After Terrifying Drill, it's Time to Answer Questions

Houston Chronicle ^ | Sept. 25, 2005 | RICK CASEY

[anymouse]

I'll make a deal. If politicians will follow two simple rules, I'll put the blame game under a two-week moratorium.

• Rule #1: If you're not one of the elected officials who has operational responsibilities, do NOT elbow your way into a news conference simply for the pleasure of getting face time with a television camera. We need to hear details from the governor, the county judges, the mayors.

We don't need to hear every member of Congress or City Council congratulate each other for the wonderful work they're doing.

We don't even need to hear from the majority leader, thank you Mr. DeLay, or a ranking Democrat, thank you Ms. Jackson Lee.

Hold some hearings instead.

• Rule #2: Even if you are the governor, county judge or mayor, waste no time talking about how well everything went. It will only make us even angrier.

The most important thing that went well, for us if not for Port Arthur and Beaumont, is that Rita turned right. And you had nothing to do with that.

What you did have something to do with was the largest automotive traffic jam in world history.

That's not to blame any single official. I said I'd declare a moratorium and I meant it.

I'm here to celebrate that traffic jam, not to blame someone for it.

The celebration

First, we can celebrate the remarkable spirit of the people who were caught up in it, sweltering in heat, panicked about running out of gas as a Category 5 hurricane appeared to be chasing them, frantic about their children, their elderly parents, their pets.

These people were frustrated and angry. But to their credit, they did not take out their anger on their neighbors.

They cursed the authorities.

They had some reason. Authorities knew their evacuation plans had weaknesses.

Bill King, the former mayor of the waterfront town of Kemah, had been a voice in the desert for years on the issue.

I talked to him three weeks ago, shortly after Katrina hit New Orleans. He made several suggestions, ones he has repeatedly made to other officials.

Time for a post-mortem

The first one: "There needs to be a plan in place to make sure that gas stations have gas. Companies stop sending jobbers (gasoline haulers) in during an evacuation. There needs to be a plan to get them in and out."

He had suggestions about school buses and nursing homes. He said we need annual drills — not computer exercises in a closed room like the one conducted earlier this year, but full-fledged drills designed to check our systems, to clarify roles and to educate the public.

Ironically, that's what Rita gave us: the most thorough emergency drill imaginable.

Now we need a post-mortem on that drill.

The most important thing is to ask the right questions, to learn the right lessons.

The wrong lesson would be to be afraid to order evacuations. The right lessons would tell us how to do it effectively.

Here are some starter questions, based on conversations with King:

Were the lines of authority clear and effective?

Could the sequence of evacuation have been more effective? Could, as King suggests, the highly vulnerable coastal areas have been evacuated the first day, with Houstonians and other area residents in less vulnerable places being told to wait a day or two before deciding to leave?

Were hospitals and nursing homes properly provided for?

And why the hell wasn't there enough gasoline?

Was it the failure of individuals, or the failure of systems? Or both?

We need to know the answers, and quickly. Rita not only gave us this drill, she reminded us that these days, hundred-year events can happen every three weeks.

After we get the answers, those who want (and I confess I may be among them) can play the blame game.

But the only way we all win is if this most painful drill leads to a better response next time.

[anymouse]

Some lessons learned for next time.

[anymouse]

Kemah ping

[Colonial Warrior]

Senators and Congressman need to work quietly in the background supporting their Governors...not in front of cameras.

This is not the time for ME, ME, ME!

[GSlob]

The only lesson is that people do not learn their lessons. Do you seriously entertain a thought that Bianco or Nagin would do anything differently if somehow given a chance? They may be screaming louder, though, but that would be about all the difference. Incompetence and malignity would triumphantly reassert themselves.

[ClaireSolt]

Evacuate, but not so far. That is what we do in Florida. All you need to do is get people back away from the storm surge, 5 miles or so.

[RobbyS]

Good grief. Things DID go well, relatively speaking. If Rita had barreled straight into Houston, the people who did get out would be thanking God right now rather than complaining about inconvenience. That said,TXDOT should bring in people from the army to tell him how to provide for the movement of masses of vehicles. However, the best that could be hoped for was a traffic flow of 20 MPH along the major roads. Too damn many cars.

IAC, people should take some iniative on their own by looking at maps and figuring out in advance a way out that does not pur them on I-45 or other major thoroughfares. I know who got from League City to Liberty in less than 3 hrs simply by following back roads. Act like sheep and you will have no choice but to be herded.

[RobbyS]

Sorry, but the terrain around Houston is quite different. Even Dallas could have been flooded if Rita had gone straight for her. Dallas is protected by levees and the downtown is bowlshaped.

[gunnedah]

Most people do not want to face the facts but only the locals can supply these answers.
The Interstate System was obsolete before it was ever put into operation.
Not enough local designations for ways out other than Interstates are designated,not enough local participation and just plain laxness on the part of the local citizens as well caused most of this. The only people that should really be personally cared for are the sick,elderly and dirt poor.

[EJayB]

I don't think there is any major "blame" to go around. Flaws in the system should be fixed, but the whole concept of "blaming later" shows a desire to take potshots at government. Any true blamegame should start with personal responsibities.

[rjamesca]

As a 30 year member of the law enforcement community. May I add my comments to all those complaining about inbound traffic lanes remaining open, and not used for evacuation.

Yes, in a perfect world, it is a nice thought that all lanes should be used. Remember however, that if you send masses of people onto the freeway's in the wrong direction, you also need to post officers at each on-ramp to stop wrong-way drivers. A simple unmanned barricade stops no one! Especially if the wind blows it over!

Imagine how many additional resources would be required if you had hundreds of head on accidents, let alone the whining about "what were they thinking," or "where are all the cops, they are supposed to protect us from accidents like this?"

Don't be so quick to criticize, when you really don't know how difficult things like this are. Many of those officers & trooper's said goodbye to their families, not knowing their own fate, to stand in place to protect others!

I am sure, the Texas officials thought very hard about this decision, and opened lanes only when they thought it would not add or contribute to the disaster any more. There are simply not enough of us to stand static posts, at every on and off ramp.

When you complain about this, you take an "indirect" swipe at all of us

Take a deep breath and stop listening to the Mains team media. They are really wrong to spin this issue!

[Cicero]

I'm not excusing these particular politicians, but I can understand why they want to be seen on TV being helpful in this emergency, because they have just witnessed the way the sleazy liars in the press use hurricanes to demonize politicians they dislike, and they want to be sure they have a chance to speak for themselves.

George Bush properly stayed in the background in the early Katrina days, and he got lambasted for it. He HAD to come out and start giving speeches, because 95% of the media were lying their heads off and using the storm as an excuse to blame Bush for things he hadn't done, things he had no control over, and things he had no political responsibility for or legal right to do.

[AmericanChef]

I couldn't agree with you more. To move that many people at once can result in any number of things happening. No matter how smoothly it goes, it's never said to be good enough. I'm weary of all the complaining.

[rellimpank]

-----Remember however, that if you send masses of people onto the freeway's in the wrong direction, you also need to post officers at each on-ramp to stop wrong-way drivers. A simple unmanned barricade stops no one---

--it amazes me that so few realize this---

[RightWhale]

Evacuate, but not so far.

They need to go far enough, but when they do they might find themselves in a great, open, barren space with no resources at all except what they brought with them. That is what they should do, of course, bring tents and food, water for a few days. Not everybody needs to jump into cars and count on infrastructure existing out into the vast, empty plains.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

There are some problems with people being just stupid. I get all my provisions in for a storm in late May and use the food in December. Plywood should be bought when you buy a house on the coast. Cars should have been filled last weekend and topped off with the 5 gallon can in the garage that you can also use for your lawn mower. Water can be stored in the milk cartons you have cleaned and stored for years, ice in bread pans, plastic bowls, and other plastic containers like soup comes in from the Chinese restaurant. You can leave a day early and take back roads like my wife and family did.

You might even consider not buying in flood prone areas with the 4th largest city in America between you and safety.

Just keep the government fools out of my way and fund the weather service which was on target a week out.

RANT ENDED. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

[pageonetoo]

I am sure, the Texas officials thought very hard about this decision, and opened lanes only when they thought it would not add or contribute to the disaster any more. There are simply not enough of us to stand static posts, at every on and off ramp.

Spoken like a good public servant, repeating the mantra.

Not everyone has to have a badge, to accept the responsiblity of directing the flows of traffic, particularly when access to the 14+ lanes, of escape routes, is lmited by fences, and ramps, and you're only going 100-200 miles, or less.

In order to save resources, mr know-it-all cop, you station some of the road crews, (contractors and public), with their yellow lights, flashing in front of a sign saying DO NOT ENTER. It wouldn't cost much, in comparison to NOT moving the masses rapidly, and efficiently.

There was a lack of exucution, and planning. How many VFD's are there locally, and how many DOT personnel are driving public vehicles home? How many hours did people have to sit, and how many MILLIONS of gallons wasted (estimates of 1.4 million cars X 2-3 gallons hour sitting for how many hours?)?

We don't need you to direct traffic. We don't need many of you for much else. It's a shame...

Most cops love the adrenalin buzz... just like any other junkie! They can whiz along the highways, and make like heroes. Some of them might be...

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

That said,TXDOT should bring in people from the army to tell him how to provide for the movement of masses of vehicles.

ROFLMAO. You ever been in an Army convoy? The only plus they have is taking their own fuel along with them.

[Ditter]

I don't know what could have been done differently. It looks to me like the people from the coast were on the roads when the Houston people joined them. Maybe the Houston people should have left first and been out of the way when the coastal people came thru. We decided to stay put because our house doesn't flood, good decision, but if Houston had taken a direct hit and we got a tree thru the roof, we would have wished not to be here.

[kstewskis]

Any true blamegame should start with personal responsibities.

Needs to be repeated-BTTT

[Antonello]

Here's what I've learned over the past month or so:

If you don't order an evacuation and the situation turns out so bad that an evacuation was needed, people will blame you for endangering lives.

If you order an evacuation and it turns out the situation wasn't so bad as to need one, those same people will blame you for causing a major upheaval and endangering lives in an unnecessary 'drill'.

Oh, and even if you guess correctly the people will still gripe about the conditions during the situation. And blame anyone they think should be in charge of coddling them.

So I guess the lesson I'm learning from all this is that maybe the Libertarians have a point after all.