Mayor (of New Orleans) blasts failure to patch levee breaches

[mom cat]

The mayor said that the sandbag repairs were supposed to happen yesterday with drops from helecopters, but that someone dropped the ball. Pumping station #6 is now not functioning. It had been keeping the water level stable. Now there would be nothing to keep the "bowl" from filling up. The repairs might have stopped or slowed the inflow and thereby kept the pumping station from being overwhelned... This looks bad..He said that this would set the recovery back at least four weeks. ...HE WAS PISSED!I saw some of the interview on TV.


Mayor blasts failure to patch levee breaches

Wednesday, August 31, 2005; Posted: 3:35 a.m. EDT (07:35 GMT)


http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/31/katrina.levees/index.html



New Orleans (Louisiana)
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- A day after Hurricane Katrina dealt a devastating blow to the Big Easy, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Tuesday night blasted what he called a lack of coordination in relief efforts for setting behind the city's recovery.

"There is way too many fricking ... cooks in the kitchen," Nagin said in a phone interview with WAPT-TV in Jackson, Miss., fuming over what he said were scuttled plans to plug a 200-yard breach near the 17th Street Canal, allowing Lake Pontchartrain to spill into the central business district. An earlier breach occurred along the Industrial Canal in the city's Lower 9th Ward.

The rising flood waters overwhelmed pumping stations that would normally keep the city dry. About 80 percent of the city was flooded with water up to 20 feet deep after the two levees collapsed.

The Army Corps of Engineers is working to repair the levee breaches, the agency said Tuesday, but it gave no timetable for repairs.
More...

He said that the bowl was now filling up and that it would settle in the next 12 to 15 hours at 3ft above sea level...a depth of 9 ft.

[saigon68]

1. That mixture will smell really Swell

Imagine a swirl of

1. Floating dead bodies washed from their above ground crypts.

2. Gas and oil from 300,000 abandoned cars and trucks

3. Millions of gallons of untreated sewage.

4. The overflow of a million of gallons of industrial pesticide waste.

5. Thousands of bloated dead cows and horses.

6. Uncounted tons of stockpiled industrial chemicals.

7. Hundreds of truckloads of floating dirty used diapers, depends and Kotex pads

8. Half a million people defecating and urinating in the street

SOUNDS LIKE FUN TO ME</SARCASM>

[Massachusetts]

11. SOUNDS LIKE FUN TO ME

And our fearless leader is cutting his vacation short and "heading" back to Washington. Isn't the disaster area along the way?

LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!!

[leftchick]

2. the mayor is to be on CNN soon...

I hope he gives HS and chimpass* a tongue lashing.

[saigon68]

4. More fun in the Big Easy.

[mom cat]

8. Is CNN streaming anywhere? Please post a link to the interview if you can.

[ngGale]

3. I'm glad the mayor has lost his temper....

this is one big screw up, or is it?:tinfoilhat:

[justabob]

24. Yes

To me, it seemed he had been restraining himself in the interviews, statements etc. over the past few days. He's been trying really hard and been very straight forward and provided little or no sugar coating but he's not getting any help. I am surprised he didn't blow sooner.

[Strelnikov_]

31. No. It Would Have Taken 7,000+ Bags At 1 Bag Per Helo Trip

For a 400' long, 15' deep breech.

Per COE on NPR, the hole is now 28' deep, which would be consistent with levee breeches I have experienced.

Dropping the bags may have been effective if dropped in the first hour or so of an overtopping breech. I suspect, however, that it was a slide failure, so the hole was too large within minutes. In the picture I saw yesterday morning at this time, the breech was already very large, with little turbulence, indicating it was already very deep.

I think what happened is someone offered to the Mayor they would try this, grasping at straws, and was quickly abandoned. My feeling is that by the time they figured out where the breech was, it was too late to do anything short of mobilizing a major construction operation.

The water was already in, would take days to remove, so where do you put helicopter resources, on a futile levee operation, or rescue operations?

[rocktivity]

38. What are you, psychic?

I was going to ask if dropping sandbags would have done any good!

:headbang:
rocknation

[maddezmom]

5. WDSU has aired clips from this interview a couple times today

and for the record he apologizes for using a bit of salty language. :D

[mom cat]

13. Bush is the one who should be apologising!Evidently FEMA or the Corp

of Engineers dropped the ball...And what was Chimp doing?

[mom cat]

6. WSDU reporting that the water is still rising..

[mom cat]

7. They had to close up their NO studio and get out of town ahead of the

rising water..They left for Jackson Miss.

[mom cat]

9. Gov now on WWL...Water still rising...hole over 100 feet deep now

We have to evacuate people in shelters. Have made plans to evaccuate the people..sending in busses.Citizenry needs to go.It is a logistical nightmare...There is not anything that anyone can do.

[mom cat]

10. Major evacuation underway...Gov Blanco

[mom cat]

12. Gov Blanco..We asked for the military .they should have been here by now.

Shr did not realize the mike was still on.... She is pissed. She said that people who stay will probably not survive.

[mom cat]

17. The sandbags were already ready..the choppers NEVER SHOWED UP!

Statement from Mayor Nagin on his interview last night.
Mayor says"there are too many chiefs". We had a good plan. Someone made another decision.

[Nihil]

14. "hole over 100 feet deep now"?

? What "hole" ?

[Submariner]

15. The hole that is scoured

out where the canal wall fell out and the water is moving into the city.

[Nihil]

20. 100 feet deep?

How deep/high are (were) the banks of the levee?
I was trying to picture how much the previous ground level had been
excavated (in addition to the hole from top to bottom of the bank).

[mom cat]

16. The breech in the 17th Street Canal is the "hole" that is being

referred to.

[Nihil]

21. Thanks

That was the only location that I could understand with reference to
the "hole" but am having difficulty picturing how a hole could be 100'
below the surface?

[rfkrfk]

41. does anyone else think that 'inside the city' levies', are stupid?

The levies are, dirt, with a concrete cap.

When one leaks, the Lake, which is above the street, comes in,
because there are no flood doors at the {lake} canal entrance.

[mom cat]

32. The evacuation is supposed to include the Superdome..other sites for

refugees have been found.

[willing dwarf]

18. Cuts at Corps of Engineers last June

I just read Will Pitt's article assessing bizarre life in US these days ("The FUnny Part") and he makes an important point perhaps everyone has heard this already, buthere it is again:

Back in June, the New Orleans district of the US Army Corps of Engineers absorbed a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding. This was an epic reduction for one fiscal year. A story from the Dolan Media news wire reported at the time that, "The cuts mean major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now."

So this disaster is likely due to the Chimperor's tax cuts, not to mention the National Guard in Iraq rather than at home. This natural disaster has a huge human error connected to it. His name is George W. Bush.

[magellan]

19. Well said

"This natural disaster has a huge human error connected to it. His name is George W. Bush."

Indeed. Welcome to DU. :)

[demo dutch]

28. Infrastructure has been deteriorating for many years there, according to

Landrieu, but cuts didn't help. Anyhow that budget wasn't approved yet, and even if it wasn't approved it wouldn't done much good at this point anyway. Prevention is a dirty word in this country.

[sniffa]

29. reaganomics kiLLs

but thanks for the taxcut asshoLes. x(

[mom cat]

36. You are damned right....What was the Chimp doing...raising money?

He is the commander in chief. He should have mobilized the armer forces, not just the guard, by now.Bush should Go down for this!

[rocktivity]

42. Here's were you can find more information

on Bush's de-funding of Louisana's anti-flooding efforts.

No wonder Bush is keeping his distance--just like with Iraq (and even 9/11), it was spelled out to him in no uncertain terms what the consequences would be.

Oh, and welcome to DU, Willing Dwarf!

:hi:
rocknation

[Mari333]

22. the levees were SUPPOSED to be fixed last yr. Bush cut off funding

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002331.html

[Mari333]

23. levee funding repair was cut off by Bush to pay for the war last year

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002331.html

[Donailin]

25. New Orleans is history

I think the city will ultimately be leveled after the water is gone.
All that sand and silt, the toxic mold, the compromised mortar of older buildings and the saturation in general will leave little left to save.

[demo dutch]

26. I've beensaying that since Sunday, but many here were suggesting media was

overblowing things!

[Gman]

27. Why do I get the feeling these efforts are being intentionally sabotaged?

I read the comments over at FR and they are overwhelmingly smug at the plight of these poor people. I have to extrapolate that this is the attitude of the GOP controlled federal government. This conclusion is unavoidable.

[raccoon]

34. By George, I think he's got it!

Didn't occur to me until I read your post.

You should post more often, Gman.

[Corgigal]

39. smug at the plight of these poor people

Until those poor people move to your town. Then watch them freak.
All those people, all those jobs that have left the areas, people have to start over. Not all of them will stay within a 100 miles of NO. Can you imagine what the workers compensation will be ? Good God.

[Wizard777]

45. You want to see them Freak.

Demand an investigation on the cause of the Levee Breech. Watch Bush start cracking the whip over them again like 9/11. Never mind that! We have more important work to do.

[Triana]

30. On WDSU - he was STEAMING mad...

...used the word 'frickin' once, then apologized! I can't blame him. He said someone diverted the blackhawk copters that were to be used to put the sandbags in to some other 'emergency'. He said there were 'too many chiefs' and too many people giving the orders.

Now, I have to ask: Since the Feds are involved, Homeland (in)Security and FEMA - and we KNOW they HATE Democrats and N.O. because it is a Democratic area - would they DELIBERATELY and covertly sabotage an effort like this, just to give Mayor Nadin Hell and to help destory the place? I mean, you've SEEN the Freeper threads on this, haven't you? Of course this is just a 'conspiracy theory' but would you put something like this past them? I wouldn't, being that they absolutely despise the place.

Whatever MORON diverted those copters ought to be FIRED. He or she just cost the relief effort millions more in dollars, weeks more in time, and probably helped destroy the French Quarter, which more than likely would have survived if it weren't for this tiny little "blunder". I hope they shitcan the idiot - if they even have the authority to do so.

[raccoon]

33. I think so too, but given the record of this administration,

("Whatever MORON diverted those copters ought to be FIRED.")
probably NOBODY will be fired.

Nobody was fired because of 9/11, were they? And everybody dropped the ball all over the place.

And most egregiously, Condiliar was PROMOTED to Sect. of State.

[Triana]

35. that's what I figure...

...if someone willfully diverted those copters in order to have the city further destroyed, he or she will be a hero in a bu$hbot's eyes and get promoted.

The scum indeed does rise to the surface in situations like these...

[mom cat]

40. Morans don't get fired, they get promoted.

[mom cat]

37. Office of Emergency Preparedness Update

Methodist Hospital being evaccuated...100 patients.. being evaccuated quickly.
Work proceeding on the breech. 3000 lb sandbags and Jersey barriers.
Lake still 2 ft above nornal.

[Podface]

43. New Orleans Mayor Blasts Fed Failures

Mayor blasts failure to patch levee breaches - CNN

"I had laid out like an eight-week to ten-week timeline where we could get the city back in semblance of order. It's probably been pushed back another four weeks as a result of this," Nagin said.

"That four weeks is going to stop all commerce in the city of New Orleans. It also impacts the nation, because no domestic oil production will happen in southeast Louisiana."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/31/katrina.levees/index.html


The people need to see that this war has compromised our first response teams at home. Apparently, most of the LA National Guard high-water vehicles were shipped to Iraq.

[Cha]

44. I Imagine that the New Orleans

National Guard that are in Iraq ..wish mightly that they could be home helping out to save their City! Poor Babies!

[Wizard777]

46. Bush playing Politics. The levee will be patched when JEB says patch it.

Break out the filght suite and Mission Accomplished banner. This is can become big political capitol for Jeb's 2008 run. I can see Texas and Florida running rough shod over La., Mo., and Al.

[Wizard777]

47. Bush has trademark on preserving the threat.

It could take years and a great cost of human life to patch the Levee.

Well unlike Iraq the water will eventually become equal. It will find and establish level. Water does a wicked balancing act. It's pretty much the antithesis of Bush's Imbalancing Acts. I think God is trying to teach us something here. So pay attention. He's a very Wise teacher. He's the REAL Architect.