Replies

In the first few hours I do remember some in the media telling the truth - too many people from New Orleans up to Biloxi did not leave because they had been told to leave too many times before for nothing and didn't want to do it again, or had horror stories from previous evacuations, or they survived Camille and thought this one could not possibly be as bad. I also think people in New Orleans were lulled because the storm moved east at the last minute and was "only" a Category 4 as it made its way toward the coast. So everyone thought they could ride this one out.

FEMA does not have the authority nor the capacity to forcibly remove people from their homes, not does it have the responsibility for pre-disaster evacuations. New Orleans has a huge mass transit system, why did the City not start loading people without cars onto buses and get them out of town?

If I fault anyone, and I really don't, its the National Hurricane Center for not beating people over the head saying "this storm could be worse than Camille." That would have gotten people's attention. I never heard those words spoken and followe these things closely because I have family and friends up and down the Gulf Coast and I remember Camille vividly.

I also think people in New Orleans were lulled because the storm moved east at the last minute

The was the tiniest of wobbles right before landfall, and any decisions people made about whether to leave were already long made.

NHC did as much beating over the head as they possibly could.

If I fault anyone, and I really don't, its the National Hurricane Center for not beating people over the head saying "this storm could be worse than Camille." That would have gotten people's attention. I never heard those words spoken and followe these things closely because I have family and friends up and down the Gulf Coast and I remember Camille vividly.

Then you are as guilty as the people in N.O., because our Max Mansfield(?) from the N.H.C. repeatedly warned the people in N.O. and especially he emphasized the risk of flooding from storm surges!!