Blanco Responds to Levee Comments on Katrina Tapes

The videotape of Governor Kathleen Blanco telling White House staffers the New Orleans levee had not breached was the talk of the Capitol on Friday. The videotaped, obtained by the Associated Press, was taken hours after the White House received confirmation from the National Weather Service that the levees had breached.

At noon on August 29th, Blanco's voice is heard on the tape telling staffers, "I think we've heard that we have not breached the levees. We have not breached the levees at this point in time." That was the same time Hurricane Katrina was flooding New Orleans East and St. Bernard Parish. A little later on the tape, Blanco said, "...where we have waters that are eight to ten feet deep and we have people swimming in..."

The White House staffers claim the National Weather Service confirmed the levee breaches at 9:12 that morning, three hours before the phone call from Governor Blanco.

Governor Blanco explained Friday that communications were down and it was tough to get any reports confirmed during the worst of the storm. She says the tape shows that she reported what was important, that New Orleans was flooding and that people were in trouble.

"In the middle of a hurricane, it is very difficult to understand exactly what is going on and, you know, I responded to the White House what I knew at the time, but also reassured the nation that things were changing dramatically," Blanco said.

On the tape, Blanco told White House staffers that water was overtopping the levees. Col. Jeff Smith, Louisiana Homeland Security, defended the governor Friday, saying, "It doesn't matter whether or not the water is from an overtopping or whether ot not it's from a breach."

Blanco says what was said then is not as important now as trying to rebuild the Louisiana coast. "A hurricane hit our state of great dimensions. A second one followed behind it and finished off the rest of the coastline. Our work is far too great to sit around and try to kick blame from one corner to another."

Col. Jeff Smith says the office of Homeland Security is working on fixing communication problems between emergency agencies. He's hoping the state gets a $35 million federal grant so all police, fire and EMS radios will be able to communication with each other.

The panel's probe also found that Louisiana has not spent $58 million in first-responder grants dating back to 2003, Collins said. The state only uses 16 percent of its funding for communications, half the national average, she said.

State emergency preparedness officials who administer the program could not be reached to comment on the claims.

Communications firms cite problems in N.O. after Katrina
Advocate, The (Baton Rouge, LA)

February 7, 2006
Author: GERARD SHIELDS; WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Federal Emergency Management Agency workers commandeered gasoline from a company trying to restore telephone service to the hurricane-ravaged New Orleans area, a U.S. Senate investigative panel found.

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Monday released an e-mail obtained from Cox Louisiana Telecom LLC. The company was trying to restore service to 85,000 customers, according to Kay Jackson, director of regulatory affairs.

She complained about FEMA to the Louisiana Public Service Commission.

"Our efforts to get our telecommunications network back up and running is being severely hampered by FEMA," Jackson wrote.

"They are denying our field personnel fuel and taking any surplus we have, including gasoline in technicians' trucks in the field."

FEMA officials could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

The gasoline incident was held up by the committee as an example of how communications companies were often hampered by federal, state and local authorities from returning to New Orleans to repair a system vital to recovery efforts.

In another instance, e-mails showed that MCI was denied access to the New Orleans area by Louisiana State Police, who told company officials they needed a letter from Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

A State Police spokeswoman was unavailable to respond to the claim Monday evening.

Peter Fonash, deputy manager of the National Communications System with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said such access issues are not unusual because the matter is not outlined in the National Response Plan.

"It's extraordinary to me that this wasn't recognized prior to Katrina or any other natural disasters," said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs the committee.

The panel's probe also found that Louisiana has not spent $58 million in first-responder grants dating back to 2003, Collins said. The state only uses 16 percent of its funding for communications, half the national average, she said.

State emergency preparedness officials who administer the program could not be reached to comment on the claims.

Interoperability was a chief frustration during and after the storm, said Collins, who called it the "Achilles heel" of emergency response.

"Communications among first responders and with their headquarters were, at best, sporadic, inconsistent and overwhelmed by competing traffic," she said. "More often, it was non-existent."

The hearing also focused on law enforcement response, including whether the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice were fighting over the leadership role.

The committee unveiled e-mails that showed the two agencies skirmishing a week after the storm over who would take the lead.

"This lack of coordination slowed federal assistance, which could have avoided the breakdown of law and order that had serious consequences on the ground in the desperate and confusing aftermath of Katrina," said U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.

But Michael J. Vanacore of the Department of Homeland Security denied the existence of tensions, saying the departments agreed to work jointly.

"Everybody on the ground was doing their job," said Vanacore, director of international affairs at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The panel heard what Collins described as "chilling and eloquent" testimony from Warren Riley, superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department.

Riley, who was named police superintendent by Mayor Ray Nagin after Eddie Compass resigned, described a call from a panicked officer trapped in his attic who thought he was going to die and said his goodbyes before shooting out a vent to escape.

Riley also relayed 911 calls from pleading residents who were shouting "my babies can't swim" and "my husband has drowned."

http://www.2theadvocate.com

Blast from the past (1998):

NEW ORLEANS (Sept. 27) - The Big Easy was decidedly uneasy Sunday, as New Orleans prepared for its worst nightmare hurricane - a massive storm that would sit overhead for days, driving Lake Pontchartrain's waters over the levees and submerging the city.

''We're just waiting for the trigger to be pulled,'' said Lt. Col. Ronnie Jones of the Louisiana State Police, but thousands didn't wait for Hurricane Georges to arrive. They fled, turning Interstates 10 and 55 into bumper-to-bumper processions.

The storm, with winds of 110 mph, was expected to smash the Gulf Coast Sunday night or Monday; intermittant downpours started Saturday night, and flooding was already reported on the Florida Panhandle.

All told, forecasters predicted as many as 25 inches of rain would fall on New Orleans, coupled with a storm surge that could suck up millions of gallons of water and send it coursing like a tidal wave toward the city.

In a town that averages six feet below sea level - a city bordered by swamps, tidal lakes and the Mississippi River - the results could be catastrophic.

''We're the best city in America,'' said Mayor Marc Morial. ''But this may not have been the best place 300 years ago to place a city.''

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.