Who's Really to Blame???

[BirdieBoo]

I think its evident that people are coming together by the out reach of support and donations. I also think investigation and accountability will help to insure that more lives may be saved in the case of future disasters. We only learn from mistakes when we know exactly what mistakes were made.

RIGHT! We can start on an individual level, by being prepared as individuals and families. If we have neighbors/friends/family members who are incapable of protectiing themselves, then we must do what we can to help them. We are all members of the human race, and should help each other when possible.

And definitely, making sure the people we choose as our leaders and/or elected officials are also prepared (and not preoccupied with their own interests) is a big step in the right direction.

 

[less0305]

Great post Less0305. Nice to see that someone else sees that this was a really BIG thing to happen and we just did the best our country could do. Nobody and nothing in this world is perfect and it's time people start coming together instead of always blaming the next person.

Thank you lilgrayduck - and welcome to Websleuths!!!!! :blowkiss:

 

[tybee204]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/n...&en=ce371f0e0587100b&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Breakdowns Marked Path From Hurricane to Anarchy

The governor of Louisiana was "blistering mad." It was the third night after Hurricane Katrina drowned New Orleans, and Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco needed buses to rescue thousands of people from the fetid Superdome and convention center. But only a fraction of the 500 vehicles promised by federal authorities had arrived. ...

FEMA appears to have underestimated the storm, despite an extraordinary warning from the National Hurricane Center that it could cause "human suffering incredible by modern standards." The agency dispatched only 7 of its 28 urban search and rescue teams to the area before the storm hit and sent no workers at all into New Orleans until after the hurricane passed on Monday, Aug. 29.....

Officials said yesterday that 10 people died at the Superdome, and 24 died at the convention center site, although the causes were not clear.

 

[kgeaux]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/n...&en=ce371f0e0587100b&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Breakdowns Marked Path From Hurricane to Anarchy

The governor of Louisiana was "blistering mad." It was the third night after Hurricane Katrina drowned New Orleans, and Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco needed buses to rescue thousands of people from the fetid Superdome and convention center. But only a fraction of the 500 vehicles promised by federal authorities had arrived. ...

FEMA appears to have underestimated the storm, despite an extraordinary warning from the National Hurricane Center that it could cause "human suffering incredible by modern standards." The agency dispatched only 7 of its 28 urban search and rescue teams to the area before the storm hit and sent no workers at all into New Orleans until after the hurricane passed on Monday, Aug. 29.....

Officials said yesterday that 10 people died at the Superdome, and 24 died at the convention center site, although the causes were not clear.

Yeah, and at the same time this "blistering mad" woman was having her state homeland security guys turn back two caravan of dozens of busses from the Lafayette Parish school board. This woman is a nut case.

 

[Pepper]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/n...&en=ce371f0e0587100b&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Breakdowns Marked Path From Hurricane to Anarchy

The governor of Louisiana was "blistering mad." It was the third night after Hurricane Katrina drowned New Orleans, and Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco needed buses to rescue thousands of people from the fetid Superdome and convention center. But only a fraction of the 500 vehicles promised by federal authorities had arrived. ...
FEMA appears to have underestimated the storm, despite an extraordinary warning from the National Hurricane Center that it could cause "human suffering incredible by modern standards." The agency dispatched only 7 of its 28 urban search and rescue teams to the area before the storm hit and sent no workers at all into New Orleans until after the hurricane passed on Monday, Aug. 29.....

Officials said yesterday that 10 people died at the Superdome, and 24 died at the convention center site, although the causes were not clear.

If only Nagin had deployed those 600+ city and school buses in the first place, and not let the flood waters claim them......If only Nagin and Blanco had worked the hurricane disaster plan they helped to develop several months ago.......If only Blanco had shown some decisive leadership by asking Bush to federalize the National Guard troops (when her counterparts in Miss. and Alabama had already done so)........If only Nagin & Blanco had declared a mandatory evacuation when they were first warned by the National Weather Service.......If only Nagin, Blanco and other local politicians had lobbied Congress for the needed funding to strengthen the levees ages ago.......If only Blanco had allowed the Red Cross and other relief agencies into N.O. with the food and medical supplies they had ready........

I'm sure there will be a lot more "If onlys." I only wish I could remember everything that was on CNN Presents last night. There were screw-ups at every level. And many people died needlessly.

Graveyard of dead school busses:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=New+O...26,-90.037712&spn=0.002502,0.003471&t=e&hl=en

 

[dakini]

This is not to dispute anyone's posts. There is still a great deal of chaos, rumor, gossip. I think it will be awhile before the Katrina mess is all sorted out and the true picture of what happened in NO is known.

Its safe to say there were multiple causes and conditions for this overwhelmingly painful tragedy that still continues.

May whatever allows us all to feel kinship with one another be restored quickly in our country. May suffering be eased, and may healing be facilitated. May we truly learn from this experience. May kindness, clarity and compassion be the order of the day.

 

[less0305]

Yeah, and at the same time this "blistering mad" woman was having her state homeland security guys turn back two caravan of dozens of busses from the Lafayette Parish school board. This woman is a nut case.

She doesn't have the leadership skills to have provided for the people in LA.

"Officials pleaded with various parishes across the state for school buses. But by Tuesday, Aug. 30, as news reports of looting and violence appeared, local officials began resisting.
FEMA stepped in to assemble a fleet of buses, said Natalie Rule, an agency spokeswoman, only after a request from the state that she said did not come until Wednesday, Aug. 31. Greyhound Lines began sending buses into New Orleans within two hours of getting FEMA approval on Wednesday, said Anna Folmnsbee, a Greyhound spokeswoman. But the slow pace and reports of desperation and violence at the Superdome led to the governor's frustrated appeal in the state emergency center on Wednesday night.

She eventually signed an executive order that required parishes to turn over their buses, said Lt. Col. William J. Doran III, operations director for the state Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness."

Eventually?? Why not sign it immediately.

This was from Tybee's link - I don't know how to shorten the link so that it doesn't blow out the margins.

 

[less0305]

Another Governor (democratic, by the way) who held up sending relief and aid:

"Some sheriffs refused to wait. In Wayne County, Mich., which includes Detroit, Sheriff Warren C. Evans got a call from Mr. Sexton on Sept. 1 The next day, he led a convoy of six tractor-trailers, three rental trucks and 33 deputies, despite public pleas from Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm to wait for formal requests."
This is from Tybee's link also - the NY times piece.


Evidently this governor also respected the fact that the Governor of any state is in charge and should send the formal requests for assistance.

 

[Maral]

Good article from Newsweek

How Bush Blew It
Bureaucratic timidity. Bad phone lines. And a failure of imagination. Why the government was so slow to respond to catastrophe.

 

[tybee204]

Wow Maral I just read that. What a freaken nightmare

 

[Shadow205]

You mean they're not?

The messages only get through if they forget to put the aluminum foil on their heads.

 

[tybee204]

What happens when a CAt 1 Hurricane is headed to Florida
Thursday, August 25, 2005

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,166876,00.html

Bush Monitoring Katrina Landfall

MIAMI — The Bush administration is ready to leap into action with help and resources as soon as Tropical Storm Katrina hits land, the White House said Thursday.
The storm gained strength Thursday and was expected to become a weak hurricane before making landfall overnight along Florida's southeastern coast


"The government is ready, we're watching and we're taking steps to make sure that people get to safe areas or take the proper precautions," said White House spokesman Trent Duffy, speaking from Crawford, Texas, where President Bush is vacationing until early September. "We're also moving to ensure that all relief and recovery resources are in place so that these efforts can take place real time following any storm event."

Federal officials were coordinating with local authorities, including Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida, on storm preparations, Duffy said.

 

[less0305]

Coordinating with the Governor....now there's a novel idea.