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.
Perhaps in the future you'll ask such questions before calling for someone's firing.
29 Aug: Troops ready to assist with Hurricane Katrina
First U.S. Army activated its 24-hour Crisis Action Team Aug. 28 and sent defense coordinating elements to three states. These elements help U.S. Northern Command coordinate DoD support to civil authorities as requested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. First Army coordinates federal military assistance for disaster relief operations east of the Mississippi River, and for Hurricane Katrina, deployed three defense coordinating officers and their staffs to Florida, Mississippi and Alabama.
30 Aug: FEMA - Katrina Talking Points
23 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams from all across the US have been deployed to staging areas in AL, TN, TX, and LA. Two Veterinary Medical Assistance have also been deployed. Teams bring truckloads of medical equipment and supplies with them and are trained to handle trauma, ! pediatrics, surgery and mental health problems.
Seven Urban Search & Rescue task forces and 2 Incident Support Teams have been deployed and prepositioned in Shreveport, La., and Jackson, Miss., including teams from FL, IN, OH, MD, MO, TN, TX and VA. Three more US&R teams are staged and awaiting deployment as needed.
Before Hurricane Katrina had even fallen -- had made landfall, the President declared emergencies in these areas, and that allowed us to preposition and start to distribute resources in the affected areas. We prepositioned 18 disaster medical teams, medical supplies and equipment, urban search and rescue teams. All of these were prestaged, along with millions of meals ready to eat, liters of water, tarpaulins, and truckloads of ice. By prepositioning these resources, we were able to speed our ability to deliver these necessary supplies.
Boot a guy with 164 disaster responses under his belt, and no impact at all, huh?
That silly comment explains why you're not in emergency management.
Must...not...engage...must...not....arrrrghhhhhh!
Logging off.
You're lying again. Next you'll tell me I forged my previous post to you.
Ohh, name-calling now huh?
You claimed I was defending the state and local agencies... I proved you wrong.
You claimed I never laid any blame of failure on the state and local agencies... I proved you wrong again.
Don't cry about it.
The pull of FR... cannot be resisted... must lurk... must post...
I'm doomed.
This FEMA bio just shows that Brown was politically connected; not qualified. I agree that the mayor of NO, and certainly the pathetic governess, bear most responsibility for the chaos in NO, but Brown is a lightweight, who got appointed WAY above his level of competence. His job is too important.
The results implied when Bush announced the disaster ahead of time. Does it have to be spelled out what those are?
" The only results which the President has shown displeasure with are the results of NO security."
I haven't heard Bush say what he's happy and not happy about. NO security was NO's job, just as the rest of the "local plan" program was. If he's not happy about that, then what would cause anyone to think he was happy about the rest of the failures? Suppose Bush would rather his FEMA dept caused things to go smoother, or would that have upset him?
You've proved nothing except that you are changing the subject.
That's absolute horse manure. His legal and financial background brought him into disaster preparedness, all the way up to General Counsel (an executive position) of FEMA. From there to Deputy, then Director. Of course he had political connections. So did Rumsfeld, and Condi, and Dick Cheney, and Colin Powell, and Tom Ridge, and Tommy Thompson...
Brown was and is WELL qualified to be FEMA's head.
Even though your post is as nonsensical as the rest of them, I give you credit for at least looking at his bio.
Perhaps if you'd been reading this thread...
You're obviously a blonde cheerleader.
You're obviously a blonde cheerleader.
Better than a lying coward.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1478886/posts?page=561#561
Every time you post your drivel, I'll be helpfully including this reminder link until you have the gonads to address it.
From the analysis of Hurricane Ivan:
http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/o/nov04/nov04c.html
The fact that 600,000 residents evacuated means an equal number did not. Recent evacuation surveys show that two thirds of nonevacuees with the means to evacuate chose not to leave because they felt safe in their homes. Other nonevacuees with means relied on a cultural tradition of not leaving or were discouraged by negative experiences with past evacuations. ...
Residents who did not have personal transportation were unable to evacuate even if they wanted to. Approximately 120,000 residents (51,000 housing units x 2.4 persons/unit) do not have cars. A proposal made after the evacuation for Hurricane Georges to use public transit buses to assist in their evacuation out of the city was not implemented for Ivan. If Ivan had struck New Orleans directly it is estimated that 40-60,000 residents of the area would have perished.
Not surprisingly, Spunkless nearly fell down trying to dodge my post.
Uh, yeah, sure. That was the only item I highlighted. Wonderful retort. [yawn]
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