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IEM Team to Develop Catastrophic Hurricane Disaster Plan for New Orleans & SE Louisiana
IEM press release ^ | June 3, 2004 | IEM

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.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: clark; clinton; disaster; grifter; incompetence; incompetent; jamesleewitt; jlwa; katrina; katrinafailures; katrinagate; neworleans; plan; responsible; rodneyslater; slater; wesleyclark; witt
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Looks like another grifter from the Clinton era has dirt all over him. Clinton's FEMA Director, James Lee Witt, took half a million dollars to prepare a hurricane plan for New Orleans. Well, how did the plan turn out? Lets ask the citizens of New Orleans...
1 posted on 09/03/2005 10:56:42 PM PDT by XHogPilot
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To: Howlin

James Lee Witt's fingerprints ping


2 posted on 09/03/2005 11:00:53 PM PDT by Diddle E. Squat (Gone, gone with the waves....)
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To: XHogPilot

Let's not forget - hurricane season ain't over till it's over.

There could be others. I bet there will!


3 posted on 09/03/2005 11:01:10 PM PDT by SteveMcKing ("I was born a Democrat. I expect I'll be a Democrat the day I leave this earth." -Zell Miller '04)
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To: XHogPilot

This comes under the heading of:

Should I say this? Can I say this? Do I really want to say this...

You can present the best disaster plan every concocted, but if the powers that be don't implement it, it won't save one life.

$500K hugh? That's a chunk of change.


4 posted on 09/03/2005 11:01:48 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (US socialist liberalism would be dead without the help of politicians who claim to be conservative.)
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To: doug from upland; aft_lizard; jmc1969; johnmecainrino; Carl/NewsMax; neverdem; NormsRevenge; ...

Ping to all interested in New Orleans political failure...


5 posted on 09/03/2005 11:03:41 PM PDT by XHogPilot (Islam is The Death Cult)
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To: Diddle E. Squat

Wait............just wait........I have to find something.....


6 posted on 09/03/2005 11:05:47 PM PDT by Howlin (Have you check in on this thread: FYI: Hurricane Katrina Freeper SIGN IN Thread)
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To: XHogPilot

---Clinton's FEMA Director, James Lee Witt, took half a million dollars to prepare a hurricane plan for New Orleans.---

And now the Governor's bring him down to be in charge of the recovery!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1476788/posts


7 posted on 09/03/2005 11:07:07 PM PDT by claudiustg (Go Sharon! Go Bush!)
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To: XHogPilot
Madhu Beriwal's bio at the IEM site.
8 posted on 09/03/2005 11:08:56 PM PDT by aposiopetic
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To: XHogPilot; kcvl; backhoe; Howlin; Ernest_at_the_Beach

Great find. I will be posting some interesting FR threads about James Witt.


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1476788/posts

Louisiana governor hires FEMA ex-director James Lee Witt
Associated Press | September 3, 2005


Posted on 09/03/2005 7:29:17 PM PDT by HAL9000



BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Arkansan James Lee Witt, the former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under President Bill Clinton, joined the Louisiana government Saturday to help direct the recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
Witt, who ran FEMA from 1993 to 2001, said he will stay as long as he as needed.

"He will sit at the table for me, and he will be my voice at the table," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said.

Louisiana officials are getting stretched too thin and need help, she said.

"I like to hire the smartest people in the country," she added.

Witt has more than 25 years of disaster management experience.

FEMA had been strongly criticized in 1992 for its slow response to Hurricanes Andrew and Hugo. After Witt took over, the agency won praise for its vigorous reaction to Midwest floods and the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles.

Blanco said that, when she told Mike Brown, FEMA's current head, that she hoped to hire him, "he said, `That is absolutely the right thing to do. He will make a huge difference.'"

At the National Hurricane Conference in March, Witt said putting FEMA under the Homeland Security Department hurt its ability to deal with natural disasters.

On Saturday, he said, "Now's not the time to point blame at anyone."

Witt was head of the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services when Clinton was Arkansas governor.


9 posted on 09/03/2005 11:09:19 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (Jamie Gorelick is responsible for more dead Americans(9-11) than those killed in Iraq.)
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To: XHogPilot

A gee .. another Dem with a plan huh?


10 posted on 09/03/2005 11:09:23 PM PDT by Mo1
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To: aposiopetic
With a background in Urban Planning and Transportation Engineering, Ms. Beriwal is also a recognized expert in evacuation modeling. She received a Special Merit Award from the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association for "her outstanding contribution to the civil defense agencies of southeast Louisiana in the development of the Hurricane Survival Plan."
11 posted on 09/03/2005 11:10:44 PM PDT by aposiopetic
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To: Diddle E. Squat
In These Times reports, “In June 2004, FEMA privatized its hurricane disaster plan for New Orleans, contracting the work to the Baton Rouge, La., firm Innovative Emergency Management (IEM) whose motto is “Managing Risk in a Complex World.”

One blog reports that after Katrina hit, IEM removed the press release announcing their contract from their website. Privatization often means giving the job to the lowest bidder, not the best provider of services.

MarMeme, now this is getting interesting!

12 posted on 09/03/2005 11:11:33 PM PDT by Howlin (Have you check in on this thread: FYI: Hurricane Katrina Freeper SIGN IN Thread)
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To: aposiopetic

I think I would rather walk.


13 posted on 09/03/2005 11:11:44 PM PDT by aposiopetic
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To: XHogPilot

Seems like their plan was but not limited too:

Run
Cleanup
Fix it
Pay us for our services

I have got to get a consultant gig with HLS.....$$$$$$ !


14 posted on 09/03/2005 11:12:08 PM PDT by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet. ©)
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To: XHogPilot
That doesn't look good. Even more than the names, it's just not enough money to do a truly comprehensive plan with testing and drilling for an area as large as southeast Louisiana. I wonder if this was a "let's buy some software and announce we have a plan!" exercise, seeing as IEM's business seems to be selling disaster planning software: http://www.ieminc.com/Products_and_Services/software.htm
15 posted on 09/03/2005 11:12:20 PM PDT by snowsislander
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To: HAL9000; Dog Gone

This is just amazing stuff!


16 posted on 09/03/2005 11:12:43 PM PDT by Howlin (Have you check in on this thread: FYI: Hurricane Katrina Freeper SIGN IN Thread)
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To: XHogPilot; Howlin; kcvl; backhoe; Cindy; piasa; Shermy; Ernest_at_the_Beach; mhking; nutmeg; ...

Guess which other Clintoon top rat is in bed with Witt. None other than Weaslelly Clark.:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1230846/posts

Clark, Slater working for crisis management firm of ex-FEMA director Witt
Associated Press | September 29, 2004


Posted on 09/29/2004 3:25:56 PM PDT by HAL9000



LITTLE ROCK — Former NATO commander Wesley Clark and former Cabinet secretaries Rodney Slater and James Lee Witt, all from Arkansas, are forming a crisis management dream team.
Witt used his experience running the Federal Emergency Management Agency to build a firm to help clients handle large-scale emergencies. The former Yell County judge and director of Arkansas' emergency management office, ran FEMA under the Clinton administration.

Now at his side at James Lee Witt Associates on a part-time basis are Clark, a retired Army general who unsuccessfully ran for the 2004 Democratic nomination for president, and Slater, transportation secretary under Clinton.

The Washington, D.C.-based crisis management consulting firm has about 50 employees and was founded in 2001.

Clark is a vice chairman for the company and will devote his work there to domestic and international security issues. Slater, who grew up in Marianna, also joined the firm last week as a vice chairman and will work on transportation and critical infrastructure issues.

Clark hit the ground running, having already booked a trip to Grand Cayman to offer the company's services for coping with cleanup issues from Hurricane Ivan. The island's legislature agreed to hire the company to help the nation rebuild and prepare for future disasters, said company senior vice president Barry Scanlon.

Clark said the work at Grand Cayman is in line with his general duties at the company.

"I will be working across the spectrum of preparations, assessments, risk assessments, evaluations for natural and man-made disasters and post-disaster mitigation, planning and efforts," Clark said Tuesday.

"He's very well-respected," Scanlon said. "It will help us grow the firm internationally and domestically."

Clark's office said Wednesday that his work with Witt's company is part-time work that won't detract from his time running Wesley K. Clark and Associates LLC, a Little Rock-based strategic advisory and consulting firm. The former presidential candidate will also continue to operate his own political action committee and campaign for Democratic nominee John Kerry through the Nov. 2 election.

Witt's company is expected to open an office in Little Rock next month.

Slater will keep other irons in the fire, too. He will keep his position as partner for Patton Boggs LLP, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy law firm and campaign for Kerry, as well.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to work with James Lee Witt and General Clark," Slater said. "I know them both to be leaders in their respective areas of interest, and transportation is a critical part of any emrgency management challenge, so I look forward to applying my own expertise there."

Slater said he hopes to find common ground with his work for Patton Boggs and with Witt.

Witt will continue his work as president and chief executive of the International Code Council, a nonprofit organization that develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings.


17 posted on 09/03/2005 11:13:23 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (Jamie Gorelick is responsible for more dead Americans(9-11) than those killed in Iraq.)
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To: XHogPilot
Well, how did the plan turn out?

Well, Witt got a job didn't he?

18 posted on 09/03/2005 11:14:23 PM PDT by eyespysomething (Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur)
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To: XHogPilot
No wonder Blanco just hired James Lee Witt! He's good at covering up things harmful to the RATS.

******

July 24, 1996, Wednesday

Officials give conflicting reports on Flight 800;

President Clinton also dispatched James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration, to monitor the situation.



******



James Lee Witt Associates, LLC


James Lee Witt
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Washington, DC

Wesley Clark
Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor
Washington, DC

Rodney E. Slater
Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor
Washington, DC

19 posted on 09/03/2005 11:14:27 PM PDT by kcvl
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To: Grampa Dave
Witt was head of the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services when Clinton was Arkansas governor.

Let's prompt Fox News to give to them everything he actually developed to date for the $500,000 he was given.

Anti Blanco, anti-Clinton, Anti-Witt Sarcasm Torpedo ARMED. FIRE!!

By the way, aside from corrupt Cronyism and the DNC, WTF is this Clinton stooge doing down here anyway? The only "bimbo eruptions" down in NO concern rape. Oh wait, never mind...

Now more than ever, prayers for ALL ! (Prayers for the outlying Parishes, prayers for Bush that he makes appointments to the Supreme Court that preserve our freedoms !)

20 posted on 09/03/2005 11:15:22 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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