Hurricane Katrina Disaster Updates

[Dara]

Did you all just see the sheriff from (Loudon County?) Virginia who had a team on the road with MREs, tents, etc, who was told to turn around and leave by someone in the command center, that LA was turning everyone away because they had no place to house them? The sheriff said he told them they were self-sufficient but were told to go back.

 

[tybee204]

Send them to Mississippi. They are letting help in.

 

[Mabel]

Did you all just see the sheriff from (Loudon County?) Virginia who had a team on the road with MREs, tents, etc, who was told to turn around and leave by someone in the command center, that LA was turning everyone away because they had no place to house them? The sheriff said he told them they were self-sufficient but were told to go back.

Interesting. The trucking company my husband works for sent two trailer loads of bottled water down on Monday. I haven't heard yet how (or if) it was accepted.

 

[less0305]

Did you all just see the sheriff from (Loudon County?) Virginia who had a team on the road with MREs, tents, etc, who was told to turn around and leave by someone in the command center, that LA was turning everyone away because they had no place to house them? The sheriff said he told them they were self-sufficient but were told to go back.

I hope they do go back and stop in other areas.... The focus in NO is getting everyone OUT of N.O. The military brought something like 6 million MREs for those evacuees who will be put on buses and sent out of NO in the very near future. I think the military brought enough for what is left in NO. Those supplies might well be needed now in areas where people are not being sent out, but rather coming back in to clean up and restore. N.O. is a long way from that right now. People with supplies might be better off taking them to the rescue cities and sites who have been inundated with the evacuees.

 

[concernedperson]

Did you all just see the sheriff from (Loudon County?) Virginia who had a team on the road with MREs, tents, etc, who was told to turn around and leave by someone in the command center, that LA was turning everyone away because they had no place to house them? The sheriff said he told them they were self-sufficient but were told to go back.

I walked in at the end and couldn't figure out what had been said but was getting the impression that it was something like this. This is really poor leadership.

 

[Dark Knight]

I heard it explained this morning that the Governor of each state MUST request federal troops. The President can't just send troops or people in to "take over" in any state in the union. Our constitution and government system is built on this premise. States run themselves. The federal govt. can't take over a state. The governor of LA did not ask for troops. I heard a reporter continue for nearly five minutes to pin the governor down as to when she actually requested troops and how many she requested. She couldn't answer him. She kept sidestepping the question and he kept pressing. She got flustered and could not answer. That reporter knew she was not going to admit that she didn't ask for national troops until things had deteriorated terribly. Maybe she didn't know what to do. Maybe she thought they could handle things on their own. I don't know. And I know many people are going to say WTF, people are dying...send troops anyway. But that's not how our govt and constitution is set up. If the govt came in and stepped into the state's business whenever they wanted, we wouldn't even have a state system. We may as well not have the government that we have. We would be a dictatorship. I know there is enough blame to go around. But I just wanted to point that out.

It's my understanding that the President can activate National Guard troops for emergencies, as well as Governors.

 

[Dara]

I hope they do go back and stop in other areas.... The focus in NO is getting everyone OUT of N.O. The military brought something like 6 million MREs for those evacuees who will be put on buses and sent out of NO in the very near future. I think the military brought enough for what is left in NO. Those supplies might well be needed now in areas where people are not being sent out, but rather coming back in to clean up and restore. N.O. is a long way from that right now. People with supplies might be better off taking them to the rescue cities and sites who have been inundated with the evacuees.

I'm under the impression that they were just going to Louisiana. I don't know if they were heading specifically to NO. The part I forgot to report on (multi-tasking) is that the sheriff was called to go there. He said the person he spoke to (I didn't get who called him, but it was an official) was panicked. So, they didn't just decide to go there; they were requested. That was a pretty important piece of the story I left out (sorry).

And I don't know when this happened. We're all seeing a lot of relief today. Yesterday? Not so much.

 

[less0305]

Dara...

Thanks for the update. I don't know, I'm sure their help will much appreciated somewhere. They are a blessing to be had.

 

[less0305]

It's my understanding that the President can activate National Guard troops for emergencies, as well as Governors.

And that could well be the case.....I just didn't understand that from the interview I heard this morning. Sorry.

 

[Mabel]

Wow, I just heard the interview with the mayor of NO for the first time. He's not kidding when he says he's pi$$ed. Not long afterwards he met with the President. It's surprising that he didn't :slap: him.

 

[less0305]

Wow, I just heard the interview with the mayor of NO for the first time. He's not kidding when he says he's pi$$ed. Not long afterwards he met with the President. It's surprising that he didn't :slap: him.

Mabel....I heard the unedited version this morning live. No bleeping out of the bad words. I think CNN may have some fines to pay!

 

[Dara]

Dara...

Thanks for the update. I don't know, I'm sure their help will much appreciated somewhere. They are a blessing to be had.

You're welcome. I do hope they get to help out. It's got to be hard for people who want to help but couldn't for whatever reason.

I'm not much of an updater, but I'm lucky enough to be home and have a bunch of TVs on. Problem is, I go from room to room and miss a lot. And when I am on the phone, I pace. I can't ever seem to sit and talk on the phone. Strange, I kow.

Wow, they're air some of a radio address Mayor Nagin gave last night coming up. From the little I heard, he's angry. They were going to air it, then Wolf Blitzer said they would have it later. I think they're cleaning it up. He was cursing in the part I heard.

 

[kgeaux]

They are interviewing a Dr. from Charity Hospital on CNN:

Evidently the generator failed after about a day; there have been multiple deaths at Charity and he said alot more of them are dying right now, today. He was in the hospital about 5 days straight.

My friend's uncle is in Charity. He was injured in an accident Saturday and they took him there because of the excellent trauma team. She cannot get any news of him.

 

[Mabel]

Mabel....I heard the unedited version this morning live. No bleeping out of the bad words. I think CNN may have some fines to pay!

The version I heard sounded as if some words had been substituted, unless he actually did say "dagnab it". There was also some bleeping.

 

[DEPUTYDAWG]

I reported this back on Wednesday, per a memo received here, that if volunteers, supplies, etc were not approved through the State of LA Operations, they would be turned around. Sounds like much of the problem is at the state level of government; between turning around assistance, Governor not able to deal with this, etc.

Our Region's #'s put on stand-by has been finalized, 90 officers (less than first estimated about 2 hrs ago.) But they're already named and ready to roll out of Region. Doesn't take long once people ask for help.

 

[Dara]

Here's a description of the mayor's address:

"Get off your asses and let's do something," the mayor told WWL-AM Thursday night in a rambling interview in which he cursed, yelled and ultimately burst into tears. At one point he said: "Excuse my French _ everybody in America _ but I am pissed."

The article has a lot of other info but I wanted to share the excerpt since we've been talking about the Nagin's address.

 

[Dara]

I reported this back on Wednesday, per a memo received here, that if volunteers, supplies, etc were not approved through the State of LA Operations, they would be turned around. Sounds like much of the problem is at the state level of government; between turning around assistance, Governor not able to deal with this, etc.

So, you're ok now with "post-analysis" and what you've been calling finger-pointing?

Just checking.

Now that help is arriving, I think we can expect some attempts at revisionist history and I think many of us will forget in time just how bad it really was, and truly how events unfolded. I think it's important to talk it through as it happens. It helps us remember. IMO.

 

[BarnGoddess]

Here's a description of the mayor's address:


The article has a lot of other info but I wanted to share the excerpt since we've been talking about the Nagin's address.

Dara, I heard from a co-worker who had been watching the news here (I missed it), that a general stepped off a helicopter and met with the mayor. The general cursed worse than the mayor, but the mayor said something about thank goodness help had arrived in the form of someone who could take command.

True or not? Anyone heard or seen this?

 

[DEPUTYDAWG]

So, you're ok now with "post-analysis" and what you've been calling finger-pointing?

Just checking.

Now that help is arriving, I think we can expect some attempts at revisionist history and I think many of us will forget in time just how bad it really was, and truly how events unfolded. I think it's important to talk it through as it happens. It helps us remember. IMO.

Dara, at first I added a sentence that said, "This may be considered finger-pointing, LOL" And then I took it out, as I was afraid it would start snide comments. I knew I was at risk for stating what I did about the State level. I'm trying hard to remain neutral, I really am. I've been trying to post legitimate information, maybe y'all don't care about it. Then I put in my opinion, and I guess I'm going to be eating my words.

I have agreed with you a lot, and some of your articles, etc. have been both interesting and informative. I just hate throwing a lot of blame around in the middle of a crisis, when we don't have all the facts, etc. I can fling with the best of them later!

Y'all carry on...

 

[GonzoReiter]

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