Katrina: A timeline -- proof the Federal response was NOT SLOW

White House.gov; multiple news & other sources ^ | 9/3/05

[doug from upland]

Incredible work here, Wolfstar. Way to go.

[Snoitan5]

WOW! Read and saved!

[justa-hairyape]

If we go by only media reports that were available at the time, New Orleans Flooding Problems were first known early Tuesday. For at least 8 hours prior to that everyone was partying with the shrimp on bourbon street. So effectively, everyone was evacuated from New Orleans in 4 days. Not bad. How many total people were evacuated ?

[2nd amendment mama]

They couldn't do all those things that you suggest because the Governor didn't give permission for the feds to come in!

[DaveTesla]

“Mr. President, I’m imploring you once again to get a cabinet-level official stood up as soon as possible to get
this entire operation moving forward regionwide with all the resources – military and otherwise – necessary to
relieve the unmitigated suffering and economic damage that is unfolding.”

And what exactly are they doing?
The logistics of this situation are a nightmare.
Evacuating, finding shelter and the feeding and care of
these homeless is almost an impossible task (almost).
And this political backstabbing is all they have to offer?
Why aren't they meeting with the governors of other states to find plausible solutions to the problem at hand?
What are they, political showpieces in a palace?
Because their of no use in this situation, is why
the president MUST intervene in the first place.

Truly absurd!

[rlmorel]

"...The left has hired airplanes to fly banners around the Houston Astrodome towing "Blame Bush" banners so they appear on national TV..."

IS THAT FOR REAL? WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT????

[nodumbblonde]

ping for later

[Cedar]

TGIF ping?

[2nd amendment mama]

It is much more than NO.

ABSOLUTELY!!!! This is what all these whining crybabies forget. MS and AL aren't getting 1/2 the help or attention as NO because they're picking themselves up by their bootstraps and actually doing things for themselves.

[justa-hairyape]

Squeaky wheel always gets the grease.

[lepton]

8 days to get basic supplies in.

You sound like the 'rats that were saying on Friday that it's been 6 days since the hurricane hit.

Not to mention that according to the plan, the local and state governemtns were supposed to set up the shelters and distribute relief supplies for the first 5 days while FEMA did evaluations for resupply and additional materials. ...or what happened to supplies that were put too far forward.

[Elyse]

I think an important thing to add to the timeline is the transcript of Nagin's evacuation order. He clearly states that people who evacuate to the refuge of last resort bring 5 days of food, water and medicine.

FEMA then brought 360,000 MREs and I don't know how many cases of water into the Superdome. (I can't find any report that states the amount of water brought in, but I'm sure it was comparable if not more than the MREs)

So we are talking about some personal responsibility here. Yes, most of these people were poor, but if even third of them brought food and water with them. Then how can the media keep saying they went 3 to 4 days without food and water? I'd sure like to know when they started distributing out the MREs. Those should have been saved until at least the second day. I have this feeling that some yoyo started passing them out the first night and everyone just feasted until they were gone the next day.

[lepton]

He claims he briefed FEMA personnel in 2004 and some White House person and gave them the scenario of what happened with Katrina, but he said they ignored him.

Is he referring to this: Hurricane Pam Exercise Concludes.(2004 New Orleans Disaster Prediction)

[Christian4Bush]

bump

[lepton]

They couldn't do all those things that you suggest because the Governor didn't give permission for the feds to come in!

There were several different types of permission not given, and requests that appear to not have been made (but legally have to in the absence of an actual insurrection by the state).

[filbert]

I copied it my blog for posterity:

"MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS".

It was the single most horrifying thing from the Federal Government that I have ever read.

[lepton]

Then how can the media keep saying they went 3 to 4 days without food and water?

Well, that could simply be that the media is following its typical pattern of not counting anything that is not done by the government, like health-care and lunches.

[filbert]

Why would you be bringing in food before the hurricane hit land? Given that they so often change direction, you have to wait until the land fall.

Then you have to remember that everything seemed ok when the eye of the hurrican passed to the east of New Orleans. The catastrophe began when the levee failed. Aid arrived in about 72 hours....which is how long FEMA guides local authorities to prepare for their own support.

Because it was common knowledge in the disaster planning community that NO's levees would be breached/overtopped by anything stronger than a Cat 3 hurricane. If the levees failed, New Orleans would flood and become largely uninhabitable.

Katrina was a Cat 5 and hit the coast as a Cat 4.

[Carolinamom]

BUMP........increditable job, Wolfstar. Since this is an ongoing story/time line, it needs to be on a continuing basis, like the Katrina threads, as more info comes in. Thanks for all the work you put into this.