BY JOHN PACZKOWSKI
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT) - (EDITOR'S NOTE: This daily roundup of Web and blogosphere coverage of Hurricane Katrina appears on the Web site of the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss. It can be found at
http://blogs.sunherald.com/after(underscore)the(underscore)storm/)
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WHO ORDERED NEW ORLEANS EVACUATED?
Amid all this finger pointing at the Bush administration it's worth noting that, according to reports, the mandatory evacuation in New Orleans last Sunday was ordered at the president's behest.
The mayor called the order unprecedented and said anyone who could leave the city should. He exempted hotels from the evacuation order because airlines had already cancelled all flights.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.
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A PHOTO OP?
Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu on Sunday upbraided the Bush administration for its poor response to the hurricane tragedy and called upon the president to appoint a Cabinet-level official to direct the federal response to one of the worst natural disasters in American history.
"Yesterday, I was hoping President Bush would come away from his tour of the regional devastation triggered by Hurricane Katrina with a new understanding for the magnitude of the suffering and for the abject failures of the current Federal Emergency Management Agency. Twenty-four hours later, the president has yet to answer my call for a cabinet-level official to lead our efforts. Meanwhile, FEMA, now a shell of what it once was, continues to be overwhelmed by the task at hand.
``I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had water-tanker aircraft available to help douse the fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA has yet to accept the aid. When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate significant numbers of victims - far more efficiently than buses - FEMA again dragged its feet. Offers of medicine, communications equipment and other desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to be ignored by the agency.
``But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the president, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast - black and white, rich and poor, young and old - deserve far better from their national government.
"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."
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SO YOU DID HAVE A PLAN
Turns out there was a hurricane disaster plan for Louisiana, the city and state just didn't quite manage to implement it. A few excerpts from THE STATE OF LOUISIANA EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN:
The first:
Tidal surge, associated with the "worst case" Category 3, 4 or, Hurricane Scenario for the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area, as determined by the National Weather Service Sea, Lake and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) Model, could cause a maximum inundation of 20 feet above sea level in some of the parishes in the Region, not including tidal effects, wind waves and storm rainfall.
The area is protected by an extensive levee system, but above-normal water levels and hurricane surge could cause levee overtopping or failures.
It will take a long time to evacuate large numbers of people from the Region.
Then there's this:
The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating.
Recommended Evacuation: 2. Mobilize parish/local transportation to assist persons who lack transportation or who have mobility problems.
3. Announce the location of staging areas for people who need transportation. Public transportation will concentrate on moving people from the staging areas to safety in host parishes with priority given to people with special needs.
The plan for the New Orleans officials was "pray the storm misses us like Ivan."
The more I see, and the more I read, I am beginning to believe that BLANCO should be held CRIMINALLY responsible. The souls of the Dead are crying out for JUSTICE!