Katrina Live Thread, Part XIII

Various ^ | 1 September 2005 | Various

[DouglasKC]

Is this the woman who said an MRE was uneatable?

No idea. But this is really opening my eyes to how soft we are as a people. Cut off the electricity and water for three days in one area of the country and we descend into chaos.

[MEG33]

The police could not communicate with the firefighters on 911 IIRC..I believe one problem is not having compatible equipment..

[RummyChick]

Sheesh, why couldn't buses have gotten in there from whereever to get all of those people out. I can just picture the thugs thinking of all of NO as their Kingdom and they rule the roost.

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Heck, we will do 'em like cattle. Run 'em in the chute, innoculate 'em, worm 'em, ear tag 'em. Cannot neuter 'em. Yet.

[livius]

No brains in the governor's mansion.

That's pretty clear. She's an embarrassment to those of us of the female persuasion.

[MarMema]

Fema was ready and waiting but had to wait til the storm passed and the State got it's act together. If the State is not with it then the process is slow.

We lost our well during the 7 quake here a few years back. With an entire goatherd, huge chicken flock, and 4 kids, it was a small disaster for us to not have water.

Fema was at our front door 4 or 5 days later with an offer of a check and wonderfully knowledgeable advice, a free home damage inspection included.

[steveegg]

That's true. A huge amount of supplies were needed, and it seems that the city itself (despite supposedly having done a "disaster management plan" not long before) underestimated the needs and really had no plan in the first place.

Sounds like the Chicago blizzard of 1977, only there aren't any Xerox machines working in NO to gin up an insta-plan.

[not-an-ostrich]

That's cute. She finally holds a news conference but slams Hastart before/instead of addressing immediate needs?

[mjwise]

Hey, I love MREs myself! I have friends in the Army NG and the USAF and occasionally I get to try some of the MRE food. I think it's excellent (better than a lot of institutional food I've had) -- I wish I could find saltines in stores like they are in the MREs.

I would be beyond thrilled to get an MRE in this sort of situation they're in.

[XEHRpa]

> In the case of NO, a city below sea level, there's no margin of error. But the city and state government just sort of shrugged and carried on as if it were all just a bad dream, probably provoked by GWB.

To willingly choose to live below sea level, surrounded by water IS to be living in an alternate mental reality. So their state of denial leading up to Katrina is not surprising.

[RGVTx]

I don't know if this link has been posted. I was searching for news on the Mandeville area and found this page with links to news for individual counties and cities affected by Katrina.

http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0901-hurricane.html

[samantha]

I give it about three days before things start to turn around. I believe that the Feds are mostly handling this from now on and there will be no excuses given for savage behavior. I think that the Mayor and Gov have finally been hoisted on their own petard and are spinning like heck,but basically are letting Homeland Security handle this now. It takes a while for the "Govmint" to get going but then it will be much better run. These are the professionals,not the friends and cronies of the Elected officials.

[Frank_2001]

I think you're right about that!

[PhiKapMom]

Do you drink a gallon of water a day?

[CindyDawg]

When my parents divorced we moved to a large city. My Mom dumped my dog. A few months ago she remarked, " It's been 35 years now. How much longer are you going to hold this against me?. Have you thought about letting this go?" She told me if of all the things she could change, that this was #1. Good:')

[advance_copy]

Bump for the streaming feeds.

[MarMema]

Noah's wish. Easily googled.

[sarasmom]

There was a report of that, earlier on this thread by a FReeper in good standing who was housing a NOPD member.
I would not doubt it out of hand.
For this kind of utter devastation, and under these circumstances, I doubt any civilian LEOs have had even cursory training to fall back upon to guide them.
There are a multitude of valid reasons that "Posse Comitas" separates the DOD forces from our own civilian population.
God help us all if the Louisianian National Guard fails to restore order.
It is completely out of the hands of civilian LEOs now. Best to give it a few days before the regular DOD is called upon, because to do that, means Martial Law would have to be declared nationwide first.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Still talking about MREs? They are a heck of a lot better than three days worth of hunger...They are great to put up on a shelf with other emergency supplies.

But don't forget to keep a stockpile of heaters, too...they taste a little bit better warm. Doesn't take much water to get the heater to work, either...

[oceanview]

I don't see what leverage they have regarding Roberts and New Orleans. we don't need Schumer's vote on Roberts, we know how he is going to vote anyway, his vote is meaningless.