Facts and opinion

K5WAS · Sep 5, 2005

Don't Blame Bush for Katrina Christopher Ruddy Monday, Sept. 5, 2005 George Bush and the federal government are not to blame for the disaster we have witnessed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In fact, the primary responsibility for the disaster response lies with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and other local officials. Yet leading Democrats and their allies in the major media are clearly using this disaster for political purposes and ignoring one obvious fact. This fact which needs to be repeated and remembered is that in our country, state and local governments have primary responsibility in dealing with local disasters. The founding fathers devised a federal system of government one that has served us remarkably well through great disasters that have befallen America over more than two centuries. But if we believe the major TV networks, George Bush, FEMA and the Republicans in Congress are all to blame for the current nightmare. Let's remember that FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was created only in 1979. It was formed to coordinate and focus federal response to major disasters to "assist" local and state governments. Common sense suggests that local and state governments are best able to prepare and plan for local disasters. Is a Washington bureaucrat better suited to prepare for an earthquake in San Francisco, a hurricane in Florida, or a terrorist act in New York? After the Sept. 11 attacks against the World Trade Center, no one suggested that the Bush administration should have been responsible for New York's disaster response or that federal agents should have been involved in the rescue of those trapped in the buildings. Last year, four major hurricanes slammed into Florida. Governor Jeb Bush led the disaster response and did a remarkable job, with nothing happening like what we have seen in New Orleans. The primary response in disasters has always come from local communities and state governments. First responders and the manpower to deal with emergencies come from local communities: police, fire and medical. Under our federal system, these local departments answer to local authorities, not those in Washington. These first responders are not even under federal control, nor do they have to follow federal orders. In addition to local responders, every state in the Union has a National Guard. State National Guards answer first to the governor of each state, not to the president. The National Guard exists not to defend one state from an invasion by another state, but primarily for emergencies like the one we have witnessed in New Orleans and in other areas impacted by Katrina. (See: http://www.arng.army.mil/about_us/organization/command_structure.asp) Tim Russert and the Blame Game The media would have you believe that this disaster was worsened by a slow response from President Bush and his administration, though the primary responsibility for disaster response has always been with local and state governments. It is true that federal response was not as fast as it could have been. The president himself has acknowledged that fact. But the press has focused on the first 48 hours of federal response, not uttering a word about the fact that New Orleans had 48 hours of warning that a major Category 4 or 5 would make landfall near the city, yet local officials apparently did little to prepare. Obviously, Gov. Blanco did not effectively deploy her state's National Guard. And New Orleans' city leaders did almost nothing to evacuate the portion of the population with no transportation. In failing to follow their own evacuation plan, these officials did little to pre-position food, water and personnel to deal with the aftermath. I was surprised Sunday to watch Tim Russert, on his show "Meet the Press," tear into Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff. During his encounter with Chertoff, Russert did not suggest once that local government had any role in dealing with the disaster. Russert also asked for Chertoff's resignation. It wasn't until after the first 29 minutes of his show 29 minutes that Russert raised the question of local responsibility. And when he did so with Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, he did so in a passing way. Broussard brushed off his question with a non-answer. Broussard began his interview claiming that the nation had "abandoned" New Orleans. That is nonsense and a lie. Broussard, who was never identified by "Meet the Press" as a Democrat, spent much of his time attacking the Bush administration, as has Democratic New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. Broussard then ended his performance as he collapsed in tears with a demand: "For God's sake, just shut up and send us somebody!" His tears didn't wash with me. My sympathies lie with the tens of thousands of people who have suffered or died because local officials like Broussard, Mayor Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco, also a Democrat, failed monumentally at their jobs. As former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial told Russert, the disaster in New Orleans was "foreseeable." In fact, New Orleans has long known that such a disaster could take place if a major hurricane hit the city. The municipality even prepared its own "City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan." The plan makes it evident that New Orleans knew that evacuation of the civilian population was the primary responsibility of the city not the federal government. The city plan acknowledges its responsibility in the document: As established by the City of New Orleans Charter, the government has jurisdiction and responsibility in disaster response. City government shall coordinate its efforts through the Office of Emergency Preparedness. The city document also makes clear that decisions involving a proper and orderly evacuation lie with the governor, mayor and local authorities. Nowhere is the president or federal government even mentioned: The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane. It is clear the city also recognized that it would need to move large portions of its population, and it would need to prepare for such an eventuality: The City of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas. Those evacuated will be directed to temporary sheltering and feeding facilities as needed. When specific routes of progress are required, evacuees will be directed to those routes. Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific life saving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed. ... Evacuation procedures for small scale and localized evacuations are conducted per the SOPs of the New Orleans Fire Department and the New Orleans Police Department. However, due to the sheer size and number of persons to be evacuated, should a major tropical weather system or other catastrophic event threaten or impact the area, specifically directed long range planning and coordination of resources and responsibilities efforts must be undertaken. [You can read New Orleans' Emergency Plan for hurricanes at its Web site: http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26] The city's plan also specifically called for the use of city-owned buses and school buses to evacuate the population. These were apparently never deployed, though the Parish of Plaquemines just south of the city evacuated its population using school buses. The plan, written well before Katrina was even a teardrop in God's eye, was obviously never heeded or implemented by local leaders. But why should the New Orleans mayor and Governor Blanco take responsibility when they can blame George Bush and the Republicans in Washington? With congressional elections fast approaching, Democrats who are out of power in every branch of the federal government know they need to change the tide quickly. They have apparently seized on the Katrina disaster to harm the president politically. Criticism of the federal government's response is fair and warranted. But putting full responsibility for this disaster on the Bush administration is way over the top. Primary responsibility for this disaster remains with local officials like Nagin and Blanco, not President Bush.

Ralph 123 · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

Jeff may abandon evacuation compact; Broussard: Parish security comes first BYLINE: By Sheila Grissett and Ed Anderson, Staff writers July 13, 2005 A battle over the state's new evacuation guideline grew more heated Tuesday with Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard saying Jefferson could pull out of the plan and Gov. Kathleen Blanco suggesting it may be time to discuss whether state officials, and not parish leaders, should have the final say on evacuation orders. In a stinging, four-page letter to Blanco, Broussard criticized portions of the evacuation procedure and some of Blanco's public remarks about the need for southeast Louisiana parishes to stick together and follow the plan, completed three months ago. During a public appearance on an unrelated matter just minutes after getting the letter, Blanco said one issue that needs considering is whether the state's top emergency personnel, including State Police and Homeland Security, should have the final say on when or if parishes should evacuate. "We will be talking about that in the next few weeks," Blanco said. Broussard said Tuesday that he wouldn't turn over decision-making authority unless the Legislature put the state in charge of the process "I would never willingly abrogate my responsibility," he said. Contraflow request The new plan was written to correct mistakes that led to September's nightmare evacuation from Hurricane Ivan. It calls for residents from low-lying coastal communities to leave first, followed by the West Bank and, finally, the heavily populated areas of East Jefferson and Orleans Parish. Last Friday, Broussard recommended that all Jefferson Parish residents begin a voluntary evacuation at noon as Hurricane Dennis approached Cuba, 50 hours from its eventual U.S. landfall. He also asked State Police to implement contraflow, a system of reversing interstate lanes that isn't called for in the state plan until the winds of a serious storm are about 30 hours from hitting the coast. Broussard has said the plan isn't flexible enough to provide advance, daylight evacuations for residents in his parish, and he reiterated Tuesday that he would pull out of the arrangement before following procedures that he and his staff don't think are in the best interest of Jefferson Parish. Blanco had little to say about the controversy Tuesday and offered no direct criticism of Broussard. But she suggested that when emergency officials meet in coming days and weeks to evaluate Hurricane Dennis, a topic of discussion will be who should be authorized to order evacuations. Blanco didn't say she favors shifting responsibility to the state, only that the concept should be explored. Although many Louisianians are hurricane-savvy and know when to evacuate, others rely on official direction. In those cases, Blanco said, a premature evacuation is just as harmful as a late one. "A premature decision causes you problems," Blanco said. "If you do that constantly, people lose confidence" in officials and will not leave when a major storm imperils an error. "I think this will all work out in the long run, but I think right now emotions are high and everybody's justifying their decisions," the governor said. "I think everybody will settle down and look at the needs of the region." Stands by actions Broussard said Tuesday that he remains confident in his decision last Friday to recommend a midday evacuation to ensure parish residents had plenty of time to reach a destination before dark. The contraflow requested by Broussard would have closed I-10, I-55 and I-59 to incoming traffic at a time when Hurricane Dennis had not yet reached Cuba and before any other parishes, including low-lying communities south of the Intracoastal Waterway, were being advised by their emergency officials to evacuate. "But I learned my lesson," Broussard said Tuesday. "I won't ask for contraflow again. I'll recommend evacuation and leave it to state officials to implement contraflow." State officials who helped write the new plan said using contraflow in the final stage of their three-phase evacuation will allow the efficient evacuation of the entire southeast Louisiana region. "We can move the population out in 50 hours," said Lt. Chris Bodet, evacuation coordinator for Troop B. "Of course, we always like to see people leave early. It makes it easier for them, and it puts less people on the road in the final stage of evacuation. But lots of people can't do that, especially in Orleans Parish, and this is a plan designed for the entire region." Will stay in line Broussard said he and his top advisers don't believe that the area can be evacuated in 50 hours. And even if it can, he said, the phased evacuation doesn't give him the flexibility to ensure that Jefferson Parish residents can always begin to evacuate during daylight hours. Unless he is forced to pull out of the plan, Broussard said, he will continue to try work within the state's guidelines and always give low-lying parishes the opportunity to evacuate ahead of Jefferson. "Emily is coming," Broussard said of the new tropical storm expected to be near Cuba on Sunday, "and I pledge to the other parish presidents today that I will endeavor to implement this (state) plan without endangering my residents."

JRJ · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

Good job K5WAS. Nagin and Blanco let their city and state down. Its easy to blame the feds, but reality is setting in.

JB · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

There you go, break up a good, name calling bash with facts. Time wounds all heels.

rodbolt · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

K5WAS I agree with most of what you say. but the 48 hour mark is way off. accurate predictions of the path cannot be made. had everyone headed for Houston,Galveston and other points along the TX coast on friday and sat and the course changed sat night or sunday and deveated 100 miles to the west then NO would have been spared and the houston galveston area decimated. or had the track walked 100 miles to the east AL and western FL would have been decimated. a large part of the problem is ineffectual planning along with to large a bueracracy involved. couple that with the constant refusal to learn from past hurricanes and this is what results. the other major problem is the people themselves. no one should have to tell ya to leave. if you live in a low area or an area that is prone to flooding ya should know its time to go. if I lived 5ft below sealevel and expected 15+" of rain and a 25ft+ surge no one would have to ask me to leave. but we have them here every year without fail. I also blame the media for all the overhype of the storms, large or small. less words like vicious or killer and a bit more factual information. less shots of Jim Cantore by a 15ft "protective" dune when the waves are expected to be 25ft with a 20ft surge. by the way that dune actually dissapeared in less than 10 min. they lost the camera van but escaped with thier lives. so there is plenty of blame to share without idiotic spin comments like "we did not know" or "no one told me" or no one called me. the NO disater is just begining, my uneducated guess is about 1 million wont have homes or jobs and must be rapidly assimilated into the economy and populace, that coupled with winter will be here in 2 months or so will make it difficult. the other uneducated guess is it will be at least 5 months pumping the city. will be another 3 weeks getting the breeches closed but my guess is that the actual pumping will have to be done in stages to prevent blowouts. the levees are made of soil. that soil is now saturated on both sides. to rapid a draw down on one side will increase water pressure on the other giving a potential for mud flow and a blow out. this is giving good whether and no further tropical events. NO has been known to flood with the regular thunderstorms. hope I am wrong . time will tell but will be some years if they even try to rebuild it all. my personall opinion is to salvage the areas that did not flood and buy everyone else out. would be cheaper than new levees and a total rebuild of the infastructure. would be cheaper for us to give each resident a check for 150K and a new car than rebuild the flodded areas and replace the levees. without the replacement levees the rebuild will be a total waste of monies. would be like rebuilding a motor and not replacing the bearings or oil pump.

POINTER94 · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

Enough with the facts, there are elections coming. BLAME BUSH!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't it interesting that the ones most responsible are the one's who are taking no responsibility at all. Journalism is dead, it is now a political party....

lakelivin · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

Non-partisan summary of the facts. Draw your own conclusions as to what 'blame', if any, should be associated with actions of the current administration w.r.t. hurricane preparedness for NO. Link to article with sources: http://www.factcheck.org/article344.html Article: Is Bush to Blame for New Orleans Flooding? He did slash funding for levee projects. But the Army Corps of Engineers says Katrina was just too strong. September 2, 2005 Modified: September 2, 2005 Summary Some critics are suggesting President Bush was as least partly responsible for the flooding in New Orleans. In a widely quoted opinion piece, former Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal says that "the damage wrought by the hurricane may not entirely be the result of an act of nature," and cites years of reduced funding for federal flood-control projects around New Orleans. Our fact-checking confirms that Bush indeed cut funding for projects specifically designed to strengthen levees. Indeed, local officials had been complaining about that for years. It is not so clear whether the money Bush cut from levee projects would have made any difference, however, and we're not in a position to judge that. The Army Corps of Engineers which is under the President's command and has its own reputation to defend insists that Katrina was just too strong, and that even if the levee project had been completed it was only designed to withstand a category 3 hurricane. Analysis We suspect this subject will get much more attention in Congress and elsewhere in the coming months. Without blaming or absolving Bush, here are the key facts we've been able to establish so far: Bush Cut Funding Blumenthal's much-quoted article in salon.com carried the headline: "No one can say they didn't see it coming." And it said the Bush administration cut flood-control funding "to pay for the Iraq war." He continues: Blumenthal: With its main levee broken, the evacuated city of New Orleans has become part of the Gulf of Mexico . But the damage wrought by the hurricane may not entirely be the result of an act of nature. By 2003 the federal funding for the flood control project essentially dried up as it was drained into the Iraq war. In 2004, the Bush administration cut funding requested by the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by more than 80 percent. Additional cuts at the beginning of this yearforced the New Orleans district of the Corps to impose a hiring freeze. We can confirm that funding was cut. The project most closely associated with preventing flooding in New Orleans was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hurricane Protection Project, which was designed to protect residents between Lake Pontchartrain and the Missisippi River levee from surges in Lake Pontchartrain, according to a fact sheet from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (The fact sheet is dated May 23, long before Katrina). The multi-decade project involved building new levees, enlarging existing levees, and updating other protections like floodwalls. It was scheduled to be completed in 2015. Over at least the past several budget cycles, the Corps has received substantially less money than it requested for the Lake Pontchartrain project, even though Congress restored much of the money the President cut from the amount the Corps requested. In fiscal year 2004, the Corps requested $11 million for the project. The Presidents budget allocated $3 million, and Congress furnished $5.5 million. Similarly, in fiscal 2005 the Corps requested $22.5 million, which the President cut to $3.9 million in his budget. Congress increased that to $5.5 million. This was insufficient to fund new construction contracts, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project fact sheet. The Corps reported that seven new contracts are being delayed due to lack funds [sic]. The President proposed $3 million for the project in the budget for fiscal 2006, which begins Oct. 1. This will be insufficient to fund new construction projects, the fact sheet stated. It says the Corps could spend $20 million if funds were provided. The Corps of Engineers goes on to say: Army Corps of Engineers, May 23: In Orleans Parish, two major pump stations are threatened by hurricane storm surges. Major contracts need to be awarded to provide fronting protection for them. Also, several levees have settled and need to be raised to provide the design protection. The current funding shortfalls in fiscal year 2005 and fiscal year 2006 will prevent the Corps from addressing these pressing needs. The Corps has seen cutbacks beyond those affecting just the Lake Pontchartrain project. The Corps oversees SELA, or the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control project, which Congress authorized after six people died from flooding in May 1995. The Times-Picayune newspaper of New Orleans reported that, overall, the Corps had spent $430 million on flood control and hurricane prevention, with local governments offering more than $50 million toward the project. Nonetheless, "at least $250 million in crucial projects remained," the newspaper said. In the past five years, the amount of money spent on all Corps construction projects in the New Orleans district has declined by 44 percent, according to the New Orleans CityBusiness newspaper, from $147 million in 2001 to $82 million in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. A Long History of Complaints Local officials had long complained that funding for hurricane protection projects was inadequate: October 13, 2001: The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that federal officials are postponing new projects of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Control Program, or SELA, fearing that federal budget constraints and the cost of the war on terrorism may create a financial pinch for the program. The paper went on to report that President Bushs budget proposed $52 million for SELA in the 2002 fiscal year. The House approved $57 million and the Senate approved $62 million. Still, the $62 million would be well below the $80 million that corps officials estimate is needed to pay for the next 12 months of construction, as well as design expenses for future projects. April 24, 2004: The Times-Picayune reported that less money is available to the Army Corps of Engineers to build levees and water projects in the Missisippi River valley this year and next year. Meanwhile, an engineer who had direct the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Study a study of how to restore coastal wetlands areas in order to provide a bugger from hurricane storm surges was sent to Iraq "to oversee the restoration of the Garden of Eden wetlands at the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, for which President Bushs 2005 gave $100 million. June 8, 2004: Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, told the Times-Picayune: Walter Maestri: It appears that the money has been moved in the presidents budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq , and I suppose thats the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees cant be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us. September 22, 2004: The Times-Picayune reported that a pilot study on raising the height of the levees surrounding New Orleans had been completed and generated enough information for a second study necessary to estimate the cost of doing so. The Bush administration ordered the New Orleans district office of the Army Corps of Engineers not to begin any new studies, and the 2005 budget no longer includes the needed money. June 6, 2005: The New Orleans CityBusiness newspaper reported that the New Orleans district of the Corps was preparing for a $71.2 million reduction in overall funding for the fiscal year beginning in October. That would have been the largest single-year funding loss ever. They noted that money was so tight" that "the New Orleans district, which employs 1,300 people, instituted a hiring freeze last month on all positions, which was the first of its kind in about 10 years. Would Increased Funding Have Prevented Flooding? Blumenthal implies that increased funding might have helped to prevent the catastrophic flooding that New Orleans now faces. The White House denies that, and the Corps of Engineers says that even the levee project they were working to complete was not designed to withstand a storm of Katrina's force. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, at a press briefing on September 1, dismissed the idea that the President inadequately funded flood control projects in New Orleans : McClellan: Flood control has been a priority of this administration from day one. We have dedicated an additional $300 million over the last few years for flood control in New Orleans and the surrounding area. And if you look at the overall funding levels for the Army Corps of Engineers, they have been slightly above $4.5 billion that has been signed by the President. Q: Local people were asking for more money over the last couple of years. They were quoted in local papers in 2003 and 2004, are saying that they were told by federal officials there wasn't enough money because it was going to Iraq expenditures. McClellan: You might want to talk to General Strock, who is the commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, because I think he's talked to some reporters already and talked about some of these issues. I think some people maybe have tried to make a suggestion or imply that certain funding would have prevented the flooding from happening, and he has essentially said there's been nothing to suggest that whatsoever, and it's been more of a design issue with the levees. We asked the Corps about that design issue. David Hewitt, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, said McClellan was referring to the fact that the levees were designed for a category 3 hurricane. He told us that, consequently, when it became apparent that this was a category 5 hurricane, an evacuation of the city was ordered. (A category 3 storm has sustained winds of no more than 130 miles per hour, while a category 5 storm has winds exceeding 155 miles per hour. Katrina had winds of 160 mph as it approached shore, but later weakened to winds of 140 mph as it made landfall, making it a strong category 4 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.) The levee upgrade project around Lake Pontchartrain was only 60 to 90 percent complete across most areas of New Orleans as of the end of May, according to the Corps' May 23 fact sheet. Still, even if it had been completed, the project's goal was protecting New Orleans from storm surges up to "a fast-moving Category 3 hurricane, according to the fact sheet. We don't know whether the levees would have done better had the work been completed. But the Corps says that even a completed levee project wasn't designed for the storm that actually occurred. Nobody anticipated breach of the levees? In an interview on ABCs Good Morning America on September 1, President Bush said: Bush: I dont think anyone anticipated breach of the levees Now were having to deal with it, and will. Bush is technically correct that a "breach" wasn't anticipated by the Corps, but that's doesn't mean the flooding wasn't forseen. It was. But the Corps thought it would happen differently, from water washing over the levees, rather than cutting wide breaks in them. Greg Breerword, a deputy district engineer for project management with the Army Corps of Engineers, told the New York Times: Breerword: We knew if it was going to be a Category 5, some levees and some flood walls would be overtopped. We never did think they would actually be breached. And while Bush is also technically correct that the Corps did not "anticipate" a breach in the sense that they believed it was a likely event at least some in the Corps thought a breach was a possibility worth examining. According to the Times-Picayune, early in Bush's first term FEMA director Joe Allbaugh ordered a sophisticated computer simulation of what would happen if a category 5 storm hit New Orleans. Joseph Suhayda, an engineer at Louisana State University who worked on the project, described to the newspaper in 2002 what the simulation showed could happen: Subhayda: Another scenario is that some part of the levee would fail. It's not something that's expected. But erosion occurs, and as levees broke, the break will get wider and wider. The water will flow through the city and stop only when it reaches the next higher thing. The most continuous barrier is the south levee, along the river. That's 25 feet high, so you'll see the water pile up on the river levee. Whether or not a "breach" was "anticipated," the fact is that many individuals have been warning for decades about the threat of flooding that a hurricane could pose to a set below sea level and sandwiched between major waterways. A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) report from before September 11, 2001 detailed the three most likely catastrophic disasters that could happen in the United States: a terrorist attack in New York, a strong earthquake in San Francisco, and a hurricane strike in New Orleans. In 2002, New Orleans officials held the simulation of what would happen in a category 5 storm. Walter Maestri, the emergency coordinator of Jefferson Parish in New Orleans , recounted the outcome to PBS NOW With Bill Moyers: Maestri, September 2002: Well, when the exercise was completed it was evidence that we were going to lose a lot of people. We changed the name of the [simulated] storm from Delaney to K-Y-A-G-B... kiss your *** goodbye... because anybody who was here as that category five storm came across... was gone. --by Matthew Barge

Ralph 123 · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

This pcicture tells me a lot:

capt.flpc21109012015.hurricane_katrina_flpc211.jpg

QC · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

Ralph, I don't understand what that picture tells you . . .

It doesn't tell me if there were operators, fuel, or a way out of that yard and onto a highway that will lead them to NO. Am I missing something?

deputydawg · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

As deputy emergency management director for my county I have an educated opinion here too. Every agency, county, parish, city, town and village is required to have plans in place for evacuation, rescue, and emergency aid for any situation that may come up from terrorist attacks to storms to train or truck wrecks leaving chemical contamination. That said, how can anyone plan for something of this magnitude. I know the warnings were there, that was one of their failings over the past years. Now to the plans. How can a person or group write a plan saying "if this then...." for every situation? Easy to say, use cars trucks and busses to evacuate people. What if the vehicles can not operate, then what. There is no end to the possible kinks in any plan. Our plan fell apart a few years ago in training. We set up a model of our city, then crushed part of the area. Every emergency responder was given a toy car or truck to use to do their job on this model. Our plan fell apart, and we had to improvise. Those who point fingers will try to say that the emergency operations and evacuation plan should have covered all possible and impossible avenues. That in itself is impossible. The true failing came in slow reaction to the situation. But in realistic views how long would it take any of us, or us as a whole to handle this large of a situation? I don't think anyone there really believed that this large of an area could be effected to this degree. Maybe they could have responded faster, but they need to take time to establish the priority problems, then conduct search and rescue in a sustematic fashion. You can't just run out and grab people at will. In tornado cleanup we go across the effected area doing first hand rescue. Only those outside or easy to reach. Then we start again door to door. As we enter a pile of a house, we mark the sidewalk or door whatever is standing with a slanted line. When we come out after search we make another line making an X to show we were in and are now out. The second search team follows and circles the X when they go in. They make a cross over their circle when they come out. This all takes time, but is how it must be done. I can not even imagine how or where to start with a problem this big! My prayers are going out to the victims, the rescuers, and even the lawless animals that are shooting and theiving and generally being pains in the rear.

Ralph 123 · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

Yup a lot. Those busses are in NO (and now sitting in water) and weren't used before the storm to evacuate people. They weren't even moved to higher ground to protect them in case the worst case were to happen. These people are pointing fingers at the Feds when they wouldn't even do the minimum necessary to help themselves (the State and Local officials that is). It's a disgrace and incompetence at its absolute worst.

PW2 · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

The "facts" will come out in due time. The reality is no state is capable, nor should they be expected, to handle such a crisis. Especially since the port of New Orleans is responsible for so much vitally important commodities, like oil and nat gas, or in the reverse being the major port for loading midwestern grain. You simply cannot allow for the possibility that one incompetent state or local official can cripple the nation--no matter what your idealogy dictates.

Ralph 123 · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

For the record:

FLATHEAD · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

So there were a bunch of bus's down the road. Your suggesting that they could have been used to evacuate the dome. How would that help those that stayed in their homes? Thats where all the dead people are. Would it have really made that much of a difference? I think not. Those folks were staying bus's or no bus's. Hindsight is 20/20. It is pretty easy to sit back and recount what happened and point fingers.

Ralph 123 · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

The Mayor could have used them along with the others available to him (said to total 1,000 or so) to get the people out BEFORE the storm to enforce the MANDATORY evacuation (which he had to have his arm twisted to even declare by the head of the Hurricane office and President). They could have AT THE VERY LEAST been put on higher ground in case the worse happened. Instead, here they sit in water up to their bumpers:

Your are incorrect to assume the 30,000 - 50,000 people in the Dome and Convention Center intended to stay - they were sent there by the Mayor who did not even bother to provision it with food and water or security. Instead, he told people to bring there own along with a blanket. Then he has the nerve to blame the Feds. You aren't defending this gross incompetence are you? Your not saying that if they could have only been used to get out say even 100 people that it wasn't worth it are you?

waterone1@aol.com · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

For every major dissaster, there are those people that refuse to move or leave. These people always say they are going to "ride it out" or "protect the homefront". sometimes, these people come out ahead, other times they are killed. every single time, rescuers risk their lives to save these people, sometimes they are successful, other times they are not. We did our best to save people that ignored warnings, I won't loose any sleep over the ones that didn't make it...that was their choice. P.S. please don't tell me about poor people....they can move as well as anyone else for other reasons, this was still their choice.

POINTER94 · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

Good news, the smartest woman in the world has arrived in TX. All your problems are over. She is currently pandering to the media to "stay on the story". Wow she really is smart. Thanks Hill for that valuable insight. Duh!!! Other really really smart people like Sean Penn (and his personal photographer), and Oprah, and a couple of R and B singers, and Jada Pinkett Smith, have shown up and were surprised by the media with questions. OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH, I wait the bated breath.

wildbill59 · Sep 5, 2005

Re: Facts and opinion

Nagin told everybody coming to the Dome/Center/shelters to bring 5 days worth of food with them. Next time the looting will start before the storm. Wonder how many next time will come. Saw on the news they are now forcing people out of their homes, even the ones capable of fending for themselves wit plenty of grub and out of the water. You have just seen the start of the gubbermint to proceed with stealing private property. This will get interesting for sure.

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