FEMA Chief Waited Until After Storm Hit

NewsMax ^ | September 7, 2005 | NewsMax Wires

[bobsunshine]

WASHINGTON - The government's disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security employees to the region - and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents.

Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said that among duties of these employees was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims.

Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged Tuesday the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged. Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event" but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities."

The initial responses of the government and Brown came under escalating criticism as the breadth of destruction and death grew. President Bush and Congress on Tuesday pledged separate investigations into the federal response to Katrina. "Governments at all levels failed," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said Brown had positioned front-line rescue teams and Coast Guard helicopters before the storm. Brown's memo on Aug. 29 aimed to assemble the necessary federal work force to support the rescues, establish communications and coordinate with victims and community groups, Knocke said.

Instead of rescuing people or recovering bodies, these employees would focus on helping victims find the help they needed, he said.

'Time for Blame'

"There will be plenty of time to assess what worked and what didn't work," Knocke said. "Clearly there will be time for blame to be assigned and to learn from some of the successful efforts."

Brown's memo told employees that among their duties, they would be expected to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public."

"FEMA response and recovery operations are a top priority of the department and as we know, one of yours," Brown wrote Chertoff. He proposed sending 1,000 Homeland Security Department employees within 48 hours and 2,000 within seven days.

Knocke said the 48-hour period suggested for the Homeland employees was to ensure they had adequate training. "They were training to help the life-savers," Knocke said.

Employees required a supervisor's approval and at least 24 hours of disaster training in Maryland, Florida or Georgia. "You must be physically able to work in a disaster area without refrigeration for medications and have the ability to work in the outdoors all day," Brown wrote.

The same day Brown wrote Chertoff, Brown also urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments. Brown said it was vital to coordinate fire and rescue efforts.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said Tuesday that Brown should step down.

After a senators-only briefing by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and other Cabinet members, Sen. Charles E. Schumer said lawmakers weren't getting their questions answered.

"What people up there want to know, Democrats and Republicans, is what is the challenge ahead, how are you handling that and what did you do wrong in the past," said Schumer, D-N.Y.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said the administration is "getting a bad rap" for the emergency response.

"This is the largest disaster in the history of the United States, over an area twice the size of Europe," Stevens said. "People have to understand this is a big, big problem."

Meanwhile, the airline industry said the government's request for help evacuating storm victims didn't come until late Thursday afternoon. The president of the Air Transport Association, James May, said the Homeland Security Department called then to ask if the group could participate in an airlift for refugees.

[lepton]

Bush declared a disaster on Saturday, and Brown waits until MONDAY to start moving people....

Why would you move people INTO a storm? Why would you send them there before learning where "there" is?

[lepton]

These sound like non-essential personnel who will handle paperwork.

At least some of them are people who will work with the local governments to find out what is needed as resupply in each particular area, and submit reports so the stuff can be found and put on trucks.

[Coop]

Given your ping to me, I think you'll like this thread.

[M. Espinola]

"If you would read this thread, you may comprehend why you were the recipient of snooty comments."

Let's ....comprehend...by all means...

'WASHINGTON - "The government's disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security employees to the region - and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents."

Review this news story on Brown also: Even President Bush, after touring the devastated area, said he was "not satisfied'' with the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina's devastation.

"Brown was forced out of the position after a spate of lawsuits over alleged supervision failures." ""He was asked to resign,'' Bill Pennington, president of the IAHA at the time."

"Next time FEMA should send their entire force in BEFORE the hurricane hits so we can have more dead bodies clogging up the pump drains."

FEMA's Brown is responsible for allowing fellow Americans to die via his bureaucratic inaction.

Is this the type of individual you want at the top of FEMA when more hurricanes unleash incredible amounts of storm related wrath on other East Coast & Gulf cities, or another 9-11 Islamic terrorist slaughter?

Not I!

"I look at FEMA and I shake my head,'' said a furious Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday, calling the response ``an embarrassment."

In order to stop the radical Dems in their vicious efforts to smear the White House, (while deliberately ignoring the failures of their liberal comrades in New Orleans city government), the President must replace Brown now!

FEMA requires a man of Rudy's 'proven' leadership.

[cwb]

Boy, you (Spoutalot) just can't seem to get anything right. In case you didn't know, the Red Cross won't even set up shelters in New Orleans for anything stronger than a Cat-2 hurricane. In fact, one of the interviews I saw, indicated that some RC employees didn't even want to be in the city until their security could be guaranteed.

[lepton]

Memo my ass! Has this guy heard of the telephone?

Some things have to be official...like when one state invades another...or when the Federal government does it.

[Coop]

So he just lucked out in the 163 other disasters, huh?

[vbmoneyspender]

"I look at FEMA and I shake my head,'' said a furious Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday, calling the response ``an embarrassment."

Yeah, I'm going to take my disaster management cues from some dilettante in Massachusetts. On the other hand, Haley Barbour's state took the brunt of the storm and he has said that FEMA has been doing a good job.

[BurbankKarl]

Yes, FEMA should have been there during the hurricane, blowing them to Tennessee.

[BurbankKarl]

He was talking about Old Europe.

[Leroy S. Mort]

More from Larry King:

REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW-PUSH COALITION: Well, that's ridiculous. I mean the Red Cross' absence in New Orleans, the high point of the crisis is a disaster. It is a sin. We had no real plan for rescue and relief and relocation.

KING: Marty, how would you respond?

EVANS: Well, Larry, we were asked, directed by the National Guard and the city and the state emergency management not to go into New Orleans because it was not safe. We are not a search and rescue organization. We provide shelter and basic support and so we were depending, we are depending on the state and the agencies to get people to our shelters in safe places.

[pepperhead]

In order to stop the radical Dems in their vicious efforts to smear the White House, (while deliberately ignoring the failures of their liberal comrades in New Orleans city government), the President must replace Brown now!

Wouldn't that be like admitting your at fault?

[Miss Marple]

Newsmax goes on the list I am assembling. I am making a list of these weasels who are trying to make money by dissing the President through Brown and FEMA.

Newsmax has access to Free Republic. If anyone on their sorry excuse of a phoney news organization ever bothered to READ what is posted here, they would know the inaccuracies and twisting that is apparent in this article.

Pfui! I will now avoid reading Newsmax for any news.

[listenhillary]

You haven't explained what he should have done. We've all attmpted to make it perfectly clear.

FEMA is not a first responder

72 hours is the normal response time

If they were sent in when we first had notice of a severe hurricane, they would have added to the casualties

You haven't read any of the other posts on this thread have you?

[cwb]

"Is this the type of individual you want at the top of FEMA when more hurricanes unleash incredible amounts of storm related wrath on other East Coast & Gulf cities, or another 9-11 Islamic terrorist slaughter?"

---

Hmm, I made it through 3 hurricanes in 4 weeks with Mike Brown at the healm and I never had any of these problems. These people came down my street, knocked on my door, looked at my damaged roof, tarped it for me...and even offred to pay for the generator and portable AC I bought when we lost electricity. I'm sorry, I can't fault him for a situation that is beyond the control of sooo many people.

[BurbankKarl]

Exactly. Where is New Orleans Mutual Aid System? The Louisiana adjacent state Mutual Aid System? If those yahoos couldn't figure out they would need help that is their own fault.

I noticed that Florida EMS and Troopers were in Alabama as soon as the winds died down. There was a picture of Metro-Dade Fire in Alabama the next day.

[VeniVidiVici]

"Everybody who had a way or wanted to get out of the way of this storm was able to," said Terry Ebbert, the city's Homeland Security Chief. "For some that didn't, it was their last night on this Earth."

Well, Terry Ebbert must be changing his tune, because he has been one of the vocal critics blaming the Feds for everything.

I got it. Ebbert must have said this because someone complained about lack of transportation in the days just prior to his statement. Hmmmm.

[lepton]

Keep in mind the looters were shooting at the rescuers,

And the Gov originally only allowed the National Guards from neighboring states in to do humanitarian aid, so they too had to back out until she authorized them to do police actions. These are separate authorizations.

[gpapa]

Worth repeating

In 2004, Mr. Brown led FEMA’s thousands of dedicated disaster workers during the most active hurricane season in over 100 years

[ClaireSolt]

Huh? Are Michael Brown?