

“The devastation was unbelievable, and is something I, and many others, will never forget,” Gov. Lynch said, adding that New Hampshire has suffered two additional damaging floods in the past two years. “In each instance, it was clear how essential proper planning and coordination with various state and local agencies was to our response and recovery efforts.

“It is also clear to me that disasters cannot be managed from or by Washington, or from FEMA headquarters in Boston. We need support from FEMA - particularly during recovery - but we must be able to manage the response without federal bureaucracy. It is my hope that this Regional Advisory Council will allow us to share ideas, improve how we can coordinate with FEMA and focus on how we can improve coordination between the New England states,” Gov. Lynch said.

The Governor stressed the importance of interstate coordination in emergency planning, saying it is his hope the advisory council will play a role in evaluating the surge capacity of the region - for medical supplies, for personnel, for mass evacuations, for hospital beds. Gov. Lynch also believes the council can help develop and conduct drills so that New England states can test their capacity to respond to regional emergencies.

“Many of the emergencies we face do not respect state borders. In several of the floods, all of the New England states were experiencing similar situations. We need to look at the instances where it is possible for us to share equipment and expertise - and what we can do when the resources of the entire region are stretched to the limit,” Gov. Lynch said.

The Regional Advisory Council will meet several times a year.