Under the pressure of emergency officials' response to Hurricane Katrina, officials from the Centre Region's six municipalities fixed their eyes on one man Monday night.

Steve Abrams, Centre Region emergency management coordinator, addressed the concern weighing on everyone's mind at the Centre Region Council of Governments (COG) meeting -- how effectively the area could handle an emergency.

His efforts left several State College Borough Council members with more doubts than reassurances.

"Nobody really knows what we're supposed to do," council member Elizabeth Goreham said after the meeting. "I'm confused. I think elected officials have to have some understanding of it."

Abrams said COG asked him to give an update of the Centre Region's emergency plan, not to give a full description of the operation plan itself.

"If there's some confusion, I think I need to address that," he said. "I think I need to revisit with the council."

Abrams said each Centre Region municipality has an emergency operation plan that relies on the Centre Region Emergency Management Council when a situation cannot be maintained by local forces, such as police or fire departments. That council, led by Abrams, includes managers from the region's six municipalities and a Penn State representative.

The council would meet in an emergency and determine who would lead relief efforts, depending on the nature of the disaster, he said.

If the magnitude of the emergency is too much for the Centre Region's emergency management to handle, then the Centre Region would request the county's help. This "bottom-up" approach would continue on to the state and federal level, Abrams said.

State College Borough Manager Tom Fountaine represents the borough on the emergency management council. However, he and the

other municipalities' managers were not at Monday's COG meeting because of a conference in Minnesota. Their absence alerted both Goreham and council member Cathy Dauler to potential holes in the plan.

"What if something happened last night?" Goreham said. "You can't assume that the people on these committees will be available [during an emergency]."

Abrams gave several examples of public notification for emergencies including radio alerts, TV broadcasts and Code Red, a satellite-fed warning system that sends a recorded message to 60,000 telephones per hour.

Centre County Emergency Management Coordinator Randy Rockey said State College is not prepared for a disaster of Katrina proportions, noting inadequate amounts of food and cots.

Part of the issue with finding shelters is making sure each has a working generator to provide power, he said. Abrams said COG will purchase another mobile generator, and a state grant would cover half of the $45,000 cost.

Abrams said he would emphasize the need for emergency response drills -- something College Township council member David Koll said was lacking.

"You know everybody down south had a plan," he said. "It didn't work. If we want it to work, we're going to have to start training and drilling."

However, Abrams said each individual must be prepared; it could take at least 72 hours before help arrives.

"It's not terribly reassuring to hear that it would take 72 hours to get water into the area," Dauler said. "It's very unnerving I think."

Abrams said he would publicly advertise the supplies citizens should have prepared.

Until then, Dauler said she is resting uneasily.

"I don't think we are ready," she said. "I don't think we are prepared for this 'whatever' that might occur."