Actually, what WOULD you do? Seriously.

[Deja Q]

In New Orleans?

I don't have a clue.

The media has used Biblical terms (including "Biblical") to describe the situation (they're not exactly accurate or objective, but that's their problem.)

Those who make the decisions in those cities and states that control the area are dumbfounded and somewhat inept; it's not 1969 anymore, people do care more about things these days. Which is one of the problems afoot.

But HOW did the aftermath of Camille (1969) get resolved? Why is nobody remembering the past?

Indeed, what would any of US, is WE were in a position of power, do?

At what point is criticism allowed? Or cynicism? Don't get me wrong, some of it is - the President has indeed been lax on the issue and to lend the oil from the reserves is silly because we don't have the refinery capacity anymore and taxpayers already paid for it, so to lend it means we have to pay it back - effectively paying double. And maybe the state and local authorities COULD have done better?

I'm hoping this thread becomes a serious discussion about what COULD be done better, instead of the emotional empty anger that we've seen too many times before.

And, yes, I do realize that if a Dem was president, the repukie-dookies would be shittin' up a storm too. But this thread isn't the time or the place. Others are and have been. I am asking what COULD have been done different and what YOU would do if you were in a position of power.

Thank you kindly.

[Tace]

1. Seems Like The Dikes Should Have Been Fortified

The cut in funding was a mistake, in retrospect.

[Deja Q]

3. I heard there was a cut for 2006 budget,

but wouldn't that impact next year's hurricane season and not this year's? (yikes, what other cuts were there for 2005, and why cut them at all?! The weather is still unpredictable...)

[Francine Frensky]

19. Budget cut in half since 2001

hurricane cat 5 planning process was one of the things cut out of prior budget. lots of articles in local NO paper about this, have been referenced here.

[ReverendDeuce]

2. I said this before and I will say it again...

This is what it is like living in a country with no discernable leadership whatsoever. That's exactly the problem we have today and it's the problem we'll have until January 2009.

[Deja Q]

4. Yes, but what would YOU do to resolve the crises afoot?

We've seen the "crap leadership" posts but I'm asking for something different.

[Tace]

9. If I Were The Leader, I'd Be There NOW

Actually, I would have been there no later than Monday. I would have set up a command at the Superdome and be coordinating rescue efforts from there.

[theboss]

13. And you would be in the way

We have FEMA for a reason. If it can't handle this, we should disband it.

[Obamanaut]

22. I don't think FEMA is the answer - they appear to have

internal problems of their own, not the least of which is poor claims investigatory technique.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20050810-070223-2950r.htm

Investigation finds FEMA fraud in Florida

Aug. 10, 2005 at 9:21PM

An investigation into illegal payments to Florida storm victims shows there were nearly three times as many funeral claims as official 2004 storm deaths.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved 319 funeral claims for $1.3 million although the state's coroner announced at least 203 were deaths unrelated to the 2004 storms.
<more>

google fema fraud, there are numerous hits

[KittyWampus]

8. indeed, i started a thread a few days ago- this is what america is like

with no leadership

[Birthmark]

5. I would have acknowledged reality

Had this been done, many more lives would have been saved. Instead, the idjits in charge continued to piss away valuable time on fixing levees that wouldn't help shit for at least three months instead of redirecting their efforts on building pontoon bridges (which can be done very quickly) to allow people to leave the area. But that would have made some sort of frigging sense, so I guess it was impossible.

[1932]

6. I'm sure the finest minds at Homeland Security have been working on

plans on how to rebuild entire cities devestated by catastrophe.

I'm sure our government is ready to hit the ground running with a rebuilding/relocation/relief effort.

Or maybe not.

[SmokingJacket]

7. Well, that's easy.

First, I would have NOT diverted Louisiana's disaster preparedness money to Iraq. That's obvious.

I would have kept FEMA up to Clinton administration standards.

That's just for starters.

[Bonhomme Richard]

10. The first thing I would have done.......................

is drag derelict ships into the lake and sunk them by the breaches. Same thing in the barge canal but there I would have sunk barges.
I mentioned this a couple of days ago.

[buddysmellgood]

11. An ASCE analysis in 2003 told us exactly what would happen in a cat5.

I would have ordered all school and city buses to points multiple loading points in the city. Trains could be used a well. Granted, there would still be people who would choose to stay, but at least everyone who wanted to leave would be able to leave. I would have taken them to military bases. They could stay in barracks. Alternatively, tents could be set up in the Astrodome or places like that.
But taking several steps back, it's important to acknowledge that funding for planning and levee repair was cut.
If terrorists had blown the hole in the levees, the result would have been the same or worse. Homeland Security has failed. We are not prepared for a terrorist attack.
You cannot look at this an NOT criticize Bush. That would be putting your head in the sand.

[Lerkfish]

12. I would have expected professional disaster specialists to have plans

for contingencies.
First of all, A first grader would have realized that ordering people to evacuate, but not allowing buses back in to get more people to take out BEFORE the storm was counterproductive. A first grader would have known that asking poor people to pay their way to evacuate was not going to work.
a first grader could foresee problems with herding people to the superdome, problems that have all been realized.
A first grader would haver realized that all industrial and military helicopters and boats, ships needed to be relocated ASAP to begin rescue operations.
A first grader would have realized that dropping palettes of bottled water throughout the city would have stabilized those on the desperate line until their rescue.
A first grader would have realized that evacuated people cannot loot.
A first grader would have realized that all these things.
Why cant' paid professionals and govt. officials, WHOSE FREAKING JOB IT IS TO KNOW THESE THINGS would not know them?


EVEN THOUGH the funding was cut by bush, I would STILL expect FEMA and other agencies to be handling this a lot better than what I've seen.apparently, I was wrong.

[Inland]

18. Right. Anyone inventing a plan from scratch will fail, like they are now.

[YellerdawgFlorida]

14. I went through

Frances and Jeanne last year, which in retrospect look rather mild. We lost lots of buildings; a year later we are not 100%, but the loss of life was minimal.
I think a healthy respect for god-made barriers (nature-made if you prefer), such as marshes and barrier islands are very important in preventing loss of life. They are there for a REASON folks. Don't destroy them! We are destroying nature, and nature in turn, will destroy us!

Love the toad btw!

[AbbyR]

15. I'm no disaster expert, but...

it looks like a disaster plan should have been funded and in place. Surely the feds knew this could happen and Bush did not fund what needed to be done.

The levees have always been a problem, and I know that the Corps of Engineers has been screaming for years about funding cuts in every area.

All of that is locking the barn after that old horse is long in the fields, as is saying that if I were president, or if anyone with a brain were president, the National Guard would have been at home and deployed to the disaster areas immediately.

Now, I suppose, getting the military in place quickly to help restore order, supply water and food, and get the people in desperate need out of there and to shelters.

I would be in the shelters, listening to the needs of people and trying to help them (as I was yesterday). They are worrying about getting funds out of banks, getting Social Security checks, finding places to stay for the long haul, finding lost friends and relatives - all of these things can be addressed by getting the right people in to help them.

And incidentally, I'm furious with the Red Cross, whose representatives refused to drive the 50 miles south to our little town, where over 60 are sheltered, to help them fill out forms and get information on aid. The refugees have to go 50 miles further north, with scarce funds and gasoline, and get in line in another strange city.

And as I type, we are planning a small benefit concert with local performers to help the area churches who are housing people.

There are things you can do to help. DO THEM!!

Abby in South Arkansas

[Francine Frensky]

21. The military and guard have been MIA waaaay too long

By Tuesday morning it was obvious that things were out of control and getting WORSE, but it seems that things are only starting to happen today, two days later.

Another thing is communication: why aren't there thousands of hand held walkie-talkies with fresh batteries stored in a crate somewhere that could quickly be airlifted to any emergency?? The police have been totally clueless, not their own fault, just the fault of no communication lines. Refugees are wandering aimlessly...with no understanding of where to go for help...

[mike_c]

16. frankly, I don't think a great deal COULD have been done...

...very differently, given the starting point. I think a lot of folks here are simply expressing understandable frustration, added to a foundation of general misunderstanding. Much has been made of Bush's having cut the NO flood control budget in 2002, which will undoubtedly turn out to be a political blunder, but not one that would have actually made much difference on the ground.

NO's problems go back more than a century. Under MANY administrations the COE exacerbated the problem in the name of river navigation and land development, and while the warnings about possible calamity in NO were widely made and acknowledged, nothing much was ever done. It's the old story-- too expensive to fix the problem until it blows up, and then the cost is much higher. Yes, the levees were insufficient, and yes, everyone has known it for at least the last 50 years. Who is responsible for not having fixed that?

The disaster response was initially and primarily a state and local matter. There were obvious difficulties in dealing with the scope of destruction, and even in understanding the scale of destruction for at least the first 48 hours. If the local gov't could not understand what had happened, I think it's a bit much to expect the feds to be on top of things. Once it became clear that the affected states and localities were overwhelmed, the situation had actually become quite a bit worse, setting the starting point back even further. As far as I can tell, FEMA has been hindered by many of the same issues, compounded by it's own inherently ponderous and glacial response. In hind sight, MUCH greater preparedness was needed before the fact, but responsibility for that goes WAY beyond the current WH occupant.

[Inland]

17. I would turn to my huge fucking bureacracy that has a ready plan.

What you SHOULD be asking me is, "What would you be asking FEMA back in 2001, 2002, 2003 as the hurricanes and disasters hit America on your watch? What would you be doing to make sure that in fact we could handle major disasters in urban areas?"

You might also ask me what I would do if the ACE asked for a piddly 71 million bucks a year for levee control.

[Armstead]

20. Been more assertive about evacuation

In the big picture, I think it shows how we ignore the worst until it happens.

But focusing on the shorter term, IMO when they realized what could happen last week, they should have been getting prople out of the city -- buses, airlifts, carpools, temporary shelters, etc.

Especially should have focused on helping those without transportation escape.

If it had been a false alarm, there'd have been a lot of grumbling. But better that than what we see happening now.

[lateo]

23. Camille should have been a blueprint for them...

And I think for a time it was but I would be willing to bet all the money I have in the bank that...

The LA government go complacent about hurricanes and cut funding.