Posted on 03/03/2006 10:31:24 PM PST by Ellesu
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.
Thank You.
Good reads, Karl. Thanks for the links!
Yes, the storm "missed" New Orleans, the reporters all said the city was saved...then early that evening the levees started breaking (as the waters upstream filled up Lake Ponchatrain, then the canals).....the first helo over the city showing extensive flooding was mid day, day 2.
If I recall, the winds had to drop below 50 mph or something like that.
I forgot to add that Monitoring Times is light years ahead of Popular Communicaiotns these days. Pop Comm has degenerated into a Bush-bashing rag, first in the editorials, and now in many articles. I haven't picked up a copy in months.
The press should switch back to the Port Deal. This Katrina thing has only managed to help one person and that is the former FEMA chief Michael Brown. I am glad he has gotten his due, the guy did nothing wrong and was scapegoated. He handled previous disasters just fine including Sept 11th as Deputy director.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/09/10/Worldandnation/_Average__past_trails.shtml
Also the suggestion that he had an "average past" was just an empty attack. He had proven himself over and over with his actions and I know from personal experience that just because someone didn't "supervise" employees doesn't mean you didn't "supervise" employees. I for one have "supervised" government employees while in a contractor role. I assigned them work and they worked in a supporting role to me. I may have not been able to fire them or take action against them but in all other ways I indeed supervised them but in the government lookglass world things are often one way on paper and another entirely in reality. Regardless I was happy to see a good man who was beaten down and then hung out to dry get a fair shake.
I sent that clown at Pop Comm a letter....and a cancellation. Now that other Scanning USA Magazine is popping off too about domestic spying....citing ACLU studies and such!
Rerminding me that on 9/11, the NYPD and the NYFD could not talk to one anoither. Bureaucracies demand that everything be done from the top down, so this slows joint action among those in the field.
Isn't this typical of this administration? Standing up for demorats who don't have a problem blaming the administration for every ill? Makes me want to puke. She is caught saying something that contrasts what Bush is seen saying on video but she is not attacked like Bush is because why? Because she in an underling demorat? Sheesh.
They started the blame game. The sword cuts both ways.
"Overtopping" stops when the storm passes.
"A breach" continues to pour water through the levee until either it is patched or the water level in the city matches that in the canal (which is exactly what happened). Remember all of those pictures showing water flowing into the city AFTER the storm had passed?
If this guy doesn't understand the difference, he should be fired from his position in LA Homeland Security.
Yeah ... as if that is all she will say on the subject and not to bother her any further. Besides, the President and Federal agencies located 1,500 miles away in Washington should know the minute to minute update, not the local mayor or state governor. That call by the President to evacuate was just a power-grab thing!
You notice in the copy of the story how white house staffers "claim" while Gov. Blanco "explained"? The writer learned well at "Leading,Slanted Reporting 101" at Radio Moscow U.
That is what I tried to explain to some libs I work with, but they think Bush should have known everything. I asked them how they could blame Bush, when he was getting flawed info from Blanco. They had no answer, once I confronted them with FACTS.
I was really PO'ed at the Austin paper yesterday. The day before, they had the "Bush Knew" story on the front page above the fold. Where was this story hidden? On A-2 in the National Digest section. A one or two sentence blurb in an area very few people even look at, much less read.
I intend to write a letter to the editor and chastise their liberal @$$es. I am close to canceling my subscription. They went up on prices last year, but I'm locked in at the student rate, since my daughter is still in college.
I am sorry, I am sick to death hearting about Katrina. I am just a housewife but here's the way I see it. They knew a cat 5 was coming to the area days before. Do not wait until the day before to tell people they should think about evacuating. Don't wait on Greyhound to get peoples butts out of there. Use school buses, bicycles whatever. Don't depend on people hundreds of miles away to do everything for you. If you can't think on your feet and use common sense you have no business being in any leadership roles. It was up to the leaders in Lousiana to get the people to safety and they failed, end of story.
Stupid.
Correction, the previous comment was made by Col. Jeff Smith, Louisiana Homeland Security.
The comment is still stupid.
Search4Truth was there for the whole thing. Perhaps he can share the timeline. He was in Lakeview by the 17th Street Canal breach.
"Our work is far too great to sit around and try to kick blame from one corner to another."
Spoken like a person who knows she is at fault....
along with several others.
It just KILLS ME how these NIT WITS are given a pass by the media. I would love to see the actual laws/procedures for evacuation and emergency management for LA that existed in the hours before the storm hit.
Here's the timeline. The storm was only 6 days from the beginning to the end. It was 2 days in FL and just a TS when it entered the gulf. 1.5 million people did get out of the way.
INDEPTH: HURRICANE KATRINA
Hurricane Katrina timeline
CBC News Online | Updated September 4, 2005
Aug. 24, 2005
Tropical Depression 12 strengthens into Tropical Storm Katrina over the Central Bahamas, and a hurricane warning is issued for the southeastern Florida coast.
Aug. 25, 2005
Hurricane Katrina strikes Florida between Hallandale Beach and North Miami Beach as a Category 1 hurricane with 130 km/h winds.
Aug. 26, 2005
Katrina weakens over land into a tropical storm, before moving out over the Gulf of Mexico. It grows to a Category 2 hurricane with 160 km/h winds, veering north and west toward Mississippi and Louisiana. 10,000 National Guard troops are dispatched across the Gulf Coast.
Aug. 27, 2005
Eleven people die in Florida. Katrina becomes a Category 3 storm, with 185 km/h winds, and a hurricane warning is issued for Louisiana's southeastern coast, including New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain, and for the northern Gulf coast. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin declares a state of emergency and urges residents in low-lying areas to evacuate. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour declares a state of emergency. A mandatory evacuation is ordered for Hancock County, 65 kilometres east of New Orleans on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Coastal Gulf residents jam freeways and gas stations as they rush to escape.
Aug. 28, 2005
Katrina grows into a Category 5 storm with 260 km/h winds, and heads for the northern Gulf coast. Mayor Nagin orders a mandatory evacuation for New Orleans, but 10 shelters are also set up, including the Superdome, for those unable to leave. Evacuation orders are posted all along the Mississippi coast. Alabama Governor Bob Riley declares a state of emergency.
Aug. 29, 2005
Katrina, now a Category 4 hurricane with 230 km/h winds, makes landfall near Buras, La., at 6:10 a.m. CT (7:10 a.m. ET). U.S. President Bush makes emergency disaster declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi, freeing up federal funds. Katrina rips two holes in the Superdome's roof, with some 10,000 people inside. At least eight Gulf Coast refineries shut down or reduce operations. Airports close in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, La., Biloxi, Miss., Mobile, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla. Hundreds of flights are canceled or diverted.
Aug. 30, 2005
The death toll in Mississippi rises to more than 100. Two levees break in New Orleans and water pours in, covering 80 per cent of the city and rising in some areas to six metres deep. Many people climb onto roofs to escape. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco says everyone still in New Orleans - an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people - must be gotten out. Crowds swell at the Superdome and the convention centre in New Orleans. Rescuers in helicopters and boats pick up hundreds of stranded people in New Orleans, and reports of looting begin to emerge. About 40,000 people are in American Red Cross shelters, not including in New Orleans. President Bush cuts short his vacation.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/katrina/katrina_timeline.html
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