Posted on 09/04/2005 1:56:57 AM PDT by Crackingham
Like many seismic events, Katrina’s true impact might take a while to absorb. What started as a natural disaster soon became an unforeseen social meltdown and potential political crisis for the president. The poverty, anarchy, violence, sewage, bodies, looting, death and disease that overwhelmed a great American city last week made Haiti look like Surrey. The seeming inability of the federal or city authorities to act swiftly or effectively to rescue survivors or maintain order posed fundamental questions about the competence of the Bush administration and local authorities. One begins to wonder: almost four years after 9/11, are evacuation plans for cities this haphazard? Five days after a hurricane, there were still barely any troops imposing order in a huge city in America. How on earth did this happen? And what will come of it?
In the past, American disasters have led to political changes — the Johnstown flood in 1889 and the Galveston hurricane in 1900 led to fury at class privilege and a government that seemed not to care for the poor. The 1927 flood in New Orleans — and the inequalities it exposed — propelled the rise of the populist demagogue Huey Long. There seems to me a strong chance that this calamity could be the beginning of something profound in American politics: a sense that government is broken and that someone needs to fix it. It did, after all, fail. It failed to spend the necessary money to protect New Orleans in the first place. This disaster, after all, did not come out of the blue.
Below is a passage from the Houston Chronicle in 2001, which quoted the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the three likeliest potential disasters to threaten America. They were: an earthquake in San Francisco, a terrorist attack in New York City (predicted before 9/11), and a hurricane hitting New Orleans.
Read this prophetic passage and weep: “The New Orleans hurricane scenario may be the deadliest of all. In the face of an approaching storm, scientists say, the city’s less-than-adequate evacuation routes would strand 250,000 people or more, and probably kill one of 10 left behind as the city drowned under 20ft of water.
“Thousands of refugees could land in Houston. Economically, the toll would be shattering . . . If an Allison-type storm were to strike New Orleans, or a category three storm or greater with at least 111mph winds, the results would be cataclysmic, New Orleans planners said.”
Katrina, of course, was category four.
So what was done to prevent this scenario? There was indeed an attempt to rebuild and strengthen the city’s defences. But the system of government in New Orleans is byzantine in its complexity, with different levees answering to different authorities, and corruption and incompetence legendary.
More politically explosive, the Bush administration has slashed the budget for rebuilding the levees. More than a year ago, Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune: “It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us.”
It’s still unclear whether even with higher levels of funding the levees would have been strong enough to withstand Katrina in time. The Army Corps of Engineers has backed the president and said that the levees were built for only a category three hurricane and were in satisfactory shape. But levees need constant maintenance and an agency with a one-year budget cut of $71m might have skimped. The connection between shifting funds to fight wars abroad rather than to defend against calamity at home is a politically explosive one. As one Louisianan said: “You can do everything for other countries, but you can’t do nothing for your own people. You can go overseas with the military, but you can’t get them down here.”
More politically explosive, the Bush administration has slashed the budget for rebuilding the levees.
Naturally to the MSM, legendary corruption and incompetence in NOLA is not a "politically explosive" as any lame opportunity to blame Bush.
Therein lies the blame.
This needs to be repeated---often.
They weren't partying in the Superdome. We need to focus on the history of the levees to see exactly who took his eye off the ball or didn't proceed with funding to make them adequate.
If there is a "take 'em to task" sentiment growing with regards to the handling of the situation, ... Blanco and Nagin should get "front of the line" privileges to be called on the carpet.
Nagin's spews are obvious attempts to divert/deflect attention from NOLA's lack of will to follow-up or facilitate the tardy evacuation order. It was incumbent upon him not only to say "get out," ... but to also marshal the means to move those without independent ability to do so. This should have all been in writing and would have been triggered by the utterance of the evac order.
Likewise, upon word that NOLA was being evacuated, Blanco and Co. should have been able to make one or two phone calls to have "boots on the ground" and wheels rolling in order to head 'em up and move 'em out. Having said that, you could bet that probably more than half of the designated evacuees would have, ... or did, ignore the order to go. There is an attitude among some folk in the area that because they have escaped in the past, they could ride this one out. They gambled, and many lost.
While there were no doubt many innocent victims, ... there were probably just as many who chose to tempt fate, either because they felt they were "inconvenienced" or because they thought that whatever happened "the government" would save their posterior. In this case, the sad truth is that many abandoned common sense.
Disaster preparedness just becomes plain "disaster" if it isn't taken seriously.
September 4, 2005 - Flood of regret...waves of anger - Blueprint to save New Orleans was created but never realized
Same author:
October 2001 - Mark Fischetti: Drowning New Orleans A major hurricane could swamp New Orleans under 20 feet of water, killing thousands. Human activities along the Mississippi River have dramatically increased the risk, and now only massive reengineering of southeastern Louisiana can save the city
Didn't mean to offend you.
Would you "ping" me when you find the link? This would be great to forward beyond the forum.
Thanks.
Sure. Maybe Howlin can give me better directions since I guess he (she?) was the one who first posted it.
The whole Gulf Coast is in the same danger. Do you thing that they should all moved over 100 miles inland? or maybe just be better prepared. Every place in this country is subject to some kind of distaster.
Thanks.
It wasn't a matter of money. It did't matter, the levee was never going to be built to withstand a Cat 5.
Just a FYI, The Times isn't "liberal media" its fairly right wing, and its owned by none other than our very own Rupert Murdoch, owner of FOX.
Popeye's is the very best store bought chicken, and they have the best onion rings if you can find them.
I never heard the President say that the feds help was unacceptable, only that the situation period was unacceptable.
What lack of response? Not from federal gov't!
Who failed to declare and emergency? Who failed to call for forced evacuation of NO? Who failed to have the NOPD and NOFD working instead of looting? Who left school buses unused only to be immersed in flood waters?
The only people that are to blame for this disaster are the people of NO, they voted for these clowns. Do we feel sorry for these people? Damn right we do! But sympathy goes only so far, when they start blaming others for their own lack of governmental and personal planning the song get old quick.
My contempt comes from viewing video taken in a WalMart store. A male is looting, but has time to talk to a tv crew. Others are obviously looting. Among them are 2 female members of the NOPD. When questioned one claims to be doing here job. What is that job? Looking for looters! (Only in NOLA but without her seeing eye dag and white cane!)
It wasn't a matter of money. It did't matter, the levee was never going to be built to withstand a Cat 5.
Exactly...this is always how it starts too.
They (the media and press) start piling on about a certain issue, and Bush comes out unaffected.
Happened in 2000, happened in 2002, happened in 2004.
Of course the fact that Bush isn't running again and they are carping anyway always amuses me.
I just hope all the daily media's negative comments about Bush doesn't hurt the rest of his Presidency.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.