September 2005

Okay, Honore should Be SEC DHS

ArchPundit September 4, 2005 6 Comments

I was giving Chertoff some room until I say this:

Well, I think if you look at what actually happened, I remember on Tuesday morning picking up newspapers and I saw headlines, ?New Orleans Dodged the Bullet.? Because if you recall, the storm moved to the east and then continued on and appeared to pass with considerable damage but nothing worse. It was on Tuesday that the levee ? may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday ? that the levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to drain into the city. I think that second catastrophe really caught everybody by surprise.

From 2:15 Monday on the Time-Picayune breaking news

New Orleans, 9th Ward, 2 p.m.

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.

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.

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.

Meanwhile, City Hall confirmed a breach of the levee along the 17th Street Canal at Bellaire Drive, allowing water to spill into Lakeview.

What’s even more bizarre is that much of the Mayor’s information was coming from FEMA flights to survey damage if you listen to his Monday night interview.

I knew about the levee breach before Michael Chertoff.

There was an Absolute Failure of State and Local Officials for one Hurricane

ArchPundit September 4, 2005 10 Comments

It was Ivan. Below are several articles on how Louisiana and the City of New Orleans coped with the lessons learned from Ivan and the evacuation.

There are several striking things in the material–just go back a few posts to see the full articles over the last year.

One is that the City was acutely aware of the problem of evacing the poor and others who couldn’t get out, but didn’t have the resources to do it. Even with the claims on Drudge, the reality is the City didn’t have 200 bus drivers to volunteer to drive them. The young man who comandeered a school bus was great, but imagine just grabbing two hundred drivers and sending them in heavy traffic to evacuate–the number of problems involving accidents would only make a difficult evacuation harder. City resources were focused on securing the city and moving people within the city to shelters including the Superdome. An action that save innumerable lives.

During Ivan, only 1200 people showed up at the Superdome. Since Ivan, the City improved it’s plan and had city buses run routes for people without cars to places where other special bus routes ran people to shelters. This time, 20-30,000 people got there. If there was a mistake, it was not designating another shelter of last resort–such as the Convention Center (this would have helped additionally because there would have been some real security planned).

The State and the City were acutely aware that a Mandatory evacuation would still leave at least 100,000 behind. There simply is no infrastructure to solve that problem anywhere in the nation. Knowing that, the City was working to make the Superdome retrofitted in its rehab to provide exactly the kind of improvements that would have alleviated the suffering–power sources and sewage modifications.

Overall though, those who vote have their concerns most addressed and in Ivan’s case the contraflow system was very poorly managed. The State fixed that plan and those with the means to leave certainly had a lot of traffic to deal with, but it moved relatively fast other than the Mississippi border which was a whole other problem.

Those who vote are those people who could evacuate and politicians responded. What’s stunning is that even in the case of the worst off, the City of New Orleans still worked to improve the shelter intake and provision system to give a last resort.

What is unbelievable is the federal government didn’t have a contingency for evacuating those left in the City after the storm. The problem was known and the City did what it could do to alleviate those concerns and in the long term had plans to alleviate the problems even further. Katrina beat them to it though.

There are going to be thousands of mistakes to identify and problems to identify over the next few years. Everyone in the situation make some understandable mistakes given the breadth of the crisis. Some of those mistaked are not understandable and at a minimum we are seeing a flood of bullshit out of Mike Brown’s mouth that seriously questions whether he is in touch with reality. Replace him now–put Honore in charge so you lose no continuity and then deal with other problems later.

Tidal Wave of Compassion?

ArchPundit September 4, 2005 0 Comment

Errr…that’s a really inappropriate phrase, but also the least of our worries.

It Wasn’t Just the City of New Orleans

ArchPundit September 4, 2005 1 Comment

Jefferson, St. Bernards and Plaquemines were not receiving help either. It wasn’t until Friday that there was any contact with FEMA in St. Bernards and Aaron Broussard’s break down is well known by now.

There’ll be lots of blame to go around, but it’s pretty clear one clusterfuck is centered right on Mike Brown.

How Big of An Asshole is Alan Keyes?

ArchPundit September 4, 2005 3 Comments

This Big:

Dear friend,
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As we pray and work for the recovery of our people in Hurricane Katrina’s wake, please read this message from a great American, my good friend Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project.
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For more information about Jim Gilchrist, who is running for Congress to help secure our borders, visit his website at: www.JimGilchrist.com
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Keep faith,

Alan Keyes
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Dear Gilchrist for Congress Supporters:
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Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath are revealing to our fellow Americans, and indeed to the whole world, human greatness yoked to terrible weaknesses and moral decay within our great nation. Along with the inspiring and extraordinary acts of heroism, personal courage and sacrifice we are witnessing by many of our fellow citizens, we are also tragically watching our country?s political institutions, our people?s moral fiber, and most vividly, our allegiance to the principle of the rule of law?clearly beginning to fray and rend under the terrible stress of Katrina?s devastation.
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CLICK HERE to Contribute!
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But we have known for some time that our national capacity for goodness and greatness as a people has been under assault. Now we see how insufficient has been our national response to the political and moral crisis that has been building for years.
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We need new citizen commitment to keep America strong and decent. We need new leadership that is not afraid of polls, not afraid of mainstream media ridicule, not afraid to stand in the gap against tides?even masses and mobs?of humanity who have lost respect for the duties of citizenship and civilization.
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Now is the hour for Patriots, for loyal and patriotic Americans to step forward. America is a nation of laws, not of men. Lawlessness?or casual regard for human worth and the institutions of society?will not prevail.
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Please find below an important message from my fellow Minutemen at Minuteman HQ. They have a crucial security border alert for you in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
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CLICK HERE to Contribute!
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I ask you sincerely to take a few moments to read this very important message, and reflect not only on the heart-breaking situation we must relieve in the hurricane zone, but the challenge before our nation to respond for the future, so that we the people of the United States NEVER AGAIN find ourselves so weak and inadequate to a great crisis. I pray that you will help our Minutemen, and that you will continue to help my campaign for Congress, in these hours of America?s need.
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Thank you, and God Bless America.
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Jim Gilchrist
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SPECIAL DISASTER ALERT: The Minutemen Civil Defense Corps has started our “Secure Our Borders” operation EARLY to aid Border Patrol helping with Katrina relief… which means we need YOUR help NOW. CLICK HERE to Contribute!
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According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 100 U.S. Border Patrol Agents have been reassigned from Arizona and New Mexico to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Already, CBP agents are en route to the affected area to provide security and law enforcement support during the evacuation of the Super Dome.
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Minuteman Civil Defense Corps deployed volunteers to the border today in order to fill gaps in border security as the U.S. Border Patrol was reassigned to disaster relief duty.
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Due to the mounting crisis, U.S. Border Patrol officers are being shifted away from their posts guarding the US-Mexico border to aid in the Hurricane Katrina disaster, leaving our country vulnerable to increased trafficking by illegal aliens and terrorists attempting to enter the U.S.
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Martial Law has been declared in the disaster stricken areas, and the Border Patrol along with thousands of National Guard personnel have been mobilized to enforce the rule of law. As a result, we’ve decided to push up our launch date of our “Secure Our Borders” operation, which had been scheduled to begin in October, so that Minuteman volunteers can be immediately deployed to the southern border with Mexico to assist with border security.
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According to a report from Homeland Security, the Bush administration ordered the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the federal agency charged with securing the border, to provide manpower, assets, and humanitarian support to Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, which understandably has some border state residents nervous about the lack of border security.
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We’ve requested that Minuteman volunteers and supporters aid in the effort by donating to worthy relief agencies, but we’ve also told volunteers to only travel to the area with authorized disaster assistance organizations to assist with any search and rescue or law enforcement duties. We’re mobilizing volunteers RIGHT NOW to stand in the breach along our border?a breach that has now opened wider, due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
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While the federal government is responding to the natural disaster and its aftermath of lawlessness and human suffering, we will assist by sending Minuteman volunteers to protect and defend our Border line in assistance to an already understaffed and embattled U.S. Border Patrol.
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Our nation needs our help now more than ever, and we are prepared to serve honorably during a time of crisis.
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WILL YOU HELP? While we certainly encourage donations to worthy relief organizations, NOW is the time when we need help in order to “pick up the slack” as more than 100 U.S. Border Patrol Agents have been reassigned from Arizona and New Mexico to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. CLICK HERE to Contribute!
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We weren’t expecting this sudden need. There’s no way to plan for such a time as this?but nevertheless, we MUST take action now. We can’t leave our borders unprotected?but having to start our operation early means we’re having to start without having all of the funds in place that we planned for.
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The Border Patrol Agents are headed for New Orleans, so we’re headed for the Border. Can you help us in our efforts to “Secure Our Borders”? We need you NOW. Thank you.
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Sincerely,
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Chris Simcox, Founder
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
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CLICK HERE to Contribute!
https://secure.responseenterprises.com/jimgilchrist/?a=143
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If you prefer to donate by check, please mail to:
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Jim Gilchrist for Congress
PO Box 2308
Dept Code 143
Laguna Hills, CA 92654-2308
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Go to the right and donate to the Red Cross.

Learning from Ivan

ArchPundit September 4, 2005 0 Comment

If Ivan had hit, one can only imagine how bad the impact would have been–

New Orleans CityBusiness (New Orleans, LA)
September 27, 2004 Monday
SECTION: NEWS
LENGTH: 843 words
HEADLINE: Terrible Traces: N.O. evacuation fails to account for thousands
BYLINE: Richard A. Webster

BODY:
The near miss of Hurricane Ivan highlighted the vulnerability of the homeless and low-income families in New Orleans.

Rusty Wirth, a case manager with the New Orleans Police Department’s Homeless Assistance Team, said the city failed to protect the homeless population during the crisis. Shelters closed prematurely and Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s administration was late in opening the Superdome as an emergency shelter, he said.

“People look at the homeless as just a bunch of drunks and addicts. But they’re people and I was one of them,” Wirth said. “I was homeless in ’97, so this is where my heart is. And when I see my people getting screwed, I get really upset.”

Tanzie Jones, Nagin spokeswoman, said the city did everything it could to protect the populace in calling for a voluntary evacuation and opening the Superdome to the public on Wednesday afternoon, less than 12 hours before Ivan arrived.

Nagin said 80 percent of the 1,200 people who sought shelter in the Superdome were homeless. Information on the cost of evacuating the homeless was not immediately available.

“They paid attention to our warnings so it looks like the plan worked,” Nagin said.
Read More

Superdome Refuge of Last Resort Planning

ArchPundit September 4, 2005 0 Comment

Amazing

Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
January 12, 2005 Wednesday
SECTION: METRO; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 460 words
HEADLINE: N.O. seeks emergency office head
BYLINE: By Mark Schleifstein, Staff writer

At the top of a long list of priorities for the new director will be working with federal and state officials to reshape storm evacuation planning in the aftermath of the massive evacuation delays that occurred during Hurricane Ivan last year.

“We?ve also got a major project under way trying to look at federal government support for creating a refuge of last resort to be used for Category 3 and above hurricanes, which we do not currently have,” Ebbert said.

“In the process of upgrading the Superdome and the Saints deal with the state, let?s look at designating that as the shelter, with upgrades: a backup power system, separate water and sewer system, improved electric generators that can continually run all the systems in the building, adequate medical and electronics systems, all of which would make the Superdome into a dual-purpose facility,” Ebbert said.

Establishing such a refuge is important because evacuating everyone is likely impossible, Ebbert said.

The Bus Plan

ArchPundit September 4, 2005 0 Comment

Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
May 31, 2005 Tuesday
SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 1479 words
HEADLINE: PREPARING FOR THE WORST;
Officials rework evacuation strategy

BYLINE: By Mark Schleifstein, Staff writer
Busing planned

The busing evacuation plan is a work in progress. Details likely will remain murky until time to implement the plan, because officials don’t want people heading to a particular place expecting a ride. Those without transportation need to be planning now how they’ll get to safety, New Orleans Emergency Preparedness Director Joseph Matthews said.

“It’s important to emphasize that we just don’t have the resources to take everybody out,” Matthews said.

He said the viability of the bus plan depends on whether Regional Transit Authority and New Orleans public school officials find enough volunteer drivers.

New Orleans is in an unusual situation, compared with neighboring parishes, because more than a quarter of its residents have no personal transportation. According to the most recent census data, about 134,000 out of the city’s 480,000 people are without cars, said Shirley Laska, director of the University of New Orleans’ Center for Hazards Assessment, Response & Technology.

If the buses are used, Matthews said those on board will have to be patient.

“Lets face it,” he said. “In time of an emergency, if we wait until the new contraflow plan is put in effect to begin this plan, it will take anywhere from four to six hours to get people as far as Baton Rouge.

“And we have to arrange for things as simple as finding strategic points along the route for bathrooms and water, for security and medical personnel to accompany the convoy in case of medical needs.”

Matthews said the plan is to take people from 10 pickup points throughout the city to one or more shelters north of Interstate 12.

City officials also are cooperating with the American Red Cross, Total Community Action and the University of New Orleans in developing a faith-based hurricane response system that includes a buddy system for evacuation.

Operation Brother’s Keeper, financed with a grant from the Baptist Community Ministries, is aimed at assisting religious institutions in both preparing for a hurricane and in finding ways to pair with other religious institutions north of the lake to provide transportation and shelter.

There are four pilot churches this year, with a goal of providing assistance to about 2,000 residents.

Red Cross officials recommend that families put together emergency kits including personal financial information, flashlights, first-aid kits, medicines and other supplies, which can be used during evacuations or during other non-hurricane emergencies.

Wow…was this prescient

ArchPundit September 4, 2005 0 Comment

Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
July 22, 2005 Friday
SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 665 words

HEADLINE: Hurricanes don’t scare most here, survey says;
Up to 60% would stay home for Category 3

BYLINE: By Mark Schleifstein, Staff writer

BODY:

As many as 60 percent of the residents of most southeast Louisiana parishes would remain in their homes if a Category 3 hurricane is approaching, according to a survey released Thursday by the University of New Orleans Survey Research Center and the Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Task Force.

That would be a dangerous decision, said task force president Jesse St. Amant, emergency preparedness director for Plaquemines Parish, because the state’s sinking coastline and levees no longer protect residents from a Category 3 storm, which can deliver winds of 130 mph and an 18-foot-high combination of storm surge and waves.

“The reality is that regardless of whether you lived through Betsy or remember Camille, though it hit somewhere else, if Ivan had happened here (last year), we would probably not be standing here talking about it in this (UNO) building,” St. Amant said. “We would still be recovering.”
Read More

Evacuation Preparedness

ArchPundit September 4, 2005 0 Comment

Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
July 24, 2005 Sunday
SECTION: METRO; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 1070 words
HEADLINE: In storm, N.O. wants no one left behind;
Number of people without cars makes evacuation difficult
BYLINE: By Bruce Nolan, Staff writer
BODY:

City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give the poorest of New Orleans’ poor a historically blunt message: In the event of a major hurricane, you’re on your own.

In scripted appearances being recorded now, officials such as Mayor Ray Nagin, local Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins and City Council President Oliver Thomas drive home the word that the city does not have the resources to move out of harm’s way an estimated 134,000 people without transportation.

In the video, made by the anti-poverty agency Total Community Action, they urge those people to make arrangements now by finding their own ways to leave the city in the event of an evacuation.

“You’re responsible for your safety, and you should be responsible for the person next to you,” Wilkins said in an interview. “If you have some room to get that person out of town, the Red Cross will have a space for that person outside the area. We can help you.

“But we don’t have the transportation.”
Read More