E&P : Katrina Redux? Beaumont Paper Finds Federal Storm Failure in Texas

[DemsUnited]

By E&P Staff

Published: September 25, 2005 9:50 PM ET

NEW YORK In Beaumont, Texas, claims that federal relief agencies learned their lessons from Hurricane Katrina and are on the ball in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita are apparently ringing hollow. The Beaumont (Tex.) Enterprise reported tonight that disaster response coordinators in the area hard hit by Rita say they are seeing the same foot-dragging federal response this weekend witnessed two weeks ago in New Orleans and Mississippi.

Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith and other local leaders, "haggard after days of almost non-stop work with little sleep, pleaded with the federal government to get itself in a higher gear," the paper said. Griffith said he wanted to return services to residents who remain but that "it seems like they can't figure out how to get it done."

"There's a drastic shortage of generators in Beaumont to provide emergency power," Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said. "There are generators at Ford Park, and FEMA is withholding their release. They want to finish their damage assessment."

Jefferson County officials had a plan to distribute Meals-Ready-to-Eat from local fire stations, the paper said. However, Griffith said the MREs, like the generators, were being withheld by FEMA.

<snip>
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001180626

[bluedeminredstate]

1. But everyone said Bush's faux speech in NO

made him the man he was after September 11th!! All is forgiven - Got that? Sheesh!
:sarcasm:

[KittyWampus]

2. nominated, hope this makes DU's official front page.

[SpiralHawk]

3. Bush sent all our National Guard equipment to Iraq

to help sniff out more oil for his wealthy Republican and Arab krypt kronies.

"Texas can just pull itself up by it's own bootstraps. What's that? Cowboy boots don't have straps? Uh, then, well, pull yourself up by - this is all Bill Clinton's fault."

- George W. Bush, Connecticut Preppy Cheerleader and Faux Texan

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. You have pry control out of the hand of Bureaucrats.

[nickyt]

5. Just when I think I can't hate fema any more than I do...

who ARE these f**kin' ghouls?

[progressoid]

6. Sadly, this IS our gov't in a higher gear.

[Spazito]

7. Sadly, I am not surprised at this...

Everything I have seen seems to be focused on photo-ops on what they are doing instead of them actually doing anything. Optics are everything to the bush admin and it's agencies, the real work needed to be done isn't even on the radar, in most cases, imo.

[DeepModem Mom]

8. Same in south Louisiana. See this LBN post --

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1806030

[DemsUnited]

9. Thanks! Seems as if newspapers (especially local) are reporting truth

about Rita (non)response from Feds but cable & networks are stuck on the White House "oh it went so well" mem.

Come on CNN, MSNBC, et al. You had a spine for a brief shining moment after Katrina, don't lose it now!

[Spazito]

10. Kick for the facts versus the propaganda meme

:kick:

[lala_rawraw]

11. Anderson Cooper too tired to cover this storm?

[Spinzonner]

12. That's a stupid strategy

You send in emergency equipment and supplies immediately and have the delivery people do a preliminary damage assessment to decide whether and how much more is needed.

Further assessments for longer term needs can be done by the longer-term planners while the community is being serviced.

[Nothing Without Hope]

13. I am wondering about the devastated areas that have had less of a "voice"

like the eastern Louisiana areas blasted by Rita - like Cameron Parish - and all the small communities across Katrina's devastaton. FEMA NEVER showed up in any real way in many of these places - you know it and I know it - but with all the attention on New Orleans and on the Texas cities, there is no accountability and more important, no help for the victims. The way that only certain narrow areas have gotten coverage in the news is a terrible injustice and has enabled the Administration to simpy leave thousands more to starve and die on their own.

[Garbo 2004]

14. Yeah, the feds and reporters were in Houston saying how well they did

during the storm. Hello, yes Houston was ok...because that's not where the main brunt of the storm hit.

Monday's Nightline did a mea culpa on behalf of the press in that it said the media started reporting that Rita wasn't that bad while the storm was still in progress and before the actual damage had been ascertained. Then the program showed the impact on Southern Louisianna.

Here's something from an AP article on ABC's site:

Hurricane Rita's path of devastation along the Texas-Louisiana coast became shockingly clear Monday, as rescuers pulled stranded bayou residents out on skiffs and Army helicopters searched for thousands of cattle feared drowned.

Crews struggled to clean up the tangle of smashed homes and downed trees. The hurricane slammed low-lying fishing villages, shrimping ports and ranches with water up to 9 feet deep. Seawater pushed as far as 20 miles inland, drowning acres of rice, sugarcane fields and pasture...

...This is the worst thing I've ever been through," said Danny Hunter, 56. "I called FEMA this morning, and they said they couldn't help us because this hasn't been declared a disaster area."

"Texas is a disaster area!" Jenny Reading shouted. "I guess the president made sure of that, and everyone just forgot about us."

A Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman said that Terrebonne Parish was declared a disaster area for Katrina but not for Rita. Officials were checking to see if the residents were eligible for Rita help.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=1162205

[Nothing Without Hope]

15. NOT DECLARED A DISASTER AREA???!!!??? THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!!

And FEMA even admits it. WHERE IS THE PRESS? WHERE IS CONGRESS? WE CAN'T LET THIS JUST LIE HERE IGNORED!!!!!!

Has there been a DU thread on this yet? I can't believe it's just being passed over!!!