Posted on 09/02/2005 10:24:39 AM PDT by texas_mrs
Office of Emergency Preparedness: http://www.neworleanscert.org
OEP Mission Statement The Office of Emergency Preparedness is responsible for the response and coordination of those actions needed to protect the lives and property of its citizens from natural or man-made disasters as well as emergency planning for the City of New Orleans. Our primary responsibility is to advise the Mayor, the City Council and Chief Administrative Officer regarding emergency preparedness activities and operations. We coordinate all city departments and allied state and federal agencies which respond to city-wide disasters and emergencies through the development and constant updating of an integrated multi-hazard plan. All requests for federal disaster assistance and federal funding subsequent to disaster declarations are also made through this office.Our authority is defined by the Louisiana Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act of 1993, Chapter 6 Section 709, Paragraph B:
"FOR CERT INFORMATION ONLY" CONTACT Lt. Col. Tom Miller, AC5TM At 504 715-7185 (For CERT Info. Only)
New Orleans Community Emergency Response Team
CERT Divisions:
Updated Information Coming Soon
Member Information:
Members exercise medical skills during a CERT class.
Capt. Mike Smolek CERT Class.
NOTHING HERE
2003 CERT Graduation
NO CLASS OF 2003? No other Members listed on the site. Updated Information Coming Soon????
NOTHING ON THE SITE ABOUT HURRICANES.
OMG, they have an ONLINE application to join, and the URL is BROKEN even!
Look, I'm a very, very sympathetic and empathetic person so I do understand the plight of persons such as you quoted.
I'll paraphrase:
"No car, no bus running/can't get to the bus, no plans, someone else figure it out for me."
BUT, here's the thing that gets to the essence of the problem for most others...
Everyone has to figure survival out for themselves. Ultimately, it's a personal choice, as in, if a threat is severe enough (a Category Five hurricane scheduled to arrive in 24/48 hours is severe enough threat), you do what you need to do to survive.
Or don't do it. In which case, you don't survive.
BUT, what we have in these many thousands in New Orleans (or had) were people functioning under a culturally learned behavior that limited their survival options to: "wait and someone else will do my heavy lifting for me."
That says: "when my life gets threatened, someone else is supposed to figure out how I'm going to survive, and then explain it to me in the moment when my life is threatened because I cain't do it, not now."
And it frustrates others who hear these messages, these cultural lessons of the worst kind, in the limited options of others.
I wrote on the day OF the hurricane that I couldn't understand why anyone would stay in N.O. UNLESS they were frail and impaired otherwise and had no one to assist them out-the-door, down-the-street, out-of-town.
And stay expecting to confront the end.
But instead, so many thousands remained who were well nourished and quite able bodied. Among those, I think many remained because they planned to plunder afterward (I do believe that), but then countless other thousands just stayed because, because...they anticipated someone else coming along and doing for them.
Otherwise, why all the cries for helps and demands for services? It's because people waited with an expectation to have their needs resolved for them.
I suggested on the day OF the hurricane that able bodied, well nourished people might have (should have, why didn't they) just start hiking out of town on the three days prior to the storm's arrival, at least on the day before? Or thumb a ride...start hiking and thumb a ride along the way.
And people screamed (some did, anyway) that that idea was cruel, but literally, IF and when your life is threatened, MOST people recognize the threat and take off however and as how they can. If your only means of transport are your feet, use those. As in, the intention should be to survive, not to be prideful, retaliatory, resentful, but just to use whatever resource, tool you have to keep yourself alive and get the heck out of harm's way.
Most of the people who milled around and threatened rioting if not did rioting were people with resentments, who failed to take care of themselves.
It's a cruel aspect to life that you either take care of yourself, or you lose it. Perceive a threat big enough to threaten your life, then chose to survive, or chose to wait for rescue, which may, or may not, arrive as many now realize, too late.
We'll be seeing this on the front page of the NYT? /sarcasm
Very interesting.
Wrong. A thorough and actionable evac plan would most definitely have ameliorated the conditions. Or perhaps you are confused about the definition of "ameliorate" which simply means to improve for the better.
Thanks longshadow!
from thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1476538/posts?page=103#103
source: http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26
"City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan" annex I: Hurricanes
III. EVACUATION ORDER
A. Authority
As established by the City of New Orleans Charter, the government has jurisdiction and responsibility in disaster response. City government shall coordinate its efforts through the Office of Emergency Preparedness
The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane.
B. Issuance of Evacuation Orders
The person responsible for recognition of hurricane related preparation needs and for the issuance of an evacuation order is the Mayor of the City of New Orleans. Concerning preparation needs and the issuance of an evacuation order, The Office of Emergency Preparedness should keep the Mayor advised.
[snip]
V. TASKS
A. Mayor
* Initiate the evacuation.
* Retain overall control of all evacuation procedures via EOC operations.
* Authorize return to evacuated areas.
B. Office of Emergency Preparedness
* Activate EOC and notify all support agencies to this plan.
* Coordinate with State OEP on elements of evacuation.
* Assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging areas.
* Assist ESF-8, Health and Medical, in the evacuation of persons with special needs, nursing home, and hospital patients in accordance with established procedures.
* Coordinate the release of all public information through ESF-14, Public Information.
* Use EAS, television, cable and other public broadcast means as needed and in accordance with established procedure.
* Request additional law enforcement/traffic control (State Police, La. National Guard) from State OEP.
[emphasis added to illustrate who is a lying incompetent scumbag]
This is from the NOLA website! This has been the city plan for hurricane evacuations for who knows how long! And he CLAIMS he had to consult with the city attorney Saturday night to find out if he had authority to order an evacuation?
Put your head between your legs and kiss your a** goodbye.
Oh, I get it now....
As my 10 yo grandson says:
"Liberals have messed up this country!"
On Friday night Greta Van Sustren interviewed a 15 year old who stole a school bus and started picking up people along the way, 82 was the number mentioned, and drove to Houston. He had more brains than the Mayor.
In the Indianapolis papers, the feedback from 'published' rants (LetItOut) and LtotheE are that
It's the 'gut' reaction vs 'truth' that's going to be the big spin factor.
Sure. Please cite to me any instance of a city of $1.2 million people evactuating to a greater degree than the 80% or so which happened in NOLA - using a municipal government evac plan and resources. Please.
"those who are here pretending that a municipal gov't evac plan would have somehow ameliorated those conditions are living in dream world"
I responded to this statement. Following your logic, why bother having any plan at all since it won't improve your results. I thought maybe you misspoke, but now I know you didn't. I'm not getting into a p!ssing match with you.
I wasn't saying there shouldn't be a plan - I am saying that expecting that plan to be managed and executed on a municipal level is lunacy.
Your own response proves the point, when your reply relies on a comparison with an evacuation conducted by an authoritarian government - which, BTW, evacuated fewer persons than actually did evac in NOLA.
And surely you don't believe that the local governments of Talim and Haitang performed that effort, with their own resources.
Why should you give an example? Because it is you who is opining that the NOLA municipal government should have executed a feat that has never been done before, that's why.
Red
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