Slow response bewilders former FEMA officials (simulated hurricane drill)

[sabra]

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/12549282.htm

Slow response bewilders former FEMA officials

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Government disaster officials had an action plan if a major hurricane hit New Orleans. They simply didn't execute it when Hurricane Katrina struck.

Thirteen months before Katrina hit New Orleans, local, state and federal officials held a simulated hurricane drill that Ronald Castleman, then the regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, called "a very good exercise."

More than a million residents were "evacuated" in the tabletop scenario as 120-mile-an-hour winds and 20 inches of rain caused widespread flooding that supposedly trapped 300,000 people in the city.

"It was very much an eye-opener," said Castleman, a Republican appointee of President Bush who left FEMA in December for the private sector. "A number of things were identified that we had to deal with, not all of them were solved."
"It's hard for everyone to understand why buttons weren't pushed earlier on," Castleman said of the federal response.

Bush: "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees" surrounding New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

George Bush, ABC's Good Morning America, September 1, 2005

[shadowknows69]

1. fuk me

isn't there any way a federal judge can indict these criminals? this is beyond the pale.

[sabra]

2. mihop

I am 99% sure...

[iamjoy]

3. Amazing...

So, Dubya replaced experienced people with political appointees. I'm not ready to blame it all on that, however, we had great response in Florida last year during Charley, Frances, Ivan & Jeanne. If these people were really incompetent, it wouldn't have mattered that it was an election year, would it?

Of course, in Florida, their incompetence showed through in other ways - millions of disaster relief dollars went to Miami/Dade, which wasn't even affected by any of the hurricanes.

[Up2Late]

6. Another former FEMA Chief of Staff said the current...

...Deputy director's only experience is as a one time T.V. News Reporter. SHe said this on PRI's show "Marketplace" Here's some links if you want to hear it:

<http://www.publicradio.org/tools/media/player/marketplace/2005/09/02_mpp?start=00:00:19:14.0&end=00:00:21:57.0>

If the top link doesn't work for you try this one, than fast forward to 19 minutes.
<http://www.publicradio.org/tools/media/player/marketplace/2005/09/02_mpp>

<http://marketplace.publicradio.org/>

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. We had hurricanes in FL last year

but we didn't have the flooding that you see in NO, where the water doesn't go away in a relatively short time.

FL didn't do that good a job either and we were left to our own devices for the most part. But we have a population that is for the most part better off and even the poor down here have cars because you can't live without one. In NO, over 100,000 households did not have cars.

They were still incompetent, it just wasn't as apparent. Plus it was an election year, so we did get more help.

[Joanne98]

10. Because Jeb used FEMA money to buy votes for Satan!

[Boo Boo]

21. Yeah, it was an election year, and the governor is the President's

brother. He can literally pick up the phone any time he wants and talk to the President. That's not something that the Dem governor of LA can do. Jeb could get his bro totally focused on the problem. This time, there was a distinct lack of focus on Georgie's part.

[Boo Boo]

22. Maybe the money went to Miami/Dade for other reasons.

It was an election year.

[uppityperson]

4. argh argh argh argh argh argh argh argh argh argh argh argh argh

I am about ready to take a DU/news sabatical for a little bit. Every fricking time I think I have heard the worst, something else comes up.

[Shipwack]

8. I want to quit reading too, but I can't....

It's like a scab... It hurts and it's ugly and I know that I should leave it alone, but I keep coming back here.

I'd feel so much better if I stopped reading the news, or the forums here, of ir I just didn't give a damn... I almost envy the Freepers for that trait.

[banana republican]

13. that's what they called strike breakers

when inidividuals crossed picket lines they were called SCABS..

an apropriate metaphore for *.

[mom cat]

15. I am glued also. I think that it is a coping mechanism...trying to

channel the rage and serve a purpose, esp for those of us who cannot go down there and help in person. :hug:

Editted for spelling

[leftchick]

9. I am to. I don't know how much more I can take

and on TV CNN just did a segment showing how race has played a factor in this. I am so fucking ashamed of this country. If I could leave I would.

[Lisa]

5. and if he didn't feel like reading the reports, there was always TV

(originally broadcast January 2005)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

Oh, wait -- that was on that evil leftist PBS, which they're trying to get rid of. No wonder he wasn't watching.

[Tin Man]

11. FEMA head Brown says Katrina unfolded exactly like earlier exercise

FEMA Director Michael Brown told CNN's Larry King on Wednesday, "When I became the director of FEMA a couple of years ago, I decided it was time we did some really serious catastrophic disaster planning. So the president gave me money through our budget to do that. And we went around the country to figure out what's the best model we can do for a catastrophic disaster in this country? And we picked New Orleans, Louisiana."

Organizers said "Hurricane Pam" was based on weather and damage information developed by the National Weather Service and other agencies.

"Hurricane Katrina caused the same kind of damage that we anticipated," Brown said Wednesday. "So we planned for it two years ago. Last year, we exercised it. And unfortunately, this year, we're implementing it."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/02/hurricane.drill/...

[barbaraann]

19. I think that Brown quote deserves its own thread.

It's important.

[Boo Boo]

24. So much for Chertoff's bullshit.

These guys really need to get on the same page.

[EVDebs]

12. Someone needs to find out exactly WHEN the buses were contracted for

by FEMA in order to bus out the Superdome/ConventionCenter sites.

Privatization plays a major role in explaining the 'hot potato' rescue and food/water delays.

Who at DU dares to delve into this ?

""Convoys of food, water and ice which are arriving hourly in impacted areas.

The evacuation of thousands from New Orleans to Texas. FEMA has contracted for more than 650 buses to expedite the state-ordered evacuation."" from FEMA's website

FEMA Urges Patience While Search Continues for Stranded Victims and Supplies Stream In

Release Date: September 2, 2005
Release Number: HQ-05-190

www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18540

[natrat]

14. they let it fester

1-a frustrating blue enclave in an otherwise red south
2-filled with homosexuals, latins and blacks who will never support them
3- make it such a horrible experience that they wont want to return
4-rebuild for the "right" kind of people and let the rest be absorbed by other urban areas

[daninthemoon]

16. I don't think I can take one more official trying to make up a point

that the levee is a seperate disaster from the hurricane. Chertoff was tryin (and getting away) with that again this afternoon. This was exactly the scenario predicted for YEARS.

[artemisia1]

17. kick, because this is the "smoking gun". nt

[librechik]

18. "Chertoff:Katrina Scenario Didn't Exist" (CNN)

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/09/03/katrina.chertoff/index.html

so I suppose they will get away with this too.

[POLEIS]

20. They WILL NOT get away with it

[librechik]

25. Thanks--that's good to hear from a newbie!

Welcome to DU, POLEIS!

:loveya:

kinda down today!

[barb162]

23. kick