RE: Appalled With How Federal Government Handled Katrin...
Some points responding to various posts: First of all, I've known my DH and his family for 16 years. My MIL lived in NO all her life until last year. Her favorite expression for the past 16 years is "New Orleans is the city that never should have been built, Honey." They've known for years that the city is under sea level. Heck, they've got pumps all over town to keep it dry from normal rainfall.
According to the governor Blanco, Bush called her and asked her prior to the hurricane hitting NO that she declare a mandatory evacuation. This seems a little damning of her because she should have taken that initiative on her own.
As far as the National Guard, by law, no one state can have more than 50% of its guard go out of the country. This includes LA. The percent of people we have in Iraq and Afganistan right now is only 12% of our personnel. Florida, where I live, has 12,000 guard. Only 2000 are stationed in Iraq. Even so, it would not have been a good idea to deploy the guard prior to the hurricane because 1) the traffic trying to escape it would have prevented troop movement in and 2) the guard are needed afterwards and probably would not be effective stranded on rooftops or worse, drowned.
Our system of government does not allow the president, the judiciary or the senate to appropriate and spend money. The president can propose and veto budgets, but he can not approve spending. That is the job of the U.S. House of Representatives. Just so some of you know where federal monies actually come from and who gets to spend them.
As far as Mr. Moore's letter, I know from experience because I live in Florida that you don't know 4 days out where a hurricane is going. You have projected paths. If the weatherman Moore listened to knew right after Katrina hit S. Florida it was going to NO and it would go to cat 4 by then, than we need that man's name and we need to be paying him about a million a year to keep us informed where the next ones are going because that is some valuable info he is sitting on.
For example, last year we evacuated for hurricane Charley. We live in central Florida. As we were driving south to Boca Raton we passed the Punta Gorda area at about 11 am. The local people on the radio were saying how it looked like the storm was passing them by and how sorry they felt for Tampa Bay (where I am from) because they were going to be hit for sure. My DH wanted to stop there instead of driving all the way to Boca Raton but I said no because we had reservations. By 3pm that day the hurricane turned and devasted Punta Gorda and Charlotte County. That area had less advance warning than NO.
Last year Ivan blasted up the gulf and was predicted to hit NO. My MIL was still living there and refused to leave(I know, stupid, considering she lived through hurricanes Betsy and Camille). My husband drove 8 hours in a bid to get her out. At the panhandle the roads were closed going west and a trooper told my DH if he proceeded he'd be arrested. Fortunately for her, at the last minute, Ivan shifted 2 degrees east and hit the panhandle. NO and my MIL was spared. How did Moore's weatherman know now that Katrina was going to hit NO and not the panhandle like Ivan? Must be some crystal ball he's got. Wish I could have it since I live in a hurricane prone area.
Also, Moore criticizes Bush for how he came to NO. Would it have helped anyone in the immediate aftermath to have the president go in with all the security that has to be worked out into a disaster area? Wouldn't it be a better use of resources to rescue people? Its not like the president is Shep Smith or Soledad O'Brien who only go in with a couple of camera men. BTW, on the day the hurricane hit, what was Moore doing?
Also, helicopters need a staging area to land and refuel. A staging area has to be established before they can be used. Not easily done in a disaster area.
Personally, if we are to play the blame game, I'd start with the local level and work on up. Sure the feds could be negligent here, but the people closer to home should bear scrutiny, too, and not be allowed to scapegoat the feds. The people in NO have known virtually since the city was built 200 some years ago that it was below sea level and prone to hurricanes. Hurricanes are not recent developments caused by global warming.
Again, just last year NO dodged a major one. They had to have seen the devestation in Florida last year. Plus they had to be aware of their unique vulnerabilities. What plan did they have to deal with widespread flooding? NO is home to a huge public housing area and the people don't have the means to leave as easily as middle and upper class people. What plan was made to evacuate or deal with the 100,000 people they know cannot leave? Since the Mayor of NO was very quick to start blaming I'm a little suspicious that NO had much a plan to begin with. Why were the hurricanes handled so much better last year in Florida? And it wasn't just one, either. Could it have something to do with local leadership that did not immediately degenerate into blame finding?
I'd like to know how all levels prepared and responded. I'd also like to know how we fared this time compared to previous disasters. I remember, the 1st President Bush was criticized for waiting 9 days after Hurricane Andrew to declare it a disaster area. How does the time line compare to the hurricanes from last year? Or in comparison to 9/11? Anyone know? Did anyone get this far in this post?
