Katrina’s rumor mill
Finally, some goodish news: some of my fellow evacuees are going home. Well, kinda. They only left the city on Thursday, after weathering the storm and spending the aftermath in the relative comfort of their home in Algiers. They had a generator and loads of supplies, and honestly, if the looting and raping and all that crap hadn’t become a concern, they’d still be there, cooking the huge stockpiles of food in their rapidly thawing freezer to feed folks camped out under the Westbank Expressway.
Anyway, they got the report yesterday that chunks of the Westbank are back online, and at least two of family are going home today to check in on the homestead and the business they own.
Some of their employees in the city have also returned: apparently Kenner (which, according to reports, is also partially back on the grid) is allowing residents to return, but is enforcing a strict curfew. If you’re caught outside after dark, you’re escorted to the parish line and not allowed to return until dawn.
Of course, this doesn’t mean anything to the other residents of Jefferson parish, and it means even less to those of us from Orleans, but it’s a start. For the first time in a week, I’m hopeful.
That is good news, Richard. Thanks for posting something that’s a little optimistic.
I wish you th ebest.
Bea
I do feel sorry for the elderly and children. I feel like these people knew what was coming. I’m tired of hearing how its Bush’s fault. Where was the local authorities? New Orleans is just one city in the state of Louisianna. Where was the state and what were they doing? So I think that its easy for the state and local authorities to blame everyone else, but themselves. Everybody in the city knew that it was coming and didn’t leave, thinking they could wait out a hurricane of that level, when you are below sea level. You know what, I feel sorry for the people who really cant fend for themselves, because the people taking care of them are really stupid. Maybe the authorities making the decisions should stay there and help drag out the dead bodies. Physically with their own hands.
Adam people are pointing the finger at Bush because ultimately he is responsible for Fema and creating the ultimate bureacracy known as homeland security (a truly democrat like move to create yet ANOTHER bloated bureacracy).
For the record all of the people who are in positions of leadership have failed thus far from Bush to Mayor Nagin. The fact of the matter is Fema’s response was pathetic and entirely too slow.
Unlike most people I understand it takes time to gather and move soldiers and their equipment (I served in the Air Force so I know), but there is no excuse for the lack of food and water at the superdome and convention center for days.
Another reason people are blaming Bush is because he named the leaders of Fema and homeland security and both of them are incompetent political hires and that mistake rests at Bush’s feet.
Lastly, can anyone defend the fact that Fema admitted on Thursday they had just found out about the people without food or water inthe convention center? I don’t think anyone can defend that as the whole country knew what was happening at the superdome and the convention center yet Fema didn’t.
My heart goes out to all of you people in New Orleans. I have seen the damage and the sad faces, lives torn apart. I will be donating money to the Red Cross and my employer is soliciting donations and will match anything I donate. Unfortunatly, the most any of us can do is sit on the sidelines and this is very frustrating. I wish I could help more, but its the best I can do for now. Good luck to all of you, my thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of trauma.
To the people of nola and the rest of the USA.
Get a job. Pay taxes. Obey the law.
Or
Just shut up and die.
Just going by reports, it seem like Jefferson Parish could be in fairly decent condition in a couple of weeks. The lack of levee flooding is the key factor, and most of the reconstruction effort is probably going to be concentrated there while engineers try to get rid of the water in the east. However, even when the utilities are restored in JP, I don’t see how the residents could be let in to reside again until east NOLA is drained. Too much of a public health hazard.
I have sat here watched and cried over the personal tragedies since Monday.
Question???
Since everyone knew this was going to be a major disaster WHY were those unable or without the means to leave simply told to go to the stadium?? WHY wasn’t help (buses, cars, anything) provided/offered so they could get out of the area??
Seems to me those people were ‘told’ you’re on your own from day one.
Ty
Ty, the stadium was a refuge of last resort for those who could not find any other transport. The other part of your question has been asked by many, and will doubtlessly be the subject of a congressional hearing, a class-action lawsuit, and a teleplay staring Harry Connick as Bill Hemmer.
I heard Al Qaeda seeded the clouds off the north western African coast to cause all of this.
The entire thing is a huge mess … more than rumors will be flying shortly. All hell, in my opinion is about to break loose.
http://www.KatrinasTruth.com
I just have to say that people need to do their research.
Buses were sent to the neighborhoods in NO and people without money or cars were informed that they were available for evacuation.
As far as the Bush bashing, the state was declared a disaster before the storm made landfall. Money and help was made available from the federal side. It was up to the state of Louisiana to call up the troops and have all in place and to be on standby to go in. This was all about money, the state and local government gambled that they could get by without it.
The federal government does NOT have the authority to send in troops or the state guard. To my knowledge, the feds asked the governor could they send them in when it became evident that mucho help would be needed after the levee broke but were refused. The governor and local officials are to blame if someone wants to lay blame which I think is senseless at this point. Louisiana did not have their plan beforehand which is of the utmost necessity.
People, please do your research BEFORE you start doing your BASHING.
I lived in GNO for over 10 years. A couple of tidbits:
1. No one expected the level of devastation the city (and Gulf) experienced. That’s from FEMA down to the locals, until around Friday or Saturday. That would have given any authority about 48 hours to revise their disaster plans. Not enough time.
2. All the reports I’ve heard about disaster planning for this region assumed the local authorities would have to hold things together for 24-48 hours before Federal Assistance arrived.
It is simply too much to assume that any local government can even function, much less help its own citizens, in the face of a disaster this size. Likewise, many states would be overwhelmed almost immediately as well.
3. I have no idea what the Louisiana National Guard was doing in the first 48 hours. However, it’s unlikely they alone had the manpower to handle this, especially taking into account that a large percentage of their manpower and equipment are indeed in Iraq. Like it or not, having National Guard personnel and equipment in Iraq DID INDEED reduce their availability locally and DID INDEED contribute to the continued deaths and disorder.
4. Other states, as I understand, CAN NOT send guard units to a state in need without TWO things. They have to have that state invite them and they have to get federal permission. OR Washington can federalize them and send them in without permission from the state. My memory is that the Governor was asking for help from surrounding states pretty soon after the event. I have HEARD (hearsay) that federal permission took 24-48 hours. I’ll need to confirm that.
5. The local authorities, as soon as they realized how bad things were likely to be, issued a mandatory evacuation order. There were a lot of people what had no transportation and no place to go. The city and state could not have evacuated all those people in the 48 hours they had before the winds came. And would not have had anywhere to put them. They did the best they could, they opened the Superdome (seeminly indestructible) and gave free bus service there for 48 hours straight. Police and firefighters drove through neighborhoods announcing this on loudspeaker. It was on the news locally. Again, this was on the assumption that in the WORST CASE, being at the Superdome would save them from the initial surge/flood. And assumed that within 2-3 days after that, FEMA would begin to arrive with food, water, medical aid, and evacuations. In that respect, the Dome served its purpose.
6. There were thousands of people who did not even evacuate to the Superdome. They ranged from the infirm, the mentally ill and their caregivers, those who believed it was another “near miss”, those who wanted to protect their homes afterward, and (IMO) a small minority who intended to take advantage of the lawlessness to do some creative property transfers (looting of valuables).
7. The amount of actual violence seems to have actually been small. But it only takes one moron with a gun to halt an entire operation and the press loves to generalize from one isolated example. Result was to make the whole city look like a band of thugs.
That’s my take, for what it’s worth.
David Collison
currently in Houston, TX and housing 7 evacuees.
Calm_rational,
Sounds like you could use a job yourself! Many of these people are working poor, pay taxes and can’t get out. And you don’t sound calm and rational to me! Get lost!
David Collison – THANK YOU for your comments!
I think that any city would have had similar problems.
The press does tend to harp on the negative, no matter how small or large –
Our government bureaus need to learn how to communicate with each other. Huge problem that they all bicker and fight over who gets the most money and then they are mad and refuse to communicate and cooperate.
politics suck.
i hate mean people
The city of New Orleans have dodged the rath of Mother Nature so many times.And now that its happened ,people want to ‘blame” every one BUT them selves.People were TOLD to leave ,but did not.The Mayor should have declared ALL public transport under ” Martial Law” and made the public transportation take the people who had no way out , out of the area !BUT he did not do that.The Mayor should have decided to ORDER the local P/D to remove those people IF needed .Then they could file law suits violateing THIER rights when they came back .BUT he did not do any of these things .I lived in New Orleans ,and it has NOT changed since the 70′s.But it might now.Because the dark side of new orleans is in the open.Tourist do NOT see the poverty,the filth,the lawness’s,the corruption with-in the public office’s of new orleans.And now that all that is on Tv all over the world ,others want to blame every one BUT where the blame lies.The name “Big Easy” fits New Orleans ,because every thing came easy there.The reality is “The city goverment was NOT prepared to handle ANY kind of emergency .They have all ways been concerned with promoting how New Oleans looked to the tourist industry.Poverty and corruption have ALL ways been part of New Oleans.Some one I know said to me “I did’nt know there was so MANY poor blacks in New Orleans ! Where have they been hideing them?”My answer …..the poor blacks AND poor whites have ALL WAYS been there ,they keep them down in the ‘projects” out of sight and out of the eye of tourisimn ! STOP blameing every one from Bush to the City sanitation workers and face reality !The city of NEW ORLEANS WAS NOT PREPARED for ANY disaster ,natural or man-made .Thats it in a nut-shell.
Does anyone have any information concerning St Tammany Retarded Citizens or the like? I have not heard any mention on the news concerning these retarded-disabled citizens in NO area.
Thanks, Janet in SC
FYI, some interesting info that was forwarded to me:
“I think all of Nagin’s pomp and posturing is going to bite him hard in the near future as the lies and distortions of his interviews are coming to light.
On Friday night before the storm hit, Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center took the unprecedented action of calling Nagin and Blanco personally to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of NO and they said they’d
take it under consideration. This was after the NOAA buoy 240 miles south had recorded 68′ waves before it was destroyed.
President Bush spent Friday afternoon and evening in meetings with his advisors and administrators drafting all of the paperwork required for a state to request federal assistance (and not be in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act or having to enact the Insurgency Act). Just before midnight Friday evening the President called Governor Blanco and pleaded with her to sign the request papers so the federal government and the military could legally begin mobilization and call up. He was told that they didn’t think it necessary for the federal government to be involved yet. After the
President’s final call to the governor she held meetings with her staff to discuss the political ramifications of bringing federal forces. It was decided that if they allowed federal assistance it would make it look as if they had failed so it was agreed upon that the feds would not be invited in.
Saturday before the storm hit the President again called Blanco and Nagin requesting they please sign the papers requesting federal assistance, that they declare the state an emergency area, and begin mandatory evacuation.
After a personal plea from the President, Nagin agreed to order an evacuation, but it would not be a full mandatory evacuation, and the governor still refused to sign the papers requesting and authorizing federal action. In frustration the President declared the area a national disaster area before the state of Louisiana did so he could legally begin some advanced preparations. Rumor has it that the President’s legal advisers were looking into the ramifications of using the Insurgency Act to bypass the Constitutional requirement that a state request federal aid before the
federal government can move into state with troops – but that had not been done since 1906 and the Constitutionality of it was called into question to use before the disaster.
Throw in that over half the federal aid of the past decade to NO for levee construction, maintenance, and repair was diverted to fund a marina and support the gambling ships. Toss in the investigation that will look into why the emergency preparedness plan submitted to the federal government for funding and published on the city’s website was never implemented and in fact may have been bogus for the purpose of gaining additional federal funding as we now learn that the organizations identified in the plan were never contacted or coordinating into any planning – though the document implies that they were.
The suffering people of NO need to be asking some hard questions as do we all, but they better start with why Blanco refused to even sign the multi-state mutual aid pack activation documents until Wednesday which further delayed the legal deployment of National Guard from adjoining states. Or maybe ask why Nagin keeps harping that the President should have commandeered 500 Greyhound busses to help him when according to his own emergency plan and documents he claimed to have over 500 busses at his disposal to use between the local school busses and the city transportation busses – but he never raised a finger to prepare them or activate them.
This is a sad time for all of us to see that a major city has all but been destroyed and thousands of people have died with hundreds of thousands more suffering, but it’s certainly not a time for people to be pointing fingers and trying to find a bigger dog to blame for local corruption and incompetence. Pray to God for the survivors that they can start their lives anew as fast as possible and we learn from all the mistakes to avoid them in the future.”
I’m not an expert on this topic – I just want to raise it in people’s minds.
This war in Iraq can’t seem to get enough actual soldier enlistment so Bush has been fighting it with way more National Guardsmen than he should. It’s been kind of like a gamble for them, hasn’t it? To the tune:
Bush: “Let’s use all those national guardsmen to fight this war!”
Advisor: “But what if something big happens for which they’re needed?”
Bush: “Well, that’s a chance I’m prepared to take.”
Oops!
Snopes has it out on the interesting forward. False.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/katrina/nagin.asp
I heard on the radio this morning that an upscale store (I think in TX?) sold 2 designer handbags to a couple of the people who used the debit cards provided by FEMA. These purses were priced at $800 each!!!
If this is true, I am throughly disgusted and think the people who purchased these purses should not be given any more help, and should be required to return the card and be required to return the handbags. After losing everything they own, why would they think an $800 handbag is necessary? That certainly is not the purpose of the debit cards!!
I guess there will ALWAYS be a few that will ruin it for everyone, won’t there?
What in the hell is WRONG with people like this?
people should know about the dedication and heartbreak of the medical professinals trying to do their best with urgent need of help. They stayed their posts and did their duty and watched and waited while their hearts broke. They are the “true” Americans.
September 13, 2005
latimes.com : National News
E-mail story Print Most E-mailed Change text size
KATRINA’S AFTERMATH
Hospital Struggled to Comfort the Dying
Isolated by floodwaters, staffers tended to the ill as they lost electricity, water and hope. By the time rescuers came, 45 had died.
By Solomon Moore, Times Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS
I do not believe that President Bush let anyone down. He declared the disaster BEFORE Katrina made landfall. Nagin and Blanco drug their feet (or they were too confused to think???)
Ann-
Can you read? Two posts above you – the one from Sept 10th – click on the link and read it all. Even if Bush didn’t let anyone down somebody in the White House sure tried some spin to deflect blame. I wonder why they did that?
For Janet Whittle,
The term “retarded” usually refers to stupid people now. Not people with disabilities. Let’s not lose our respect for them too.
Everyone else,
I heard that the NO police chief lost his entire family then commited suicide. Is there any truth to that?
Didn’t Bush just publicly “take responsibility” for the lack of communication and the problems getting help down in NO today?
Melissa:
There were actually two police suicides, but neither was committed by the chief of police. Check this: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/06/police.suicide.ap/
An e mail with a picture of 127 submerged New Orleans school busses has been circulating since the storm, citing the mayor’s FAILURE to use these vehicles to evacuate New Orleans citizens before the storm. I have not been able to confirm or disprove this e mail. I forwarded the e mail to “truthorfiction.com” more than once, no response yet. Any ideas where the truth about this can be found?