Posted on 09/03/2005 10:56:42 PM PDT by XHogPilot
IEM Team to Develop Catastrophic Hurricane Disaster Plan for New Orleans & Southeast Louisiana June 3, 2004
IEM, Inc., the Baton Rouge-based emergency management and homeland security consultant, will lead the development of a catastrophic hurricane disaster plan for Southeast Louisiana and the City of New Orleans under a more than half a million dollar contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In making the announcement today on behalf of teaming partners Dewberry, URS Corporation and James Lee Witt Associates, IEM Director of Homeland Security Wayne Thomas explained that the development of a base catastrophic hurricane disaster plan has urgency due to the recent start of the annual hurricane season which runs through November. National weather experts are predicting an above normal Atlantic hurricane season with six to eight hurricanes, of which three could be categorized as major.
The IEM team will complete a functional exercise on a catastrophic hurricane strike in Southeast Louisiana and use results to develop a response and recovery plan. A catastrophic event is one that can overwhelm State, local and private capabilities so quickly that communities could be devastated without Federal assistance and multi-agency planning and preparedness.
Thomas said that the greater New Orleans area is one of the nation’s most vulnerable locations for hurricane landfall.
“Given this area’s vulnerability, unique geographic location and elevation, and troubled escape routes, a plan that facilitates a rapid and effective hurricane response and recovery is critical,” he said. “The IEM team’s approach to catastrophic planning meets the challenges associated with integrating multi-jurisdictional needs and capabilities into an effective plan for addressing catastrophic hurricane strikes, as well as man-made catastrophic events.”
IEM President and CEO Madhu Beriwal is the recipient of a s pecial merit award from the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association ( LEPA ) for her work in New Orleans hurricane emergency preparedness.
No Sir. This falls under the heading of Good ultimately triumphing over Evil. The Media, in failing to to it's job as a "objective" public watch dog is letting the real culprits of this abject failure of the system get away with their evil because they are so busy pointing fingers at the THIRD responders (the Feds) What we are doing ins trying to make as many people aware as possible just where the real problems are. The Media instead of questioning the failure of the 1st (City) and Second (State) responders want to use this as a political football. Most of us would been more then happy to let this political fight wait until AFTER the Recuse and recovery efforts were complete. However, those people in the City of NO and the State of LA and the National Democrat Party are NOT willing to do that. WE have a MORAL obligation to stand up and say NO this is WRONG. As, I think it was Judge Oliver Wendel Holmes once said "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing".
Get this out to as many people as possible. This is gold.
Amazing how much Freeper can find that PAID "journalists" seem unable to. Thanks for the info.
I am reading where they contracted to do this work, I see where they did several workshops to get a better handle on what should be in the plan...but I don't see where it was ever actually written, approved, and implemented! These plans are for public consumption and knowledge; where is the IEM Plan?
And yet another version of the plan....see
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1477009/posts?page=18#18
Placing the responsiblity squarely in the lap of the Mayor.
Also read down to about the shelter list...Note* the list was not for public knowledge, just dang.
Piece of the puzzle #6 pointing to Nagin and Blanco as the real disasters and the blame for the tragedy:
1] Failed to learn lessons from Ivan
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/091904ccktWWLIvanFlaws.132602486.html
2] Failed to heed warning from President Bush's--the President ordered Blanco to evacuate before the storm hit.
#3] Failed to heed the Director of National Weather Ser., who called Nagin Sat night, shocked that Nagin failed to heed warnings and pleaded with him to get the evacuation starte
#4] Demographic info (and photots) proving that Nagin had more busses per person than your typical city (based on demographic data) and photos proving busses lined up in mass, drowned in water since Nagin failed to utilize them.
See posts #54 and #34 at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1476006/posts?page=54#54
#5] Welfare checks were set to be delivered arond the same time as Katrina was expected, a major reason why the people did not evacuate. Nagin failed to take this into account. He could have promised the people that they woudl be taken care of and urged them /FORCED THEM, to tleave the city.
Until TV or radio transcripts can be pulled showing Nagin pleading with people to evacuate, and until we see film footage of policemen forcibly moving people onto busses to get them out, we can't remove this blame from the local officials.
#6] And now this. Just think--Blanco just named Witt to head up another task force! Morons doing more moronic things.
Clearly, the blame falls on the Numnut Nagin and Bozo Blanco.
What major piece has been left off this list? Anybody?
Are you refering to the Witt plan? If so, it's rather unthinkable that he would now be asked to jump and front for the governor.
Dunno how long ago I said that this was looking like the 1977 Chicago blizzard. They too supposedly had a plan that was developed by a DemonRAT-linked outfit, one that was missing until well after the storm.
Good post.
Unbelievable, isn't it. James Lee Witt Associates was part of the IEM team.
Ouch. I hadn't connected him to that. Thank you.
Is this separate from any individual contract work they did for the city itself?
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:fOSzsMPLMvIJ:www.wwltv.com/local/stories/091904ccktWWLIvanFlaws.132602486.html+Ivan+exposes+flaws+in+N.O.%27s+disaster+plans+&hl=en
Why?
This article is quite timely, 11 months after it was written. Ivan revealed clearly identified flaws in New Orleans Hurricane plans, yet nothing was changed. In fact, the mayor was indignant when change was suggested. It appears Governor Blanco's and especially Mayor Nagin's response to Hurricane Katrina was preconditioned with arrogance. Unfortunately, nature does not conform to politicians wants or commands...
Proof #7:
Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the Pentagon's National Guard Bureau, said two-thirds of the police in New Orleans have abandoned the force amid horrific conditions.
I can't see any other city in the USA where 2/3 of the police officers would abandon their jobs. This shows once more the corrupt squalor of New Orleans, courtesy of Mayor Nagin and his inability to get a grip on his city, both before the hurricane and during the aftermath.
Also a large portion of the police department didn't show up for work and the AG indicated that anti-looting laws would not be strickly enforced.
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