Comments on: Disaster plans

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 22:01:48 +0000

They tend to forget you cant hustle a brigade of soldiers to an area without sufficient backup. No one thinks about how you are going to feed/water/care for your soldiers once they get there. I blame a good portion on the NOLA .gov in particular and then blame Bush for acting aloof for 48 hours before commanding his plane to fly at 2500 ft (god knows how many gallons of $4 JP that big bitch sucked in at that altitude).

By: Les Jones

Les Jones — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:08:37 +0000

"it still took the feds four plus days to get there so there is also plenty of valid criticism at the federal level" I think FEMA could have done better, but it's worth noting the Feds tell people not to expect a Federal response for 72 to 96 hours. Local first responders and citizens have to be on the front line because they're already there, then the Federal cavalry arrives days later.

By: John Anderson

John Anderson — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 03:21:31 +0000

"The law that established the Department of Homeland Security gives all response power to DHS after a [Federal] state of emergency is declared." DHS and FEMA top levels do not exactly inspire confidence (Brown in particular - totally clueless, like Powell was at TSA). But for perspective, try *Katrina's Timeline* and *aftermath* About the Aug26 state of energency - I'm confused. Yes, there is a PDF of a declaration, but it shows typed names. Was it ever actually signed? And if it was, why did the Governor wait for Bush, on Aug28, to suggest evacuation as a possibility? Why was the disaster plan not implemented? Are any of these failures apparent in MIssissipi, eg Biloxi?

By: SayUncle

SayUncle — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 22:51:18 +0000

Metulj, that dude is a the epitome of a take charge kinda guy.

By: Metulj

Metulj — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 22:15:27 +0000

Blanco declared a state of emergency on Aug 26th. The law that established the Department of Homeland Security gives all response power to DHS after a state of emergency is declared. This Gen. Honore deserves more than a medal, if that is possible.

By: hellbent

hellbent — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 15:34:23 +0000

The City of New Orleans did an awful job preparing for and responding to this disaster. The Superdome was the official place of refuge, but it was largely unprovisioned and unmanned. Police officers complained of being sent into the streets with little or no guidance. This means they were not trained for such circumstances, though everybody and his brother knew this would happen at some point. It also means there is a deep leadership vacuum in the state and local emergency agencies. You would think that if the top few lacked the ability to improvise and organize, somewhere lower on the ladder a natural leader would take charge. Somehow, there was no strong leadership until Gen. Honore showed up.

That’s all very sad, but the uncomfortable truth is that the state agency that traditionally provides manpower and leadership for the first response is the National Guard. The would-be heroes of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast watched the disaster unfold from a desert thousands of miles away.