Posted on 09/21/2005 4:58:56 AM PDT by Chairman_December_19th_Society
We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail!
Good morning!!
Do not let the victims of the attacks on New York and Washington, nor the brave members of our Nation's military who have given their lives to protect our freedom, die in vain!!
NEXT SERVICES 250 MILES
The sign above is actually located on the Dalton Highway (AK Route 11), just north of Coldfoot, AK. From that point northward, there's nothing in the way of creature comforts until you reach Prudhoe Bay--no rest rooms, no water, no restaurants, no fuel, no nothing.
It might as well have been posted along the Gulf coast after August 28, 2005. From Baton Rouge to east of Mobile, roughly 250 miles, and from New Orleans to Jackson, MS, roughly 200 miles, nothing much was available.
Indeed, the destruction wrought by KATRINA has already (!) become the most expensive natural disaster in American history--and the counting has not really started. Already the Congress has appropriated almost $70 billion in relief, and insurance companies estimate payouts in similar ranges. This does not account for infrastructure repairs, such as highways, railroads, electric and phone lines, and so on. So, excluding the infrastructure, we already have a bill of $150 billion. The totality of hurricane ANDREW, the previous benchmark for natural disasters in this country, was just shy of $100 billion. When the counting is done, KATRINA will likely top the quarter-trillion dollar figure.
The mind reels. Two hundred and fifty thousand million dollars. To put it in some kind of perspective, 100 dollar bills is roughly one inch high. Two hundred and fifty billion dollar bills would form a stack 39,457 miles high. In other words, the quantity of dollar bills to fix KATRINA's wrath would stretch about one-sixth of the way from Earth to the Moon.
As mentioned earlier, the triangle of destruction left by KATRINA also boggles the mind. Areas in the tens of thousands of square miles were worked over, and in many instances either obliterated beyond recognition, or flooded in ways that prevented easy access.
Yet, the view among many is that, somehow, the Federal Government is immune to the fundamental acts of nature; the central Government can, somehow, instantly appear on the scene and provide the relief and comfort to those that have been left wanting because of the storm. For a moment, let's set aside the fact that Government assistance in this way is a rather liberal notion, that was discussed in the last installment of this series, which may be found on thread number 1703. The question worth pondering is how fast is it reasonable to expect aid to reach the region?
In the first installment of this series, the legislative constraints working upon the Federal Government were explored, and the Stafford Act limitations of aid were discussed. The second installment looked at the differences in responses when you contrast the Republican and Democrat governors. This installment, the final in the series, will explore the damage to the infrastructure of the region and how aid could not have arrived any faster than it did.
Note earlier where it was mentioned that damage occurred in a region over tens of thousands of square miles. In fact, an area roughly the size of England was laid waste by KATRINA's winds and floods. People who live along the Gulf coast are routinely advised to prepare for hurricane season by laying in non-perishable stocks that would last them five days. The theory here is that by the end of that time, you would either have services restored or, at least, be able to travel to places that have had service restored and get essentials to restock.
It's been three weeks, and, guess what, you STILL in many instances cannot even drive to places where you can get food, get gasoline, or other essentials.
Well, that sort of blows the theory of personal disaster planning, as recommended to the local inhabitants of the South, to smithereens.
So, what to do? Clearly, this is an area where even the most die-hard conservative would agree there is a role for the central Government to get things going again, to begin the process of rebuilding and moving in basic supplies.
These basic supplies didn't just have to be rolled in to a few major cities--ANDREW, for example, required supplies in Miami and the Florida Keys, that's it. No, KATRINA required even fundamental items such as water to be moved into remote homes in wooded areas (remember, no electricty, no pumps for the wells). Supplies were pre-positioned outside of the areas likely to be hit by the storm and could be moved to these places. But, first, you had to get to these places.
National Guard units, the people providing the relief, literally found themselves cutting their way to the coast. Interstate highways, particularly in southern Mississippi, are not somehow immune to this--trees were down over Highway 59. Then there was the flooding and coastal damage. United States route 90 is literrally running along the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico in a number of places; the "Twin Span" that was Highway 10 was similarly dropped ungraciously into the waters of Lake Pontchatrain.
Progress of major relief was, therefore, agonizingly slow. Sure, you could fly planes into Moisant Field (the Louis Armstrong International Airport) in New Orleans, but where could you go from there? The Interstate was flooded once you reached Metarie. This meant, for the Crescent City, material had to be trucked down from Baton Rouge--which, if you cannot use Highway 10, takes about four hours in a passenger car. Military conveys are much slower.
But they don't just bring supplies for the affected people, in this instance supplies had to be brought for the troops themselves. Remember, no services for 250 miles. They had to bring their own fuel, their own porta potties, and their own food, let alone the rations for the general population.
But aren't there plans for these sorts of things? Well, sorta, kinda. Sure, there were the Hurricane Pam exercises that worked the issue of a major hurricane inundating New Orleans--not altogether unlike KATRINA--but that was a plan that had never had to meet the harsh aspects of reality. KATRINA, as pointed out earlier, is the biggest natural disaster to hit the United States since, well, ever. So much of what has been going on has been improvised, devised at the moment because there is no historical model upon which to draw.
Yet, in spite of this lack of historical input to the equation, relief supplies were, although slow, beginning to trickle into affected areas. Materiel was starting to arrive along the coast of Mississippi within two days following the storm, and, despite the hand-wringing going on in Baton Rouge, within three in New Orleans. Subtract from that the time it took to EVEN REACH those areas--a day's drive in Louisiana (the supplies were coming from Shreveport, in the northwest part of the state), and probably a day and a half in Mississippi (something not talked about much in the media), and "stuff" was starting to get to those who needed it rather quickly.
Now to quickly touch on the obvious question--couldn't supplies have been pre-positioned closer? Sure. Then they would have been destroyed by KATRINA and replacement items would have to be trucked in from much further away. As it is, the scale of the relief effort is resulting in that long-distance trucking, but at least it was AFTER regional pre-positioned materiel had been dispersed.
So between the requirement to engineer novel solutions for a disaster at a magnitude never faced in American history, and the need to literally cut or float your way to the devastated coastline, the response was actually pretty darn quick.
Was it good? No, and pretty much everyone admits that. It is important to strive to make improvements in these sorts of things, and the President has committed to such. But is it the right question to ask whether it was "good" or whether, considering the circumstances, was it "the best it could be". Well, there's enough evidence now to show the Federal response probably wasn't the "best," but there's also an overwhelming amount that shows it was "pretty darn good."
So it's time to stop bellyachinig about the paucity of the Federal response and time to set about fixing the Gulf Coast.
For AMERICA - The Right Way, I remain yours in the Cause, the Chairman.
That is good news.
We just got home a short while ago and the press is going ballistic. You would never know that Americans were pioneers at one time, would you, listening to this absolute hysteria.
When I was about 8, the town we lived in in upstate New York went through such a bad snow storm that our town was featured on the front page of Time magazine. The snow was literally up to the second floor bedroom windows and many children died when the snow they were making tunnels in collapsed on them.
There wasn't nearly the hysteria there is now, and this is despite the fact that the storm was not forecast, women with little children had very little food in the house and no way to get to the store to get any. After about a week my mother went out on a snowmobile to the grocery store and got a few provisions.
Today I guess she'd just complain that FEMA didn't drop off a food bag at the front door.
Yeah, people seem to have forgotten a main life lesson--sometimes the only person you can absolutely depend on is yourself. Today's 'pioneers' couldn't drag their sorry butts out the front door to make that fabled 'first step'! Those are the ones the article refers to, the ones who stole guns, looted and shot at the rescuers out of frustration at being abandoned by their precious 'nanny state' that bugged out to save its own stinking collective arse!
kassie, I see you are staying put...read that on the Sign in thread. And you've taken precautions, etc.
Does lysie, or anyone have your contact info here??
Yes, lysie and Jemian both do.
Thanks dear. That's good to know. My TEXAS heart is with you!
I got the link to the KPRC live video...keeping an eye on it.
Thanks.
Freeways are a nightmare right now. I just hope road rage doesn't become an issue.
Hey back! Another fine day at the 'Golden Dump' [work] [eck]. What's going on this weekend, have seen inklings of our crew about to FReep in DC? [So uninformed, these days, hanging head in shame!]
Good evening, Molly. G out of town...dogs and cats fed...mil 's fed, I'm R and R'ing
Don't forget the solar lights. they are great at night for night lights, keeps the batteries for the flashlights lasting longer. We paid 49.96 for six of them at Home Depot, got them out now along the walkway,
Evening. Toby.
Also, that Everlife flashlight is a great investment.
kassie, I'm going to say this...and I don't want to cause problems in your household, but please consider leaving...tonite...there'll be less traffic after awhile. Please, please consider this!
Getting ready for company on Mond, that's what I'll be doing...
Gotta go....supper...
Maybe, you all will change your minds...and evac. Think about it. Better safe than sorry.
((((Kassie))))
"LOOK" at Spiff's map and see where you are! I am already worried about you.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1488737/posts?page=227#227
Thanks for that map. Excellent, as was the Katrina map.
I am seriously scared to near death for kassie and everybody else. This Rita is larger and stronger than Katrina.
I lived as a girl in the 50s between Galveston and Houston. It is so flat, and will become a huge lake under certain circumstances. My husband and I are wondering if this storm will maintain this strength, but even as a Cat IV...
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