Archive for September, 2005

When the reports, pictures, and video tape started rolling in of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I decided that I wasn’t going to make it political. It was arguably the worst catastrophe in American history; thousands are dead, and millions are homeless. How can this be a political issue?! But, as usual, the politics started anyway; the left immediately starting asking about the federal response, Mayor Ray Nagin had his rant, and then news media climbed on the bandwagon. So, I’ve changed my mind.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic minority leader in the House, said she recently saw President Bush and urged him to fire FEMA Director Michael Brown. According to her, the president responded by saying “Why would I do that?” To which the she responded, “Because of all that didn’t go right last week.” And according to Pelosi, Bush replied “What didn’t go right?” [DemocracyNow!]

So let’s look at what DIDN’T go right…

1. The residents of low-lying areas in Louisiana, including New Orleans were “strongly urged to evacuate” during the afternoon of August 27th. There wasn’t a mandatory evacuation order from New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin for another 16 HOURS!

2. Governor Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency in Louisiana at 4:00pm on August 26th, but did not mobilize the Louisiana National Guard until SEPTEMBER 1! (Some National Guardsmen were used during the evacuation process, but 40,000 troops were requested on September 1.)

3. During the mandatory evacuation, the city of New Orleans failed to implement its own plan utilizing “school and municipal buses.” By now we have all seen the pictures of parking lots full of flooded buses, which according to the governor, “could have saved another 20,000 people.”

4. The roof of the Louisiana Superdome failed and exposed 10,000 residents to the elements. According to the engineer of the Superdome’s roof, Roof Structures, Inc., the roof was designed to withstand “100-mile winds and 200-mile gusts.” When the evacuation was ordered, Katrina had sustained winds of 175 mph. Officials should have known the roof would be seriously tested and perhaps fail.

5. On August 29th, the 17th Street sea wall failed and two other subsequent levee system breaches filled 80% of New Orleans with water from Lake Pontchartraian. Louisiana State University began issuing statements on August 27th about how the reported 25 foot storm surge could quickly overtake the levee system. And prior to that, in July of this year, US News and World Report published an article that eerily predicted Katrina’s impact on the Big Easy. [US News and World Report] The city of New Orleans was fully aware of what might happen.

6. Within 24 hours after the storm hit land, the streets were flooded, there was widespread chaos and looting, people were being raped and stabbed in the Superdome, there was gang violence in the convention center, and New Orleans policemen were abandoning their posts. The city’s communication system failed, and first responders were “pretty much on their own.” There is no excuse for the city’s lack of a backup communication procedure. Use AM radio for Pete’s sake, something!

7. Days after the flood, the violence and looting continued to escalate forcing Mayor Ray Nagin to pull resources from search and rescue efforts to quell the chaos. It took three days for the mayor to declare martial law, and it took the US Military to actually stop the chaos. After the last “worst catastrophe in American history,” in took about 20 minutes for Mayor Eugene Schmidt to give shoot-to-kill orders to those inciting violence and chaos after the San Francisco earthquake, and that was in 1906! Even now some have condoned the looting as “just reward for impoverished people.” Shoot to kill!

8. The New Orleans’ Office Of Emergency Management, the US Army Corp of Engineers, Louisiana State University, and several other organizations have known for years about the levee system and how easily it would fail. Since early 2002, Louisiana and the USACE have received millions to update the levee system, and they opted to spend the money elsewhere.

9. And yes, FEMA dragged its feet. What else would you expect now that it’s buried deep within the DHS? The federal government is like a 5-mile train; it takes a while to get moving.

10. And absolutely, FEMA director Michael Brown did not do his part. He actually said in an interview that he was expecting a “run of the mill hurricane.” First of all, this hurricane killed 3 people in Florida, and second, when is any hurricane a “RUN OF THE MILL” ANYTHING!

So what didn’t go right? Well, virtually EVERYTHING! The Mayor should have order the evacuation sooner, the Governor should have called for the Guard and federal assistance sooner, FEMA should have been prepared, and the people of New Orleans should have demanded better upkeep of the levee system. Congress should never have cut the power of FEMA, and Bush should not have hired a boy to do a man’s job.

I can keep going on, but what good does it do? The best thing to do now is get the people out, bury the dead, rebuild and move on. Over time, government at all levels will investigate, make rash decisions, and spend more money. And in time, we will be in this same place again. No matter how hard we try, we cannot prepare for what nature can provide.