<p>Post 27 is gruesome. That area of the south is a place where, even for a million dollars, would not live. I’ve heard to0 many bad stories of corruption, racism, and discrimination to the poor.</p>
<p>FEMA is supposed to oversee the planning of evacuations (and also to fund the planning and resources).</p>
<p>Look, people are human and mistakes in the face of unprecedented crisis are expected - that goes for the Mayor, Governor, Head of FEMA, US President,etc. But, with a crisis of this magnitude, you would think a couple of larger agencies would check up on things…“hey, James, is that Mayor doing what we planned for an event like this? No? Okay, sounds like he needs help!” </p>
<p>Really, we don’t know enough to blame anyone.</p>
<p>I am, however, comfortable in saying that something went wrong - and I bet the ball was dropped on ALL sides!</p>
<p>Just got home from work and the big news from NO–Thugs fired on Core of Engineers workers trying to fix the levees. Luckily security was nearby and they killed about 5 of these pieces of crap.</p>
<p>
That is simply ludicrous. He had a detailed plan, he should have issued his mandatory evacuation–at least for those without the resources to leave on their own–by Friday at the latest. And there is no excuse for him allowing 650 buses to be lost–and then cursing the federal government for not providing him with buses. Nagin and Governor Blanco will go down as the real failures in this.</p>
<p>I hear Blanco is in the witness protection program–she has not been seen for days. Could you imagine if Arnie were the Governator there?? Things might have been different.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1765481,00.html[/url]”>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1765481,00.html</a></p>
<p>JeepMom:</p>
<p>The levees overtopped as a result of storm surge on Monday morning as the eye passed east of New Orleans. Local TV reports had images of a half dozen depth reading charts from Lake Ponchatrain that were all headed off the charts when the sensor system failed. The storm surge raised the lake and sent waves crashing into the canals from the north. The levees along the canals overtopped and eroded from the backside. There was some considerable delay in MEDIA reports of the canal breeches, for obvious reasons (no communciation from the effected areas). But, the flooding began early in the day on Monday. It takes many hours for flood waters to completely fill such a large area, which is why the water was continuing to rise on Tuesday, when Lake Poncatrain was still 6 feet or so above normal levels. It wasn’t until Thursday that the levels in the lake and the city equalized, where they remain today. As the lake levels have gradually declined back to normal (about 1 foot above sea level), the water in the city has been flowing out (slowly).</p>
<p>Rural parrishes east and south of New Orleans had more comprehensive flooding: the waterways simply rose up above the level of the levees across a wide swath. By Tuesday, the water was actually flowing OUT of these parrishes through the breech in the Industrial Canal.</p>
<p>Driver: </p>
<p>A total evacuation of a city the size of New Orleans is not possible. There aren’t enough roads; gridlock sets in very quickly in that situation. All simulations and exercises over the years have assumed several hundred thousand people left in the city, even after a mandatory evacuation. The experts in disaster planning never believed that bus evacuation was a viable option.</p>
<p>IMO, you could have had the most efficient pre- and post-disaster emergency effort in the history of mankind and this was still destined to be a very bad situation. That’s a given. However, it doesn’t change the fact that the performance of the state government and federal government was disgraceful. It is harder to evaluate the performance of local governments because they were left totally to their own devices for the first 72 hours. From what I can tell, local governments in many of the parrishes are single-handedly responsible for saving thousands of lives (St. Bernard’s Parrish had an amazing, improvised, grass-roots rescue effort without receiving so much as a single bottle of water from the outside).</p>
<p>The situation in downtown New Orleans was so bad that it is hard to fault the local officials and police. They were in big trouble without immediate outside assistance. To blame them would be a bit like blaming the NY City Fire Department for failing to extinguish the fires that toppled the World Trade Center towers.</p>
<p>Paycheck to paycheck folks don’t leave because they don’t have the funds or the means or the know-how to support themselves elsewhere–even for 24 hours.</p>
<p>Agree that an ‘instant’ evacuation of 1 million is impossible. In this case, it appears that nearly 800,000 did get out with relatively little difficulty. Long lines, so what.</p>
<p>A government airlift would always take 48 hours to organize. No state or local agency would have the funds to have that aat the ready.</p>
<p>One aspect Americans might examine is a “Leave No One Behind” policy; ie pack up your own family but try to make sure people with less have a ride and a place to go to. Your nanny, your housekeeper, your gardener, the elderly woman who lives alone, the foreign gap year student.</p>
<p>If all of those SUVs and mini-vans jammed onto I-10 in the preceeding hours had one or two extra folks on board, a tremendous tragedy might have been lessened.</p>
<p>A city of 1 million–never mind a city of 10 million like New York or LA–can only be evacuated with the help of society-wide civic responsibility. So says me anyway.</p>
<p>For those who do not think this flooding was a storm surge related event, here is a link to the USGS real-time water height guage on the I-10 bridge across the Industrial Canal. This is the large shipping canal that breached on the eastern edge of downtown New Orleans. This canal links the Mississippi River with Lake Pontchartrain.</p>
<p>Average gage height over the past month has varied between sea level and +2 feet depending on the tides.</p>
<p>The gage failed at 8:30 am the morning of the hurricane, approximately as the eye passed by New Orleans. The last reading from the gage was +13 feet.</p>
<p><a href=“http://waterdata.usgs.gov/la/nwis/uv?dd_cd=01&format=gif&period=7&site_no=0738023321[/url]”>http://waterdata.usgs.gov/la/nwis/uv?dd_cd=01&format=gif&period=7&site_no=0738023321</a></p>
<p>According to my watch the seriousness of the flooding was not known until Tuesday morning. Some were still reporting the light blow that NO took. Wednesday would be one day. I am not an expert on the protocals but one day is not an astounding time.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The flooding was known by officials in New Orleans and Baton Rouge by as early as 7:30 am Mon. morning at the height of the storm.</p>
<p>You can track the chronology with the updates posted by Times-Picayune, continuing throughout the day. Start with this link and scrolling upwards throughout the day:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08.html#074715[/url]”>http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08.html#074715</a></p>
<p>Here’s a sampling:</p>
<p>Water tops 9th Ward levee system</p>
<p>On an early morning radio interview, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said that water was coming over the levee system in the Lower 9th Ward, especially in the Florida Avenue area. Nagin said that the Florida Avenue pumping station was not working, and there were unconfirmed reports of people standing on their roofs.</p>
<p>Hurricane damage: Collapsed buildings, massive flooding</p>
<p>During a morning teleconference, emergency preparedness officials from across southeast Louisiana reported flooding, building collapses, power outages and fires.</p>
<p>Here’s a run-down of what they reported:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>In New Orleans, water topped a levee along the Industrial Canal. …Three to four feet of water was reported on St. Claude Avenue at Jackson Barracks. And a 20-foot tidal surge knocked out four pumping stations; only one was able to get back into service.</p></li>
<li><p>In St. Charles Parish, significant flooding was reported on the east bank.</p></li>
<li><p>In Arabi, up to 8 feet of water was reported, and people are climbing into their attics to escape the flooding. "We’re telling people to get into the attic and take something with them to cut through the roof if necessary,‘’ said Col. Richard Baumy of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office. "It’s the same scenario as Betsy.‘’</p></li>
</ul>
<p>St. Bernard rescue efforts to begin as soon as wind subsides</p>
<p>St. Bernard Parish officials said they are preparing efforts to rescue stranded residents, as they continue to receive reports of widespread flooding and damage accross the parish. </p>
<p>One of the worst hit areas was Arabi, where up to 8 feet of water was being reported. But Parish Council Chairman Joey DiFatta said other parts of St. Bernard were also hit.</p>
<p>“Water is inundating everywhere. We have buildings and roofs collapsing. We’re preparing rescue efforts and as soon as the wind subsides we’ll start trying to get people out of St. Bernard,” he said.</p>
<p>Water, water everywhere</p>
<p>Floodwaters are starting to become a problem in Orleans Parish, with 6 to 8 feet of water collecting in the Lower 9th Ward, state officials said at a briefing Monday just before 9 a.m. </p>
<p>After a morning conference call with state and parish officials, Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau said emergency personnel stationed at Jackson Barracks have confirmed that the waters are rising, although he could not say whether the cause was a levee breach or overtopping. Extensive flooding has been reported along St. Claude and Claiborne avenues. </p>
<p>Local officials are also reporting that floodwaters are encroaching on roads in the lower-lying parishes of St. Bernard and Plaquemines. The 911 call centers in
St. Bernard and Orleans parishes have been shut down and evacuated, Landreneau said. </p>
<p>Water rises in Lakeview</p>
<p>A resident inside a camelback bungalow in the Homedale
neighborhood in Lakeview on Monday at 9 a.m. watched street floodwaters rise above the porch steps as he also battled water pouring down his stairwell from a second-floor window blown out by high winds from the west. The homeowner said floodwater had not yet come inside
his home but was rising. He said he planned to move with his dog to the second floor and pray. [note: the Lakeview neighborhood is adjacent to the 17th Street Canal]</p>
<p>St. Bernard update 10:45 a.m.</p>
<p>Some people who stayed in St. Bernard Parish were
forced up into their attics to escape the floodwaters,
said state Sen. Walter Boasso, who heard from local
officials that some houses in Chalmette had water
rising beyond the second floor. </p>
<p>We know people were up in the attics hollering for
help, said Boasso, who evacuated to Baton Rouge and
was camped out at the state Office of Emergency
Preparedness. Hopefully rescue workers will be able to
get to people who are trapped before the water rises
too high, he said.</p>
<p>The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has 60
boats ready to go out to rescue people in St. Bernard
as soon as the winds subside, he said. The agency has
200 boats that can be deployed into southeast
Louisiana to look for people who are stranded on top
of their houses. </p>
<p>On the north side of Judge Perez Drive, waters had risen as
high as 10 feet, he said. Boasso, who lives in
Chalmette, said he has been in touch with Council
Chairman Joey DiFatta.</p>
<p>Boasso said extensive flooding in the Lower 9th Board and St. Bernard Parish could be blamed on water going over the tops of the levees. </p>
<p>Chalmette, Arabi underwater</p>
<p>Monday, 1:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Hurricane Katrina hammered the Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish, with residents telling tales of stranded people being plucked from their rooftops by passing boaters and flood waters as high as 12 feet well into Chalmette.</p>
<p>Residents fled the surging water, which quickly rose as the brunt of Katrina plowed ashore near eastern St. Bernard Parish.</p>
<p>Arabi resident Donald Bordelon told a Times-Picayune reporter via cell phone that at 8:30 a.m. there was just wind damage the homes on his block of Schnell Drive. But 40 minutes later, floodwaters had risen over the stove in his kitchen, as he scrambled to ready his boat for an evacuation.</p>
<p>Residents reported high water flooding such institutions as Rocky and Carlo’s restaurant at the corner of St. Bernard Highway and Lloyd’s Avenue. Others reported that homes on Campagna Drive were nearly underwater.</p>
<p>At Chalmette High School on Judge Perez Drive, officials had set up a shelter of last resort late Sunday. By Monday morning, the first floor of the high school was under water and the evacuees huddled in rooms on the second floor, reporting that they could only see rooftops of the surrounding homes.</p>
<p>The St. Bernard Parish government building, also on Judge Perez Drive, was said to have taken on 8 to 10 feet of water. </p>
<p>Stay where you are</p>
<p>Monday, 3:10</p>
<p>Gov. Kathleen Blanco urged all people who evacuated the New Orleans area in anticipation of Hurricane Katrina to stay where they are, saying that people who attempt to
return to the city will be stopped. Blanco said state officials have received calls from 115 people in New
Orleans who said they are stranded, as well
as an unknown number of people in St. Bernard and
Plaquemines Parishes. When the winds subside,
boats will be deployed from Jackson Barracks in the
Lower 9th Ward to go look for people who are trapped, officials said. </p>
<p>Both the National Guard and Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries are moving boats into the flooded regions. </p>
<p>Blanco said there is believed to be widespread flooding in St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes, with the water as
deep as 10-12 feet in some places. Local
officials at the St. Bernard courthouse have said
that they are trapped on the second floor, and that water is rising to that level. </p>
<p>State officials have received reports of as many as 20
buildings in New Orleans that have collapsed or
toppled from the winds, Blanco said. An observer in a
fire station across the street from the 17th Street
Canal reported seeing water leaking from the levee,
she said.</p>
<p>Rescuers can’t get to those who are stranded</p>
<p>New Orleans, 9th Ward, 2 p.m.</p>
<p>Wes McDermott, from the office of emergency preparedness in New Orleans, said officials have fielded at least 100 calls from people in distress in the Lower 9th Ward and eastern New Orleans. </p>
<p>People report they are waiting on roofs and clinging to trees, he said. But McDermott said the city cannot send rescue crews out until the wind drops below 50 mph.</p>
<p>Angela Chalk, a lieutenant with the community emergency response team in New Orleans, said her niece, Brandi Hyde, is one of those people stranded and awaiting rescue. She said her niece is stranded on a roof of a three-story apartment building on Bundy Road, along with other tenants.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, City Hall confirmed a breach of the levee along the 17th Street Canal at Bellaire Drive, allowing water to spill into Lakeview.</p>
<p>Despair in the 9th Ward</p>
<p>New Orleans, 9th Ward, 2:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Times-Picayune photographer Ted Jackson waded into the Lower 9th Ward Monday afternoon and reported a scene of utter destruction. The wind still howled, floodwaters covered vehicles in the street and people were clinging to porches and waiting in attics for rescuers who had yet to arrive.</p>
<p>In one home on Claiborne Avenue near the Industrial Canal bridge, Jackson saw a man peering from a window in his attic. The man said rising water in his house had forced him, his wife and two children into the attic.</p>
<p>Jackson estimated the water’s depth at 12 feet.</p>
<p>"He was very calm,‘’ Jackson said of the man in the attic window. </p>
<p>Jackson said he couldn’t get across the street. The water was too deep and the current was too fast.</p>
<p>Nearby, three children and three adults were clinging to a porch, trying to stay above the water, which they insisted was continuing to rise.</p>
<p>"They were really scared. They said they had been clinging to that porch since 8 a.m.‘’</p>
<hr>
<p>It gets worse from there. The Corps of Engineers put out a press release on Monday confirming the levee breaks and efforts to evaluate repair options. In stories Monday night, the Times-Picayune confirmed a large breech in the 17th Street Canal, flood waters still rising, and no officials willing to say when the rise would stop.</p>
<p>My last post but a pretty good article</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9179587/site/newsweek/[/url]”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9179587/site/newsweek/</a></p>
<p>Less than one week later all have been evacuated and moved to safe housing with full services, the sick are in hospitals, the city has been secured, repairs are well underway, and permanent homes are being secured all over the US. </p>
<p>Not bad for one week in a place without any modern services and limited access. If you think it can be done faster you live in the instant gratification dream world. Most people would have a hard time coordinating a bake sale in one week.</p>
<p>Hey, hey, I can do a district-wide bake sale in 6 days flat. (If I have electricity, and my kitchen’s not flooded)</p>
<p>want to give you one last story and Ill shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me. The guy who runs this building Im in, Emergency Management, hes responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming? and he said, Yeah, Mama, somebodys coming to get you. Somebodys coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebodys coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebodys coming to get you on Thursday. Somebodys coming to get you on Friday and she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night! [Sobbing] Nobodys coming to get us. Nobodys coming to get us. The Secretary has promised. Everybodys promised. Theyve had press conferences. Im sick of the press conferences. For gods sakes, just shut up and send us somebody. Broussard- anectodal sure, but its not the only story coming out</p>
<p>Thats for Barron</p>
<p>Coordinating - this is there job, this is what the Feds have supposed to be planning for four 4 years if not longer</p>
<p>After 9-11 this was the DHS was supposed to know what to handle- any kind of emergency</p>
<p>But hey, if its good enough for you Barrons, hopefully you don’t have agrandma in a home somewhere</p>
<p>ANd you want to know why many people didn’t leave- they didn’t want to leave their elderly relative along. They stood by with their families.
That is family values.</p>
<p>If my grandma were in a home in the path of a Hurricane I’d be down there early to get her out. I would not assume that the government has enough people to rescue everyone in a 1000 square mile area that has no roads left, flooding, no phones, no nothing so that you don’t even know where the people are that need help. That’s counting on luck and wishful thinking. The kind of thinking that killed many in NO and surrounding areas.</p>
<p>Barron - for a change I somewhat do agree with you on many points above.</p>
<p>Just a thought - and I know this is a difficult comparison
911 encompassed 30 square blocks and effected many lives for many years and generations to come - search and rescue started immediately as the resources where close by
Katrina encompasses 91 thousand square MILES - and will effect many lives for many years and generations to come - search and rescue started immediately in some places - impossible in other places and resources were far away.</p>
<p>Just something to think about</p>
<p>The man’s whose Grandma died was in charge of Emergency Evacuations down there for his area and he did his job- he didn’t leave he made sure the people he was in responsible for were taken care of, he was counting on the Fed to do theirs, he trusted his Government, guess that was a mistake…</p>
<p>That unprotected area was even more at risk than NO proper. Anyone allowing there mother to stay there and hoping they even survive the initial storm is a fool. What were the home staff doing to arrange transport out well in advance?? His tears are tears of shame on himself.</p>
<p>The man lost his mother while helping others and you are a person with no heart or soul. If you claim to be a man of faith, you are not.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, she was garbage anyway right…I give up on a person with no compassion or understanding of humanity.</p>