New Orleans: Where does incompetence end ....?

by **johndoeii** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 6:40 pm

Analysis of the handling of Katrina: This article is based mainly on the research thread of mom cat: <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=vew_all&address=106x22805">www.democraticunderground...=106x22805</a> Historical parallels: “Last September, a Category 5 hurricane battered the small island of Cuba with 160-mile-per-hour winds. More than 1.5 million Cubans were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the storm. Although the hurricane destroyed 20,000 houses, no one di[/b] <a href="http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/090305Y.shtml">www.truthout.org/docs_2005/090305Y.shtml</a> China was able to evacuate 790,000 <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4661200">www.democraticunderground...04x4661200</a> In the US too evacuations normally were very successful: e.g. Grand Forks in 1997 <a href="http://startribune.com/stories/562/5610904.html">startribune.com/stories/562/5610904.html</a> The 2004 hurricane hitting Florida. Why didn’t it work out this time? And why did and still do so many people have to die from the catastrophic result of Katrina and the flooding of New Orleans? WHAT WAS KNOWN BEFORE In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S.  <a href="http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,37...">service.spiegel.de/cache/...1518,37...</a> Many scientific journals had already dealt with the possible scenario of a hurricane hitting New Orleans. <a href="http://www.pbs.org/now/science/neworleans.html">www.pbs.org/now/science/neworleans.html</a> <a href="http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/o/nov04/nov04c.html">www.colorado.edu/hazards/...ov04c.html</a> <a href="http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/">www3.nationalgeographic.c.../feature5/</a> <a href="http://www.publichealth.hurricane.lsu.edu/convert%20to%20tables/Would%20New%20Orleans%20Really%20Floodtf.htm">www.publichealth.hurrican...loodtf.htm</a> FEMA’s preparation: FEMA : Perfect preparation As we know by now : “Virtually everything that has happened in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina struck was predicted by experts and in computer models, so emergency management specialists wonder why authorities were so unprepared.” <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/ts_nm/weather_katrina_criticism_dc">news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050...iticism_dc</a> Let’s have a close look at the long term preparation of FEMA for Katrina. Middle of July 2004 the exercise called “Hurricane Pam” took place in at the State Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge and Louisiana State Police headquarters. While FEMA states it lasted 5 days <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=13051</a> the Times-Picayune writes that it lasted 8 days. (TP, 20.07.04) FEMA writes that “Emergency officials from 50 parish, state, federal and volunteer organizations” participated <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=13051</a> and Times-Picayune specifies: “more than 250 emergency preparedness officials from more than 50 federal, state and local agencies and volunteer organizations began using that catastrophic scenario”. <a href="http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/newsrelated/incaseofemrgencyexercise.htm">www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/n...ercise.htm</a> The Hurricane Pam scenario focused on 13 parishes in southeast Louisiana-Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, St. Tammany Tangipahoa, Terrebonne. Representatives from outside the primary parishes participated since hurricane evacuation and sheltering involve communities throughout the state and into Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas. <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=13051</a> Already length, quantity of participators, varierty of organizations and the length of the exercise make its importance clear. And important was the issue of the exercise indeed: “Hurricane Pam brought sustained winds of 120 mph, up to 20 inches of rain in parts of southeast Louisiana and storm surge that topped levees in the New Orleans area.  <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=13051</a> In fact “Hurricane Pam was fashioned after Hurricane Georges, which in 1998 turned east only hours before it would have followed the path chosen for Pam. (…) Flooding caused by storm surge would cover an area stretching from lower Plaquemines Parish to the middle of St. Tammany Parish, Ponchatoula in Livingston Parish, and parts of Ascension Parish. The water would be high enough in parts of New Orleans to top 17-foot levees, including some along Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet” <a href="http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/newsrelated/incaseofemrgencyexercise.htm">www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/n...ercise.htm</a> This exercise was by far not based on invented and vague ideas. On the contrary. It was extremely professional:  “The exercise used realistic weather and damage information developed by the National Weather Ser, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the LSU Hurricane Center and other state and federal agencies”[/i] <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=13051</a> “The National Weather Service has put together a three-week weather plan for this five-day exercise," (AP, 7/15/04) Several problems that could occur with a needed evacuation were thought of as well: ”It's estimated that up to half the city's 450,000 residents won't leave.” (AP, 7/15/04) “As many as 100,000 live in households in which no one owns a car, officials say. FEMA spokesman David Passey hesitated before answering a question about how many people could die in such a storm." <a href="http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/newsrelated/incaseofemrgencyexercise.htm">www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/n...ercise.htm</a> The same article also mentioned: “Two years ago, officials with the American Red Cross estimated that the death toll from a catastrophic hurricane in the New Orleans area could be between 25,000 and 100,000, which would be more than any hurricane in the U.S. has caused.” <a href="http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/newsrelated/incaseofemrgencyexercise.htm">www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/n...ercise.htm</a> The imagined result of Hurricane Pam are disastrous:  “More than one million residents evacuated and Hurricane Pam destroyed 500,000-600,000 buildings.” <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=13051</a>  “A hurricane packing winds of 120 mph and a storm surge that tops 17-foot levees slams into New Orleans, killing an untold number of people and trapping half the area’s residents in attics, on rooftops and in makeshift refuges in a variety of public and office buildings. Parts of the city are flooded with up to 20 feet of water, and 80 percent of the buildings in the area are severely damaged from water and wind[/b] <a href="http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/newsrelated/incaseofemrgencyexercise.htm">www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/n...ercise.htm</a> The idea of the whole exercise was to “help officials develop joint response plans  for a catastrophic hurricane in Louisiana.” <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=13051</a> And this is “a partial summary of action plans follows: DEBRIS The debris team estimates that a storm like Hurricane Pam would result in 30 million cubic yards of debris and 237,000 cubic yards of household hazardous waste. * The team identified existing landfills that have available storage space and locations of hazardous waste disposal sites. The debris plan also outlines priorities for debris removal. SHELTERING * The interagency shelter group identified the need for about 1,000 shelters for a catastrophic disaster. The shelter team identified 784 shelters and has developed plans for locating the remaining shelters.  * In a storm like Hurricane Pam, shelters will likely remain open for 100 days. The group identified the resources necessary to support 1000 shelters for 100 days. They planned for staff augmentation and how to include shelterees in shelter management. * State resources are adequate to operate shelters for the first 3-5 days. The group planned how federal and other resources will replenish supplies at shelters.  SEARCH AND RESCUE * The search and rescue group developed a transportation plan for getting stranded residents out of harm's way.  * Planners identified lead and support agencies for search and rescue and established a command structure that will include four areas with up to 800 searchers. MEDICAL * The medical care group reviewed and enhanced existing plans. The group determined how to implement existing immunization plans rapidly for tetanus, influenza and other diseases likely to be present after a major hurricane. * The group determined how to re-supply hospitals around the state that would face heavy patient loads.  * The medical action plan includes patient movement details and identifies probable locations, such as state university campuses, where individuals would receive care and then be transported to hospitals, special needs shelters or regular shelters as necessary. SCHOOLS * The school group determined that 13,000-15,000 teachers and administrators would be needed to support affected schools. The group acknowledged the role of local school boards and developed strategies for use by local school officials. * Staffing strategies include the use of displaced teachers, retired teachers, emergency certified teachers and others eligible for emergency certification. Displaced paraprofessionals would also be recruited to fill essential school positions. * The group discussed facility options for increasing student population at undamaged schools and prioritizing repairs to buildings with less damage to assist in normalizing operations * The school plan also calls for placement or development of temporary schools near temporary housing communities built for hurricane victims.”  <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=13051</a> “Officials are focusing on six major issues they expect to face in the aftermath of a catastrophic storm like Pam:-- Developing an effective search-and-rescue plan to find survivors and move them to safety.-- Identifying short-term shelters for those who evacuated, or those rescued in the storm’s aftermath.-- Creating housing options, including trailer or tent villages, for the thousands likely to be left homeless for months after the storm.—Removing floodwater from New Orleans, Metairie and other bowl-like areas where levees will capture and hold storm surge, possibly for days or weeks. - Disposing of the thousands of tons of debris left behind by the storm, which will include the remains of homes and businesses; human and animal corpses, including bodies washed out of cemeteries; and a mix of toxic chemicals likely to escape from businesses, industries, trucks and rail cars in the flooded areas.-- Recreating school systems for public and private school students.”  <a href="http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/newsrelated/incaseofemrgencyexercise.htm">www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/n...ercise.htm</a> “The plan will  provide a "bridge" between local and state short-term evacuation and emergency response plans, and a longer-term federal disaster response plan, said Ron Castleman, Federal Emergency Management Agency regional director.” <a href="http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/newsrelated/incaseofemrgencyexercise.htm">www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/n...ercise.htm</a> “What’s critically important about this is that so many different agencies, and all three levels of government are here, all singing from the same sheet of music, so that when we do come out with a working document, everybody will have bought into it," Terry Tullier, director of the city’s Office of Emergency Preparedness said.” <a href="http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/newsrelated/incaseofemrgencyexercise.htm">www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/n...ercise.htm</a> And the result is apparently very promising: "We made great progress this week in our preparedness efforts," said Ron Castleman, FEMA Regional Director. <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=13051</a> But still not enough: "Over the next 60 days, we will polish the action plans developed during the Hurricane Pam exercise. We have also determined where to focus our efforts in the future." <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=13051</a> Keeping in mind that what actually happened at New Orleans has very strong similarities to “Hurricane Pam” FEMA has obviously done a perfect preparation. In March 2005 the National Hurricane Conference, took place in New Orleans. “(S)tate officials had the opportunity to compare their still-developing plans with the real-world efforts by Florida counties to return students to school after five hurricanes.” (Times Picayune, 3/25/05) Last but not least “Hurricane Pam II”, an exercise that was announced for summer 2005, <a href="http://www.lsu.edu/highlights/052/pam.html">www.lsu.edu/highlights/052/pam.html</a> might have taken place just a week before Katrina hit: "...Just a week ago, Louisiana emergency management officials from around the state gathered in a city just north of New Orleans to plan a response for a catastrophic hurricane. They called it Hurricane Pam."Our plans changed yesterday about 10 times," said Gary Peters, regional director for the Louisiana Bureau of EMS, as he corralled a group of ambulances on an interstate on-ramp..." <a href="http://www.western-star.com/news/content/shared/ne...">www.western-star.com/news...ared/ne...</a> It’s hard to see how FEMA could have been better prepared for Katrina. It’s hard to see how better and more concrete disaster plans could have been developed. But the “Chicago Tribune” writes: “Government disaster officials had an action plan if a major hurricane hit New Orleans.  They simply didn't execute it when Hurricane Katrina struck.” <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0509030220sep03,1,5525666.story?ctrack=1&cset=true">www.chicagotribune.com/ne...&cset=true</a> Why? What happened just before Katrina Before the hurricane hit, Gov. Kathleen Blanco requested Washington provide disaster relief aid, including military personnel and $5 million for evacuation. <a href="http://www.gov.state.la.us/Disaster%20Relief%20Request....">www.gov.state.la.us/Disas...equest....</a> Just days before Hurricane Katrina hit, officials from state, local and federal agencies were hearing that this could very likely be the big one -- the one they knew could devastate the c[/b] <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4839666">www.npr.org/templates/sto...Id=4839666</a> <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4715924">www.democraticunderground...04x4715924</a> And Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, said that feds were warned “of the storm's potential deadly effects.” <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2002472774&zsection_id=2002107549&slug=mayfield05&date=20050905">seattletimes.nwsource.com...e=20050905</a>  And on August 27 Emergency aid was authorized for hurricane Katrina emergency response in Louisi [/b] <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18447">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=18447</a>  On August 28 Governor Blanco send a letter to Bush urging he [/b] <a href="http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf">gov.louisiana.gov/Disaste...equest.pdf</a> And later it is officially confirmed that LA governor acted in a timely manner according to the House Judiciary <a href="http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/releases/katrinacrsreportpr91305.pdf">www.house.gov/judiciary_d...r91305.pdf</a> The same day Homeland Security was prepping for dangerous hurricane Katrina residents in path of storm "Must take action now" <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18461">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=18461</a> Keep in mind that Homeland Security was created to give the federal government FULL RESPONSIBILITY in the event of a natural disaster. <a href="http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp">www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp</a> On August 29 the experts agreed that Katrina could unleash a disaster. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/28/katrina.doomsday/index.html">www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/...index.html</a> The same day President Bush declares major disaster for Louisiana  <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18478">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=18478</a> So, why didn’t it work? And why did President Bush’s administration send shortly before midnight Friday (September 2) a proposed legal memorandum asking Blanco to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, according to a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday?  <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html">www.washingtonpost.com/wp...01680.html</a> And why didn’t the President answer Senator Landrieu’s call for a cabinet-level official to lead resuce efforts even 24 hours after he had visited New Orleans (according to Landrieu)? <a href="http://landrieu.senate.gov/releases/05/2005903E12.html">landrieu.senate.gov/relea...03E12.html</a> INCOMPETENCE: Many decisions were taken long before the catastrophe that certainly can to some extent explain what happened. Although since FEMA mentioned a hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the three major catastrophes that could happen to the US Bush fired in 2002 the head of Army Corps of Engineers in for slamming budget cuts. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=artic...">www.washingtonpost.com/ac...e=artic...</a> The personal of FEMA changed and FEMA was packed with friends of the President. <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/344004p...">www.nydailynews.com/news/...344004p...</a> The Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war. <a href="http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,37...">service.spiegel.de/cache/...1518,37...</a> President Bush proposed spending less than 20 percent of what the Corps said was needed for Lake Pontchartrain, according to a Feb. 16, 2004, article, in New Orleans CityBusiness. <a href="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_di...">www.editorandpublisher.co...icle_di...</a>  THE REACTION: The main excuse for the catastrophic failure of FEMA are the communication problems. This is quite surprising seen in the light of the above mentioned preparation. Where is FEMA? JP’s director: FEMA didn’t keep its promise: After 48 hours they weren’t there JP's Maestri said FEMA didn't keep its word Jefferson Parish Emergency Preparedness Director Walter Maestri said Friday night that the Federal Emergency Management Agency reneged on a promise to begin relieving county emergency preparedness staffers 48 hours after Hurricane Katrina hit the New Orleans metropolitan area. Maestri’s staff has been working almost around the clock since Katrina approached the Louisiana coastline on Sunday. Today, the staff is expected to finally switch to a 12 hours on/12 hours off schedule, he said, adding that they’re both tired and demoralized by the lack of assistance from federal officials. “We had been told we would be on our own for 48 hours,” Maestri said. “Prepare to survive and in 48 hours the cavalry would arrive. “Well, where are they?” he said. Maestri said the agreement was signed by officials with the Southeastern Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Officials Association, the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of this year’s Hurricane Pam tabletop exercise. That exercise began the process of writing a series of manuals explaining how to respond to a catastrophic disaster. Financed by FEMA, it included a variety of federal, state and local officials. <a href="http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlo...">www.nola.com/newslogs/bre...f?/mtlo...</a> Emergency chief says on September 2 he hasn’t seen a single FEMA guy  FEMA is getting an earful from the man heading New Orleans' emergency operations. Terry Ebbert says the federal agency's response to Katrina is "a national disgrace." Ebbert says FEMA has been in the city for three days, but he says that has yet to result in any command and control. He says Mayor Ray Nagin has been "pushing and asking, but we're not getting any supplies." The emergency chief says the evacuation of thousands from New Orleans to Texas has been "almost entirely" a Louisiana operation — saying he hasn't seen "a single FEMA g[/b] <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/02/katrina/main812561.shtml">www.cbsnews.com/stories/2...2561.shtml</a> [v]Absence of FEMA[/b] Attorney Karen A. Lash travelled the area offering legal help. She points out: “We never found a resident who had ever seen even one FEMA official.” <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/09/14/gulfport/index_np.html">www.salon.com/news/featur...ex_np.html</a> FEMA in Lafayette without money or vouchers Lafayette's first FEMA office opened Friday, but the center had no money or vouchers to give to hundreds of Hurricane Katrina evacuees who came searching for help. "We're not giving anything," manager Kenneth Swain told the crowd. "We don't have anything yet to give."(…) FEMA has been noticeably absent from Lafayette since the hurricane struck, and people descended on the church looking for answers. (…) Swain said the center had one line Friday for people to fill out paper applications. Without working computers, he said there was nothing he could do to check on the status of applications already filed. Those who have filed applications should visit the center in a few days to check. <a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=">www.theadvertiser.com/app...ticle?AID=</a> ... Blanco says feds pledged buses Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Katrina raged ashore, Gov. Kathleen Blanco still wants one question answered. Where were the buses? Hours after the hurricane hit Aug. 29, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced a plan to send 500 commercial buses into New Orleans to rescue thousands of people left stranded on highways, overpasses and in shelters, hospitals and homes. On the day of the storm, or perhaps the day after, FEMA turned down the state's suggestion to use school buses because they are not air conditioned, Blanco said Friday in an interview. Even after levees broke and residents were crowding the Louisiana Superdome, then-FEMA Director Mike Brown was bent on using his own buses to evacuate New Orleans, Blanco said. <a href="http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/091805/new_bla...">www.2theadvocate.com/stor...new_bla...</a> <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboa...">www.democraticunderground...s/duboa...</a> Communication problems [/b] The Georgia 4 Disaster Medical Assistance Team, was one of many "assets" that federal officials "pre-positioned" before the storm hit. But for Dr. Orledge, this early planning was squandered by poor coordination and communication and nonexistent security support. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationalspecial/05medical.html">www.nytimes.com/2005/09/0...dical.html</a> The head of the New Orleans emergency operations, Terry Ebbert :"FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans." <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4207628.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...207628.stm</a> “Nearly every emergency worker told agonizing stories of communications failures, some of them most likely fatal to victims. Police officers called Senator Landrieu's Washington office because they could not reach commanders on the ground in New Orleans, Mr. Sharp said. Dr. Ross Judice, chief medical officer for a large ambulance company, recounted how on Tuesday, unable to find out when helicopters would land to pick up critically ill patients at the Superdome, he walked outside and discovered that two helicopters, donated by an oil services company, had been waiting in the parking lot.” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationalspecial/05blame.html">www.nytimes.com/2005/09/0...blame.html</a> In the light of these problems it is difficult to understand why FEMA turned down an offer to to restore cellular phone service for free “Again, the Clarion-Leger provided some insight. Representative Pickering's office reported that two days after the hurricane hit, a company offered to launch balloons that would restore cellular phone service in the region – for free. FEMA told him the company would have to go through a typically months-long competitive bidding process.” <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/09/14/gulfport/index_np.html">www.salon.com/news/featur...ex_np.html</a> Unbelievable decisions: But this is by far not the only unbelievable decision. FEMA has ordered searchers NOT to break into homes? “In the past few days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has ordered searchers not to break into homes. They are supposed to look in through a window and knock on the door. If no one cries out for help, they are supposed to move on.  If they see a body, they are supposed to log the address and move on. (… Lt Frederick)Fell broke the rules and ordered his men to bash open the door, launching a series of events that would save a man's life” <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/09/14/sections/news/news/article_674836.php">www.ocregister.com/ocr/20...674836.php</a> (use dailykos/dailykos) <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/14/12516/3649">www.dailykos.com/story/20...12516/3649</a> <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4769370">www.democraticunderground...04x4769370</a> FEMA and Red Cross ignore starving and sick people “I went to check on my little 80 year old ladies today and stopped at another house with TWO TREES still through it and the couple living there...14 days AFTER the hurricane hit, they put a sign out on their lawn that said "this is how the government treats you"...FEMA went there the next day, gave them a $2k check and wished them good luck. These people sent their kids to Texas and want to go there...it's a town south of Houston, the name escapes me now. These people have NOT seen the RC and scavange for food/water. She drove for an hour and waited in line for 9 hours to fill out the paperwork for getting RED CROSS vouchers and then was given a NUMBER and told to come back on MONDAY.  Now you might think, well they must be in the middle of no where...WRONG, these people are on the ROAD THAT ALL THE GOVERNMENT agencies take to the main control center at least 10 times daily.  FEMA never even got people to remove the trees off their roof, they had FRIENDS show up finally. At my little 80 year old ladies home, I find out they haven't seen the RED CROSS for 2 days and they were out of food and water and needed medical attention and meds. I got them all of that. While there, their young neighbor talked with the photo journalists who requested I talk to him and I find out that the RED CROSS REFUSED to talk to him, much less help him. This is a 36 year old man who has a wife with POLIO and they are living in a church with NOTHING. FEMA won't talk to them, they have no phone, e[/b] <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/17/223753/006">www.dailykos.com/story/20...223753/006</a> At least 60 people awaiting their death in the morgue PERLMUTTER: I've had colleagues who went into the morgue, a room that they called the expectancy room, where people were still living in the morgue. One FEMA member, he's a Chaplin in the -- in FEMA, was in the stadium and he prayed with 200 people, he tells me. And of those 200 people when they had to evacuate the stadium, he eventually saw them in the airport. He saw 80 of the people in the morgue, and 60 of them were still alive, in the morgue, waiting to die in a room they call the expectancy room. BROWN: That's amazing. PERLMUTTER: He begged for -- he begged for four of those people to be removed. For all of them to be reevaluated, the chief medical officer at the time, whose name he didn't catch said, "I'm sorry, they have to stay there to die." He then went to another chief medical officer who allowed him to take four people out and Reverend Noland tells me that alls they needed was water to come back to life. And I believe that, because I've seen that myself.  <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/19/asb.01.html">transcripts.cnn.com/TRANS...sb.01.html</a> video here: <a href="http://movies.crooksandliars.com/drPerlmutterFEMA-CNN.wmv">movies.crooksandliars.com...MA-CNN.wmv</a> FEMA outsources Katrina body count to firm implicated in body-dumping! “The Federal Emergency Management Agency has hired Kenyon International to set up a mobile morgue for handling bodies in Baton Rouge, Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina, RAW STORY has learned. Kenyon is a subsidiary of Service Corporation International (SCI), a scandal-ridden Texas-based company operated by a friend of the Bush family. Recently, SCI subsidiaries have been implicated in illegally discarding and desecrating corpses. Louisiana governor Katherine Blanco subsequently inked a contract with the firm after talks between FEMA and the firm broke down. Kenyon's original deal was secured by the Department of Homeland Security.” <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2005/FEMA_outsources_Katrina_body_count_to_firm_implicated_in_bodydumping_scan_0913.html">rawstory.com/news/2005/FE..._0913.html</a> <a href="http://www.progressiveindependent.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=152&topic_id=214">www.progressiveindependen...pic_id=214</a> <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1778107">www.democraticunderground...02x1778107</a> But anyway: Everything is only a question of priority : Power crews diverted Restoring pipeline came first Shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through South Mississippi knocking out electricity and communication systems, the White House ordered power restored to a pipeline that sends fuel to the Northeast. That order - to restart two power substations in Collins that serve Colonial Pipeline Co. - delayed efforts by at least 24 hours to restore power to two rural hospitals and a number of water systems in the Pine Belt. (…) "I considered it a presidential directive to get those pipelines operating," said Jim Compton, general manager of the South Mississippi Electric Power Association <a href="http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...">www.hattiesburgamerican.c...s.dll/a...</a>  Aid: Not accepted  There were many qualified people that wanted to help. There was much food that was ready to be delivered. The catastrophy of New Orleans can’t be explained by the missing will to help. Yet, in many cases this help simply wasn’t accepted by FEMA. FEMA chief Brown said on August 29: “As the Category 4 the storm surged ashore just east of New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, FEMA had medical teams, rescue squads and groups prepared to supply food and water poised in a semicircle around the city, its director, Michael Brown, said. Speaking from Baton Rouge, just upriver from New Orleans, Brown told NBC's "Today" show that his agency had "planned for this kind of disaster for many years because we've always known about New Orleans' situation."” <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/08/29/katrina.washingt...">www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS...ashingt...</a> And the same day FEMA declared: “First Responders Urged Not To Respond To Hurricane Impact Areas Unless Dispatched By State, Local Authorities” <a href="http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18470">www.fema.gov/news/newsrel...a?id=18470</a> Why? Why refuse aid if one can’t offer enough oneself? 100 law enforcement officers put on hold for several days “Shortly before they were set to leave for Hurricane Katrina-battered states, a group of about 100 law enforcement officers from across Nevada was told to stay put by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA officials put the contingent on hold on Sunday afternoon for between one and three days until its mission can be determined, Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Kevin Honea said. “ <a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2005/sep/04/090410225.html">www.lasvegassun.com/sunbi...10225.html</a> Search and Rescue team waiting for a job till Sunday 83 members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Urban Search and Rescue team from Orange County, Calif., have been told to stay downtown at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion.  Since Friday, they have been sitting tight at the luxury hotel with members of five other teams of specialists from California, Nevada and Washington state – about 500 people all diverted to Dallas on the way to the Gulf Coast. (…) On Sunday, the Orange County team learned where it would finally do the job it was trained to do. By the time the team arrives in Metairie, La., a full week will have passed since it was ordered to leave Californ[/b] <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/katrina/stories/090605dnmetkatfema.d400626.html">www.dallasnews.com/shared...00626.html</a>  Firefighters used to hand out fliers: “Not long after some 1,000 firefighters sat down for eight hours of training, the whispering began: "What are we doing here?" As New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded on national television for firefighters - his own are exhausted after working around the clock for a week - a battalion of highly trained men and women sat idle Sunday in a muggy Sheraton Hotel conference room in Atlanta. Many of the firefighters, assembled from Utah and throughout the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thought they were going to be deployed as emergency workers. Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA, shuffled throughout the Gulf Coast region to disseminate fliers and a phone number: 1-800-621-FE[/b] <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3004197">www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3004197</a> <a href="http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWLBLOG.ac3fcea.html">www.wwltv.com/local/stori...3fcea.html</a> FEMA puts Nevada convoy to Gulf region on hold at last minute “Shortly before they were set to leave for Hurricane Katrina-battered states, a group of about 100 law enforcement officers from across Nevada was told to stay put by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  FEMA officials put the contingent on hold on Sunday afternoon for between one and three days until its mission can be determined, Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Kevin Honea said.” <a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2005/sep/04/090410225.html">www.lasvegassun.com/sunbi...10225.html</a> <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1753934">www.democraticunderground...02x1753934</a>  Trauma surgeon waiting for days  A trauma surgeon at Vanderbilt University, Nashville  has been waiting for days to send medical teams to help out in the affected ar[/b] The audio is about 3 minutes 40 seconds into this clip: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today...">www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/toda...m/today...</a> Mexican help deployed to San Antonio rather than Lousiana “Mexican food and water field kitchens and disaster medicine experts deployed by FEMA to San Antonio rather than Lousiana” <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/columnists/cguerra/stories/MYSA091105.1B.guerra.31ce284.html">www.mysanantonio.com/news...ce284.html</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html?blog=/politics/war_room/2005/09/11/sanantonio/index.html">www.salon.com/politics/wa...index.html</a> And again everything is only a question of priority: Fire Fighters only used as propos for Bush’s photo ops “Hundreds of City Fire Fighters and huge amounts of equipment from all over U.S. were volunteered to aid New Orleans but were only used as props for President Bush’s photo ops.”  <a href="http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html?blog=/politics/war_room/2005/09/07/brown/index.html">www.salon.com/politics/wa...index.html</a> <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/09/07/fema/">www.salon.com/news/featur...9/07/fema/</a> REFUSED AID But there were not only cases that might be explained with lack of coordination etc. Cases of actively deciding to refuse aid. Group of sheriff´s deputies didn’t get confirmation  “A group of Loudoun County sheriff´s deputies heading to Louisiana to help maintain order among hurricane refugees had to turn around at the Virginia border when they couldn´t get confirmation from emergency management officials, the Loudoun County sheriff said.” <a href="http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/Web/2005/092005/0902...">www.fredericksburg.com/Ne...05/0902...</a> <a href="http://www.zwire.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=15144436&BRD=...">www.zwire.com/site/tab1.c...36&BRD=...</a> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/02/AR2005090202363.html">www.washingtonpost.com/wp...02363.html</a> FEMA did not accept water-tanker aircraft from US Forest Service  Mary Landrieu, the Democratic US senator from Louisiana “said that FEMA has inexplicably failed to take advantage of offers of help. "I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had water-tanker aircraft available to help douse the fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA has yet to accept the a <a href="http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlo...">www.nola.com/newslogs/bre...f?/mtlo...</a> FEMA did not accept trains for evacuation “When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate significant numbers of victims - far more efficiently than buses - FEMA again dragged its feet," Landrieu said. "Offers of medicine, communications equipment and other desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to be ignored by the agency.” <a href="http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlo...">www.nola.com/newslogs/bre...f?/mtlo...</a> Chicago help not accepted “A visibly angry Mayor Daley said the city had offered emergency, medical and technical help to the federal government as early as Sunday to assist people in the areas stricken by Hurricane Katrina, but as of Friday, the only things the feds said they wanted was a single tank tru[/b] <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/output/hurricane/cst-nws-daley0...">www.suntimes.com/output/h...-daley0...</a> <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-050902daley,0,6429273.story?coll=chi-news-hed">www.chicagotribune.com/ne...i-news-hed</a> Airboaters stalled by FEMA The pilots stand ready to go help hurricane victims but have not been allowed to do[/b] <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-caneboats0205sep02,0,5932477.story?coll=orl-home-headlines">www.orlandosentinel.com/o...-headlines</a> <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4608106">www.democraticunderground...04x4608106</a> Red tape hinders volunteer physicians to help Volunteer physicians are pouring in to care for the sick, but red tape is keeping hundreds of others from caring for Hurricane Katrina survivors while health problems escalate. Among the doctors stymied from helping out are 100 surgeons and paramedics in a state-of-the-art mobile hospital marooned in rural Mississippi. "The bell was rung, the e-mails were sent off. ...We all got off work and deployed," said one of the frustrated surgeons, Dr. Preston "Chip" Rich of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "We have tried so hard to do the right thing. It took us 30 hours to get here," he said. That government officials can't straighten out the mess and get them assigned to a relief effort now that they're just a few miles away "is just mind-boggling," he said. <a href="http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050904/D8CDLUJO0.html">apnews.myway.com/article/...LUJO0.html</a> <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/print/monday/front/story/2786870p-9226377c.html">www.newsobserver.com/prin...6377c.html</a> <a href="http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/wcnc-090505-al-med_one.29cb178b.html">www.wcnc.com/news/local/s...b178b.html</a>  Volunteers not welcome at Astrodome If you want to volunteer to help evacuees, you're being asked not to show up at the Astrodome. <a href="http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou050901_jt_volunteers.1749ea92.html">www.khou.com/news/local/s...9ea92.html</a>  Three trucks loaded with water turned away “When Wal-Mart sent three trailer trucks loaded with water, FEMA officials turned them away, he said. Agency workers prevented the Coast Guard from delivering 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and on Saturday they cut the parish's emergency communications line, leading the sheriff to restore it and post armed guards to protect it from FEMA, Mr. Broussard said.” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationalspecial/05blame.html">www.nytimes.com/2005/09/0...blame.html</a> <a href="http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Meet-the-Press-Broussard.wmv">movies.crooksandliars.com...ussard.wmv</a> FEMA turns away morticians Tom Dudelston, a funeral director: "They won't let anyone in there. You have to be EMA-certified and I am n[/b] <a href="http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15147862&">www.zwire.com/site/news.c...=15147862&</a> Relief Convoy From Loudoun Sheriff Ordered To Turn Ar[/b] <a href="http//www.nbc4.com/news/4932312/detail.html?rss=dc&psp=news">ww.nbc4.com/news/4932312/...c&psp=news</a> Homeland Security won't let Red Cross deliver food ”As the National Guard delivered food to the New Orleans convention center yesterday, American Red Cross officials said that federal emergency management authorities would not allow them to do the s[/b] <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05246/565143.stm">www.post-gazette.com/pg/05246/565143.stm</a> But private, armed "Blackwater" Forces are allowed to patrol New Orleans <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/national/nationalspecial/08cnd-storm.html">www.nytimes.com/2005/09/0...storm.html</a>  Group of firefighters stopped by FEMA  A group of firefighter from Houston, some with special expertise in oil rig repairs, and plenty of post-hurricane clean-up experience were stopped by FEMA from entering NO and not allowed to go anywhere else, either. <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/5/105538/7048">www.dailykos.com/storyonl...05538/7048</a> Canadian plane and search&rescue teams stopped by Dept of Homeland Security.  <a href="http://usliberals.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site">usliberals.about.com/gi/d...e.htm?site</a> ... And why are these soldiers treated like this? Two Navy helicopter pilots and their crews returned from New Orleans on Aug. 30 expecting to be greeted as lifesavers  after ferrying more than 100 hurricane victims to safety. Instead, their superiors chided the pilots, Lt. David Shand and Lt. Matt Udkow, at a meeting the next morning for rescuing civilians when their assignment that day had been to deliver food and water to military installations along the Gulf Coast. "I felt it was a great day because we resupplied the people we needed to and we rescued people, too," Lieutenant Udkow said. But the air operations commander at Pensacola Naval Air Station "reminded us that the logistical mission needed to be our area of focus." <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/national/nationalspec...">www.nytimes.com/2005/09/0...nalspec...</a> Sep. 02: Salvation Army Rescue Fan Boats Turned Back by National Guard As federal officials tried to get some control over the deteriorating situation in New Orleans, chaos was being replaced with bureaucratic rules that inhibited private relief organizations' efforts. "We've tried desperately to rescue 250 people trapped in a Salvation Army facility. They've been trapped in there since the flood came in. Many are on dialysis machines," said Maj. George Hood, national communications secretary for the relief organization. "Yesterday we rented big fan boats to pull them out and the National Guard would not let us enter the city," he said. The reason: a new plan to evacuate the embattled city grid by grid - and the Salvation Army's facility didn't fall in the right grid that day, Hood said in a telephone interview from Jackson, Miss. "No, it doesn't make sense," he said.  <a href="http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/12548203.htm">www.realcities.com/mld/kr...548203.htm</a> Sick and Abandoned" FEMA blocked emergency hospital “The patients and staff at Methodist could have been evacuated before Hurricane Katrina hit. But instead they were condemned to several days of fear and agony by bad decision-making in Louisiana and the chaotic ineptitude of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Some of the patients died. Incredibly, when the out-of-state corporate owners of the hospital responded to the flooding by sending emergency relief supplies, they were confiscated at the airport by FEMA and sent elsewhere. The time to evacuate the hospital was when it became clear that New Orleans was in the path of a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. "We had about 137 patients," said Dr. Jeffrey Coco, the hospital's chief of staff, "and we had a company called Lifeguard that was going to take them out." But apparently there was a reluctance to evacuate without some sort of governmental guidance. When the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, issued a mandatory evacuation order, hospitals were exempted. Dr. Fred Cerise, secretary of Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals, said Methodist officials could have decided on their own to evacuate, but that never happened.” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/15/opinion/15herbert.html?hp">www.nytimes.com/2005/09/1...rt.html?hp</a> <a href="http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050918/NEWS/509180627/1006/SPORTS">www.heraldtribune.com/app...006/SPORTS</a> <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4777505">www.democraticunderground...04x4777505</a> The final result happening in several hospitals were cases of euthanasia. <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=361980&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=&ct=5">www.dailymail.co.uk/pages...urce=&ct=5</a> FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid<!--EZCODE BOLD EN

by **DrDebugDU** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 7:05 pm

Great collection <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"> As far as the incompetence argument. We have heard that before... Wasn't that on November 22, 1963 as the reason why the Secret Service couldn't protect JFK? And September 11, 2001 of course when incompetence ran rampant...

by **thumper** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 7:17 pm

they only use 'incompetence' over at DU, lest their threads get relegated to the conspiracy bin.

by **Starman** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 8:43 pm

GREAT compilation -- suitable for reprinting and mass public handouts (keep for next 'election' cycle!), and mailings to Congressional Reps, etc. Having kept-up and read most of these incidents during the two weeks of Katrina storm aftermath, NOW when I read it all my anger is not hot, but cold -- and deeply bitter and furious. I'd like to know something: WHY hasn't Congress demanded the top 'leadership' of FEMA and Homeland Security (esp. including that devil-turd Chertoff) to resign, IMMEDIATELY? Why haven't the American public demanded the idiot-nimrod who hired Brown and Chertoff to resign, IMMEDIATELY? And why haven't all members of Congress tendered their resignations ASAP, if not IMMEDIATELY, for not exercising due diligence in overseeing FEMA's and Homeland Security's disaster response preparation? The denying, turning-away, hampering and refusing of aid and assistance offers is nothing less than criminal negligence, misfeasance and ineptness -- there CAN'T be any tolerance, NONE, for such an egregious exercise of incompetance and lack of professional duty -- it's simply unacceptable. I AM gonna send a copy of this to my Reps and make a buncha copies to hand-out and post around -- that's the LEAST consideration that the many thousands of Katrina victims in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast deserve. Starman PS: Arthur Lawson, Chief of Gretna's Police Dept., should be indicted (if not simply shot!) for his part in refusing passage out-of-town by trapped New Orleans residents, actively preventing them from fleeing an extreme danger zone by threat of deadly force. Shame him to Goddamn HeLL! (and his loyal 'troops' who followed illegal, immoral orders.) Why didn't they render assistance or aid in emergency evacuation? BTW: I saw a related story on MSNBC about a coupla guys who managed to bully their way past a similiar group of armed police blocking the freeway to Kenner (I guess, to the west of flooded N.O.) -- I guess it was a black army veteran who convinced the police to allow a white tourist-type couple to cross -- in the interview, the while guy was so thankful and happy at the black-guy's help -- This was another one-time-only late-night story, I never saw repeated (even tho I was watching the news near round-the-clock -- a one-time deal like the report of the stranded trucker on a bridge who heard the Industrial Levee either crash (by a barge) or explode from dynamite, flooding the ninth ward. I guess these stories slipped by as promising some breaking development, scooping the other 'news' channels, but never followed-up because it was decided they weren't 'helpful' for the necessary political spin desired. Ennyway -- Thanks for posting this. Starman

by **dbeach** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 9:14 pm

hi johndoeII I am givin myself a promotion to dbeachIII..SO the bad guys are in even bigger trouble now NICE SUM HAARP and Tesla SCALAR have been around awhile Jst wonder what you think?? IMHO . the elites will use any method possible to scare the narcoticized masses and divert us with their latest crime

by **John Doe II** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:23 am

Hi, I only choose John Doe II cause I fucked up at DU during the registering process and blocked "John Doe" and had to go for the "II". <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/wink.gif ALT=";)"> So far I completely refrained from discussing weather warfare cause I simply lack any profound knowledge of natural science and have possibility of seperating BS from intelligent discussion. But I saw many new articles that seem pretty interesting. But for the moment I strongely believe that already the compilation of undoubtable facts of what happened (and yet I didn't include eyewitnesses' accounts that can't be counterchecked) suffice to seriously doubt any political spin à la 911 well: incompetence. You know, we need more centralisation, more power, more hands free etc No, if somebody really wants to discuss Katrina then they have to find answers to everything mentioned in the compilation above.

by **bamabecky** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:38 pm

<a href="http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=85020">www.ksdk.com/news/news_ar...ryid=85020</a> <a href="http://www.wcsh6.com/home/article.asp?id=26707">www.wcsh6.com/home/article.asp?id=26707</a> They ordered 169.4 million pounds of ice. Now, thousands of pounds of that is sitting in Portland. snip The ice cost 26 cents a pound, bringing the total to 44 million dollars to buy the ice. SNIP Truck drivers coming into town Tuesday were told it will be about three days until they can unload their truck, as only four trucks can unload at a time. While they wait they are being paid 800 dollars a day. *************************************** WHAT WAS THE COST OF THE TRUCKS AND GAS TO GET THIS ICE TO MAINE? Bama

by **thumper** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:49 pm

has anyone else heard about Halliburton having contracts in NO BEFORE the hurricane?

by **thrulookingglass** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:53 pm

New England, New Orleans...what's the difference?! Ice was sent to Massachusetts as well <a href="http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/5002020/detail.html">www.thebostonchannel.com/...etail.html</a>

New Orleans: Where does incompetence end ....?

New Orleans: Where does incompetence end ....?

Re: New Orleans: Where does incompetence end ....?

.

re: New Orleans: Where Does Incompetance End?

Re: re: New Orleans: Where Does Incompetance End?

LOL

FEMA Sends Trucks Full Of Ice For Katrina Victims To Maine

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Re: ice ends up in bay state

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