Posted on 09/06/2005 5:56:44 PM PDT by 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.
Brown needs to be fired IMMEDIATELY. I can't belive Bush ever gave such responsibility to this imbecile.
Is it SOP to wait?
Hysteria reins supreme.
I have been in three hurricanes, I have not heard of one instance where fema was there before the hurricane.
DNC Talking Points? NewsMax is on the job. This reminds me of their PR machine for Hillary '08.
Ahh, I don't think the area is 2x as big as all of Europe, but rather just the UK. Oh well, why should a US Senator have a clue about geography before speaking.
Their toxic points are almost as bad as the spyware that always seems to appear after visiting their website.
This is bad???
Indeed. Ted Stevens should know about geography considering he's from Alaska.
Your screen name seems appropriate given your post. This only sounds bad if you don't know that FEMA is not there as first responders. That responsibility goes to the local officials and departments.
Bush appointed him.
Bush put FEMA under Homeland Security.
But the bigger problem is that LA and NO officials did not follow the evacuation plan.
I think Brown is finished.
He's probably talking about more than just Louisiana.
Michael Brown has been FEMA director since 2003. That would, of course, make him a veteran of last year's hurricane outbreak in Florida. I have a hard time believing he did everything right last year, and everything wrong this year. I think it far more likely that the officials in Florida were far more prepared than the officials in LA, and therefore the combination of federal (FEMA) and local emergency government was seamless.
I knew it was a huge mistake to combine a bunch of agencies under one roof. Bigger is not better when it comes to getting things one.
No one else can implement the New Orleans emergency plan except local officials. If they don't do it, the feds can't push them aside and take over. They don't know the plan, and haven't practiced doing what the local officials are supposed to do.
This is what happens when you elect incompetent state and local officials.
FEMA has made clear that their response efforts are 72-96 hours after a crisis occurs. They are not an armed response team nor do they have any law enforcement authority. In fact (unless things have changed) they don't even have the resources to move debris.
Having dealt with FEMA in Florida, they are a buearucracy that sets up offices, takes names and information on what people have lost and tries to expedite federal funds to victims. In some cases (like mine), they survey damage (such as roof-tile) and assist in getting temporary coverage and repairs set up.
I simply don't see how any of this could've occured at this time in New Orleans when the local government hadn't even taken care of their basics.
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