Katrina Will Be Catastrophic

Mon Sep 12, 2005 11:08 pm

Quote from news article..."After a stormy record of misplaced aid in Florida and slow response to disaster in the Mississippi delta, Brown stepped aside to try to spare Bush and FEMA the distractions of further political attack."

translation - your fired!

Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:37 pm

Originally posted by Juggernaught
Maybe 90% of FEMA's budget shouldn't be for fighting terrorism and more for disaster relief.

That's why FEMA sucks. After 9/11/01 FEMA got absorbed into the Dept. of Homeland Security. The worst part about this storm is the lack of/slow/weak response from the Government. You'd figure after the WTC/Pentagon incidents we'd be better prepared. Shows you what happens when it's taken away from people who did the job because they actually cared about helping people in a crisis.

:blow:

Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:45 pm

That whole departments was seriously f***d up. The National Guard showed up within 24 hours of being called, and they took over. The guy who took control was General Honore, as soon as he took charge, things got done. Kinda indicates that FEMA was suffering from a lack of strong central command, not a lack of materials and equipment. How bad was Brown that a General could show up out of the blue and just fix the problem like that?

Wed Sep 14, 2005 8:37 pm

You guys are forgetting they can't come in unless requested by LOCAL governments, the red cross had tractor trailer loads of supplies in NO on monday before the levys broke and were turned away by the mayor. The National Guard offered to move in early and were turned down by the governer

Wed Sep 14, 2005 8:58 pm

I think everyone needs to realize that severity of this natural disaster. Humans can only do so much to defend against the earth. There is no way anyone could have predicted exactly what to expect and to what extent. At times like these, when disaster is looming, people have to take responsibility for thier own safety. The government can only do so much. Besides, we all know governemt programs do not work to begin with.
I think a localized catastrophy like this requires the main assistance coming from the state and city governments first, with the federal government as a back up.

Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:04 pm

I know about the National Guard, up here in NH they waiting all week for the call. They were ready to go, they just needed the call. They got it on thursday afternoon, they were in NO friday at 6:00 PM or so. This guy Brown wasn't a leader, he was an organizer. In times of crisis, leadership is needed.
Looks like Chertoff is next in the hotseat.

Wed Sep 14, 2005 10:00 pm

So isnt the death count at over 400 people dead now?

its terrible that we could let that many people stay and die...

Fri Sep 16, 2005 4:55 pm

Yeah I knew the local gov't was mostly to blame, and I love how the mayor tries to throw the whole blame on the national gov't. What I'm saying is the call for aid really shouldn't be up to him, and that we really weren't prepared in that sense. I knew the Nat'l Guard were ready to go - I think I read that a lot of them from neighboring states were also waiting to hear if they were being activated.

What a mess - mostly due to bad organization and, for the most part, planning.

As for FEMA... well... They were better when they were focused instead of being lumped in with Homeland Security.

Yeah we didn't know how bad it was going to be but they've been predicting the worst. They should have prepared for it. If it was even half as bad they'd have been better off that way.

Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:17 pm

not sure if anyone has seen these yet or if they have been posted so i pre apologize if they have. These are some really wicked photo's of Katrina coming inland. These have been going around email and the internet, so some of you i am sure have seen before:

Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:18 pm

Wow, hadn't seen them

Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:20 pm

Those are all fake pictures. Cool... but fake. The land scape doesn't even match the region.

Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:24 pm

Originally posted by Hat Rack
Those are all fake pictures. Cool... but fake. The land scape doesn't even match the region.

Are you sure? if they are, i didn't know.. :confused:

Fri Sep 23, 2005 3:15 pm

Katrina refugee gunned down in Tennessee
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/23/refugee.slain.ap/index.html

Quotes:
"...Days before he was killed last week, the Red Cross gave him a debit card worth several hundred dollars."

"Her son had left a Chattanooga nightclub with at least two men and a woman hours before his body was spotted early Saturday on a weedy roadside in south Chattanooga, Freeman said.

"He visited the Red Cross center the day before his body was found, said Jerry Wilson, a service center manager. He requested additional financial help and replacements for Red Cross and Social Security cards."

I am sorry and not to be insensitive, but i have to ask, "This guy has no money, just lost everything and was given money by the Red Cross to get life started again...Why the hell was he at a night club? Undoubtably spending money? !!!

Mon Sep 26, 2005 12:20 am

I've been taking care of and playing with small children who have been orphaned by Katrina and brought up here to NYC by a church group.

It's heartbreaking. One of them calls me "mommy."