Katrina

[Ken King]

Well it should be easy to guess what has my interest this time. With out a doubt it has to be Katrina. Though, I’m not going to go about this as many of you would. I’m not concentrating on the devastation; we have the media for that. 90,000 square miles is no small thing that is for sure (I’ve heard that it is about the size of Kansas), but we all are seeing that every time we look at the tube.

I’m not going to be talking about the victims either. There are way to many and some are in worse shape then others. This has a lot to do with how they ended up facing the storm in the first place. Some got out and have lost everything, others stayed and lost everything, many have died, and many are still missing. They will be taken care of as best as they can.

What I want to talk about is the storm itself and why we weren’t as prepared as many think we should have been.

This is what I remember of the event. Katrina started off as a category 1 hurricane that did little but rustle the feathers of southern Florida as it hit. Granted a handful died but for the most part this was a minor storm. Up to and during the time it was crossing Florida we were being told that it would pass over Florida and hug the Gulf coast as it made its way north. The estimates were that it might retain category 1 but that was it.

Then Katrina gave us a twist. She shot straight out into the warm Gulf and started gaining strength. On the 27th she crept up to a category 2 with sustained winds holding at 100 knots. Early on the 28th (0200) she started her turn to the northwest well out in the Gulf and now reaching category 3, winds 125 knots. By that morning (0800) she had reached category 4 with winds of 140 knots and around noon the storm was peaking out as a category 5 packing winds of 150 knots. It was still heading northwest with no clear target as of yet. Many forecasters were calling for a hit in southern Louisiana and this is about when they were giving a serious get out of here warning.

That night Katrina was still heading to the northwest when right around midnight the morning of the 29th she turned hard north and made straight for New Orleans. Within 12 hours of the turn Katrina had hit and crossed New Orleans leaving behind what we have all been seeing since.

Now remember that she left in her wake 90,000 square miles of total destruction. Remember that millions of people are in need of aide in one manner or another. Remember that main arteries of transportation, communications and power are nonexistent and remember that we didn’t know where we were going to need them until the storm actually hit. Now I ask, how could anyone get a response team in any quicker then what is currently being done?

I’ll ask that before you fire off your responses as to what your plan for getting things done would have included that you think of the things that needed to be contended with along the way. You had a city under water that for the most part is still under water. There were those hanging on for their lives in trees and roof tops that needed to be reached first and foremost. This ate up the local assets immediately as they were in the life saving mode for those in imminent danger.

Next the Guard was called out, almost at once, but they had to marshal, organize, load up, and then hit the road from their staging area. Enroute they discovered that many roads were blocked or totally missing as they got closer to the epicenter. Detours, slow moving, and back tracking make just getting there a nightmare. But now that they had blazed the trail so others wouldn’t have to contend with what they did and getting in to the area has been easier.

I guess what I am getting at is that while it seems like feet were being drug getting in there to help these people out they are getting there about as fast as I could ever imagine. This is a huge task with hundreds of thousands of victims and many will feel like they are getting no attention but how could any nation prepare for devastation such as this and be everywhere all at once?

We can’t have thousands upon thousands of rescuers on call every minute of the day just waiting or can we? The payroll cost alone would be staggering and then all the equipment and supplies that would need to be maintained makes it cost prohibitive unless we all want to cough up more and more of our money in taxes.

We can’t use the military unless it is solely humanitarian and there is no chance of it turning into a police action like what has been needed to try to regain control of the area without specific Congressional approval. Should we already have a law in place saying that the President can use the military for actions such as this? Do you think it is wise to turn that power over to just one person for them to decide when the military can be used to restore order on our soil?

So now I’ll ask, how could this have been handled any better? And no John Kerry type responses please.

[Mikeinsmd]

It couldn't (that I can see). I'm not qualified to criticize but I believe things are happening as fast as they can. Relief doesn't begin falling from the sky soon as the winds die.

Furthermore.... the place is underwater. This greatly hampers efforts.

I have said a couple of times, it is so easy to Monday morning quarterback anything and say what you would do in particular situation/crises and how one would react, but until you’ve lived it, done it, experienced it, you don’t know.

Even now, many of us are thinking what would I/we do if a hurricane was heading this way and we were advised to evacuate. Where would we go? Is our insurance paperwork or just important papers in general in order?

We can’t have thousands upon thousands of rescuers on call every minute of the day just waiting or can we?

Sure we can, it is called our military and our reserves.

Should we already have a law in place saying that the President can use the military for actions such as this? Do you think it is wise to turn that power over to just one person for them to decide when the military can be used to restore order on our soil?

I feel the President should be able to call up the military for whatever purpose he deems necessary and it should be his (or her) decision. Timely decisions are important in situations like these and there is always those people on any “team” who want to throw curve balls and “what ifs?” at emergency situations which is what the purpose is crises classes and practice crises, but when the shiat hits the fan, reaction is imperative to saving lives.

So far, I think the situation has been handled as well as to be expected.

[morganj614]

Hurricanes are unpredictable. Therefore relief efforts to the whole area, not just N O, were also unpredictable until damage could be assessed and some communication and access to the coast were available.
It seems full effort is underway in a timely manner, given the circumstances and unpredictability of nature.

[Ken King]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Sure we can, it is called our military and our reserves.

So the military just drops what they are doing elsewhere? They're already stretched thin and when do we get the time to train them to do this?

I feel the President should be able to call up the military for whatever purpose he deems necessary and it should be his (or her) decision. Timely decisions are important in situations like these and there is always those people on any “team” who want to throw curve balls and “what ifs?” at emergency situations which is what the purpose is crises classes and practice crises, but when the shiat hits the fan, reaction is imperative to saving lives.

What about election night 2008 when Hillary Clinton beats the Republican challenger and GW Bush declares mashal law and activates the military services in the protection of his new government. Is that the power you want him to have?

[Mikeinsmd]

Originally Posted by Ken King

What about election night 2008 when Hillary Clinton beats the Republican challenger and GW Bush declares mashal law and activates the military services in the protection of his new government. Is that the power you want him to have?

Have laws in place making that specifically illegal??

[willie]

I can't find it now but will keep looking. It is a picture of a lot, maybe hundreds, of school buses under water. Before the mayor does all the condemnation towards others, maybe he can explain why he didn't order those buses into action.

[Ken King]

Originally Posted by Mikeinsmd

Have laws in place making that specifically illegal??

We do already, my response was to the "for whatever purpose" portion of that statement.

Originally Posted by Ken King

So the military just drops what they are doing elsewhere? They're already stretched thin and when do we get the time to train them to do this?

I don't think they should be stretched thin to the point of protecting our country from foreign enemies, but I’m sure they have “some” fat that can be cut and sent down to help and they also have the reserves.

I agree that it wouldn't be in the best financial interest to keep a group of people trained solely for this purpose, but all they can do is the best they can with what they have available, IMO.

What about election night 2008 when Hillary Clinton beats the Republican challenger and GW Bush declares mashal law and activates the military services in the protection of his new government. Is that the power you want him to have?

Are there laws now in which the President can declare Martial Law?

I was under the assumption that this could only be done when there is a civil civil crisis or in a war. Also, like this situation, when 60% of the police force walked off the job, and the police are not able to restore public order and safety.

If there are no laws on WHEN it can be declared, there should be.

Mentioning that Hillary might be our next President made me

[Christy]

could any nation prepare for devastation such as this and be everywhere all at once?

No, not even the United States, we're good but it is ridiculous to expect the Federal Government to swoop in within minutes of a Natural disaster and rescue everyone and fix everything. It is impossible to organize an evacuation and rescue of such a large number of people as quick as those people would like. Not to mention it's assinine to go bounding into a disaster area before evaluating what you're getting into.

Maybe, just MAYBE the relief effort could have gone much smoother if those who were financially and physically able to leave, left. The amount of people that had to be rescued because they CHOSE to stay is apalling. I would pass legislation that required all able bodied people (who are not staying behind with a skill to provide immediate disaster relief) to evacuate when a mandatory evacuation is put in place. If you chose to stay just to see what it was like to live through a hurricane, you should be fined, jailed, and forced to pay back what it cost for your rescue. I suggest jailed because in my opinion, you are directly responsible for lack of rescue personnel to save those who are truly in need.

Everyone keeps saying this should be a wake up call to the Federal Government. I suggest that it should be a wake up call for individuals. Individuals must learn to be at least semi self sufficient in times of crisis. It is shocking to me that so many people don't have the basic skills or motivation to sustain themselves for a couple of days without government intervention.

That's just my two cents.