LA Gov. Asked Bush to Declare Nat'l Disaster on Sep. 28

http://www.informationclearinghouse....ticle10152.htm

That link is a .pdf file of the actual request made by Louisiana Governor Blanco to the White House to declare Louisiana a disaster a full two days before the storm hit.

It requests that the state be given (these are all names of types of help the federal government gives under law) Individual Assistance including the Individual and Household program, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, Crisis Counseling, Public Assistance, Small Business Administration disaster relief loans and Direct Federal Assistance. It notes that Louisiana had already declared a pre-emptive state of emergency allowing for evacuations to proceed and requests $130,000,000 for Assistance programs (which include evacuation and sheltering) and debris removal.

She submitted this two days before the fucker hit and W's people weren't ready? Getthefuckouttahere.

How can anyone continue to say that this was anything but a complete failure on the federal level?

Any more excuses?

theres a few that will die tryin to defend these criminals.....

Just had to!! :D
Don't click on the link though...pop up city!!! :eek:

Katrina's Blame Game


By Brynn Bacardi
Sept. 6, 2005

Since 1988, the US has experienced 53 disasters with total costs of nearly $260 billion. Just in the past 10 years, hurricanes Ivan hit Alabama (category 3 - $12 billion in damage), Frances hit Florida (category 2 - $14 billion), George hit Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida (category 2 - $6.5 billion), Opal hit Florida and Alabama (category 3 - $3.6 billion), and tropical storm Allison hit Texas and Louisiana ( $5 billion â?? flooding). This is no surprise to anyone. The water, winds, and terrain make this a great place for catastrophic weather to occur. So, why werenâ??t the states and cities more prepared?

President Bush requested 10.5 billion dollars for hurricane Katrinaâ??s relief effort and signed the bill as soon as it passed through the House and Senate yesterday evening. In fact, he actually declared Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida a disaster area on Monday, August 29th before all of the problems started. He DID act fast â?? and did all that he could within his powers. The rest lay with the state and city officials. Everyone seems to be pointing the finger at President Bush and FEMA â?? but the fingers need to be pointed at several key figures.

It is widely evident at this point that the governors of Alabama and Mississippi, and Mayor of New Orleans had no evacuation plan at all. They got on television and said, â??evacuateâ?�. And then went on their merry way. Why werenâ??t city transit buses and school buses mobilized to pick up those without transportation? Not only would they have save hundreds of people, they would have also saved the vehicles from destruction. Why didnâ??t they AT LEAST evacuate the hospitals and have alternative trauma centers set up in nearby cities? Did they have a plan? Did they even consider what could happen? Obviously not. It is not an impossible feat â?? look at the effort put forth by the city of Houston â?? they have mobilized and organized faster than anyone else to accommodate some 50,000 people. They had a plan. Why didnâ??t New Orleans? Major Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans on Sunday night, but what did he do to make it happen? Absolutely nothing! And now he is on the radio swearing and embarrassing himself and his city by whining about there being no help. What did he do to help? Does he even have a clue?

The administration at Tulane University evacuated the university and got their students and faculty out of the area. They did not give anyone a choice. And they provided transportation for all affected. They were not only responsible to their students but well prepared to implement their plan. Why didnâ??t the New Orleans officials do the same?

And despite new reports to the contrary, government agencies did and are still aiding people. The US Coast guard went in and rescued 1200 people on Monday in the New Orleans area. Over 1000 people were evacuated from Tulane University Hospital with the help of US military. The National Guard troops in the area moved in Tuesday to assist with the looting and crime (thatâ??s a whole other story and Iâ??m not even going to go there now â?? apparently Mayor Nagin didnâ??t have a plan to deal with that EITHER).

Look, it is not as if this was an unforeseen event. New Orleans lies up to 12 feet below sea level; sits on a swamp and lies between a river and lake. Think about it â?? when water comes in, either by rain or storm, it canâ??t get out! And, if the banks of the river and lake overflow, the only place it will flow is to a lower elevation â?? New Orleans. Any kid whoâ??s played at the beach can understand the scenario. But still, no effective, responsible, plan was designed or implemented, unless you call sending people to what became a concrete island in the middle of town a plan.

It is not FEMAâ??s ultimate responsibility to have a plan for every possible emergency scenario in every city of every state. Itâ??s impossible. And even if they could do it, they would need the cooperation of the respective cities. FEMA is there for response and recovery. And since September 11th, they have been focused on dealing with the potential results of a terrorist assault using weapons of mass destruction (such as biological and chemical warfare). Granted, their efforts have been somewhat lax â?? but would no doubt have been more than sufficient had the appropriate measures been taken before hand by the state and local governments. And letâ??s not forget â?? when the planes hit the towers on September 11th, it was not FEMA that ran up the stairs â?? it was the men and women of the NY City police and fire department. Sure FEMA came in later, but the immediate response was up to the affected city.

Right now, the supplies are there â?? but no one knows where to bring them â?? are there specific places set up in the affected areas for relief station and medical help? Did anyone in the state or city government take a look at a map over that past 30 years and find key locations to set up aid stations if another major hurricane hit? Evidently not. Relief stations are moving from day to day and people donâ??t know where to go for help. Where they given specific instruction for areas to go to in the event there was a major catastrophe? No! The state and city officials all just sat around sipping their mint juleps assuming that the federal government would save the day â?? itâ??s so much easier to place blame than to take responsibility, isnâ??t it?

Remember, we live in a DEMOCRACY â?? we supposedly do not want any government intervention â?? well, unless it is WHEN, WHERE, and HOW we want it. We scream for our privacy and civil rights â?? we donâ??t want â??big brotherâ?� in our lives. But as soon as we need help and it doesnâ??t go EXACTLY the way we think it should, we turn around and scream INJUSTICE! RACISM! INCOMPETENCE! It just doesnâ??t work that way.

Put the blame where blame is due. Take a look at the LOCAL officials who lived and worked right there where the hurricane hit. No one knows the needs and requirements of their cities better than they do - or do they?
Katrina's Blame Game


By Brynn Bacardi
Sept. 6, 2005

Since 1988, the US has experienced 53 disasters with total costs of nearly $260 billion. Just in the past 10 years, hurricanes Ivan hit Alabama (category 3 - $12 billion in damage), Frances hit Florida (category 2 - $14 billion), George hit Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida (category 2 - $6.5 billion), Opal hit Florida and Alabama (category 3 - $3.6 billion), and tropical storm Allison hit Texas and Louisiana ( $5 billion â?? flooding). This is no surprise to anyone. The water, winds, and terrain make this a great place for catastrophic weather to occur. So, why werenâ??t the states and cities more prepared?

President Bush requested 10.5 billion dollars for hurricane Katrinaâ??s relief effort and signed the bill as soon as it passed through the House and Senate yesterday evening. In fact, he actually declared Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida a disaster area on Monday, August 29th before all of the problems started. He DID act fast â?? and did all that he could within his powers. The rest lay with the state and city officials. Everyone seems to be pointing the finger at President Bush and FEMA â?? but the fingers need to be pointed at several key figures.

It is widely evident at this point that the governors of Alabama and Mississippi, and Mayor of New Orleans had no evacuation plan at all. They got on television and said, â??evacuateâ?�. And then went on their merry way. Why werenâ??t city transit buses and school buses mobilized to pick up those without transportation? Not only would they have save hundreds of people, they would have also saved the vehicles from destruction. Why didnâ??t they AT LEAST evacuate the hospitals and have alternative trauma centers set up in nearby cities? Did they have a plan? Did they even consider what could happen? Obviously not. It is not an impossible feat â?? look at the effort put forth by the city of Houston â?? they have mobilized and organized faster than anyone else to accommodate some 50,000 people. They had a plan. Why didnâ??t New Orleans? Major Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans on Sunday night, but what did he do to make it happen? Absolutely nothing! And now he is on the radio swearing and embarrassing himself and his city by whining about there being no help. What did he do to help? Does he even have a clue?

The administration at Tulane University evacuated the university and got their students and faculty out of the area. They did not give anyone a choice. And they provided transportation for all affected. They were not only responsible to their students but well prepared to implement their plan. Why didnâ??t the New Orleans officials do the same?

And despite new reports to the contrary, government agencies did and are still aiding people. The US Coast guard went in and rescued 1200 people on Monday in the New Orleans area. Over 1000 people were evacuated from Tulane University Hospital with the help of US military. The National Guard troops in the area moved in Tuesday to assist with the looting and crime (thatâ??s a whole other story and Iâ??m not even going to go there now â?? apparently Mayor Nagin didnâ??t have a plan to deal with that EITHER).

Look, it is not as if this was an unforeseen event. New Orleans lies up to 12 feet below sea level; sits on a swamp and lies between a river and lake. Think about it â?? when water comes in, either by rain or storm, it canâ??t get out! And, if the banks of the river and lake overflow, the only place it will flow is to a lower elevation â?? New Orleans. Any kid whoâ??s played at the beach can understand the scenario. But still, no effective, responsible, plan was designed or implemented, unless you call sending people to what became a concrete island in the middle of town a plan.

It is not FEMAâ??s ultimate responsibility to have a plan for every possible emergency scenario in every city of every state. Itâ??s impossible. And even if they could do it, they would need the cooperation of the respective cities. FEMA is there for response and recovery. And since September 11th, they have been focused on dealing with the potential results of a terrorist assault using weapons of mass destruction (such as biological and chemical warfare). Granted, their efforts have been somewhat lax â?? but would no doubt have been more than sufficient had the appropriate measures been taken before hand by the state and local governments. And letâ??s not forget â?? when the planes hit the towers on September 11th, it was not FEMA that ran up the stairs â?? it was the men and women of the NY City police and fire department. Sure FEMA came in later, but the immediate response was up to the affected city.

Right now, the supplies are there â?? but no one knows where to bring them â?? are there specific places set up in the affected areas for relief station and medical help? Did anyone in the state or city government take a look at a map over that past 30 years and find key locations to set up aid stations if another major hurricane hit? Evidently not. Relief stations are moving from day to day and people donâ??t know where to go for help. Where they given specific instruction for areas to go to in the event there was a major catastrophe? No! The state and city officials all just sat around sipping their mint juleps assuming that the federal government would save the day â?? itâ??s so much easier to place blame than to take responsibility, isnâ??t it?

Remember, we live in a DEMOCRACY â?? we supposedly do not want any government intervention â?? well, unless it is WHEN, WHERE, and HOW we want it. We scream for our privacy and civil rights â?? we donâ??t want â??big brotherâ?� in our lives. But as soon as we need help and it doesnâ??t go EXACTLY the way we think it should, we turn around and scream INJUSTICE! RACISM! INCOMPETENCE! It just doesnâ??t work that way.

Put the blame where blame is due. Take a look at the LOCAL officials who lived and worked right there where the hurricane hit. No one knows the needs and requirements of their cities better than they do - or do they?

http://www.useless-knowledge.com/123...rticle074.html

Umm, FEMA is around because natural disasters are most of the time too big for municipalities and even states to handle effectively. If that weren't the case, there would be no need for FEMA.

His disaster declaration was FEMA's cue to take the fuck over.

Did they? No. Were they supposed to have a plan? Umm, yeah. Isn't that what the whole Dep't of Homeland Security overhaul was all about?

It's probably because W chose the most inept man on the planet to lead the organization - he and I both literally have the same qualifications for the job and I don't know shit about it.

Have a plan for something of this magnitude? How far do we plan and prepare? This situation as tops...maybe the big quake that WILL hit California? Maybe for the Mega-Tsunami that WILL hit the east coast when the volcano erupts in the Canary Islands? Or should they prepare for the biggy when Yellowstone Park erupts? What size disaster are the Feds suppose to be prepared for BEYOND state level?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Psycho4Bud

Have a plan for something of this magnitude? How far do we plan and prepare? This situation as tops...maybe the big quake that WILL hit California? Maybe for the Mega-Tsunami that WILL hit the east coast when the volcano erupts in the Canary Islands? Or should they prepare for the biggy when Yellowstone Park erupts? What size disaster are the Feds suppose to be prepared for BEYOND state level?

---

Well, let's see now.

Katrina was Category 4 or 5 when it brushed Florida - can't remember which - but was definitely Cat 5 in the Gulf. So they knew that much.

They also knew it was headed towards New Orleans or somewhere very, very close. Meteorology's a motherfucker these days.

There were numous reports available, and had been for years, that said anything over a Category 3 storm would most likely cause levee failures and flooding in New Orleans.

They also had census reports that showed them pretty accurately what they were dealing with in terms of population within New Orleans.

Yeah, I'm almost positive a plan could've been made in advance of Katrina's arrival with just that readily available information.

Beyond that, a city with the stature of New Orleans should already have a detailed evacuation and rescue plan at the federal level due to the threat of terrorism.

Maybe I should run FEMA.

O.K., fair enough but answer me this riddle???

Why weren't school busses used to evacuate people well before hand?
Local level

Why wasn't the LA. National Guard down there with trucks to evacuate people?

With New Orleans being an under water city, why did'nt the state have supplies, etc...in store houses in like Batan Rouge?
State Level

The feds were definately slow to respond but I think the State and Local governments completely let their people down!

Katrina was Category 2 when it went past Florida, and weak category 2 at that.