New Katrina Report: U.S. Unprepared for Major Disaster

[kpete]

April 26, 2006, 5:13PM
Report: U.S. Unprepared for Major Disaster

By LARA JAKES JORDAN Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is unprepared for a disaster of Hurricane Katrina's scale, according to a Senate inquiry that lawmakers said Wednesday took a critical look at failures in responding to the storm.

The final report is "fair and tough, and it charts a course to strengthen our nation's emergency preparedness at all levels," leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee wrote their colleagues.

The Associated Press on Wednesday obtained a copy of the letter written by the committee's head, GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, and the top Democrat, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. The report's title is "Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared."

Senators were to get the report on Thursday, with a public release set for next week. The committee on Thursday planned to disclose the report's 86 recommendations, said Collins' spokeswoman, Jen Burita.

Separate reports in February by the House and White House concluded that apathetic and confusing disaster plans led to the sluggish federal response.

........

The House report said that if President Bush had gotten involved earlier, the government could have reacted more quickly to the Aug. 29 storm. This report said Michael Brown, who led FEMA when the storm hit, failed to follow the chain of command and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff failed to muster enough resources right away.

more at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/3822328.html
http://hsgac.senate.gov/

[fooj]

1. Oh wow...that's a major surprise.

:mad:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. If it floods again they will blame it on Clinton.... or perhaps John

Kerry for protesting the Vietnam fiasco.

[MadMaddie]

3. Everyone knows this...they spent millions of dollars to come

to a forgone conclusion.

Every state and every community is going to have to fend for itself until we get the Republicans out of office.....(The Repugs had ample warning of Katrina and chose to do nothing....except watch Americans suffer and drown...and then get blamed for their misfortune).

I have already started to get my parents in GA to start storing extra supplies and think about disaster planning...

[mduffy31]

4. No shit?

Did you also hear that Elvis is dead?

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. They give new meaning to 'every man for himself'

Now they call it the Army of One. You thought they were kidding?

[Lady Effingbroke]

6. Yet another report for the "No Shit Sherlock Files"™