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Originally Posted by vautrain
3-4 days prior to the hurricane? You think you can just evacuate the entire city every time a hurricane shows up in the gulf? You obviously don't live anywhere near the gulf. This storm was a 200-300 year storm, but hurricanes show up in the gulf all the time. Even hurricanes that look like they're headed straight for New Orleans are not rare.
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You bet... By the time Katrina was hitting Florida, a projected path showed New Orleans as the most likely target. The ball should have been started rolling, but instead it was dropped....better yet it wasn't even picked up. You sure can't evacuate an entire city every time a Hurricane shows up in the gulf. Obviously I don't live anywhere near the gulf? Well I would say so... I live just north of Houston in Huntsville. How close would you like me to be? How many evacuations have you worked? I happen to work for the transportation dept of my states prison system, and I have evacuated prisons in the Beaumont area.....when winds and rain were blowing so hard I could barely see the bus in front of me, and almost knocking our buses over in the process. I can remember driving for 36-45 hours straight without a break trying to get the job done, along with my co-workers and other drivers. I can remember having an officer from the unit we were evacuating ride along with me in the fornt of the bus, and me saying to him..."Just talk to me, talk to me about anything so I don't fall asleep", while we made trip after trip back and forth until all were evacuated. And just this past July When Emily threatened the Brownsville area, where were you? I can tell you where I was. The Saturday prior I rolled into Beeville with an approximate 80 bus convoy from all over the state. Sunday we rolled out to Lopez State Jail, Segovia Transfer, and Willacy County Jail. We ended up not evacuating anybody, but we have a contingency plan, and we were prepared...that's my big point. We were ready, and we made an effort...and I am just talking about convicts. My role was just a small part of a bigger plan to get everyone involved to safe haven.
I have also personally talked to some survivors here in Huntsville, yes that's right....here in Huntsville we have over 1,000 from New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama. I worked at a shelter passing out supplies, and talking to (mainly listening to) people tell their stories. One thing I heard over and over was how the mayor and the rest of the city turned their backs on them. Many wanted to go but couldn't.....and I also talked to some that did not want to go, but had to later on due to flooding.
Don't go making assumptions about people,...you know what assuming does, don't you?
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Originally Posted by vautrain
Certainly, there were failures preparing and responding to this disaster at all levels of government, but to assing blame to the mayor (or anyone else) for not getting everyone out of the city prior to this hurricane is simply uninformed.
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I have not once stated the Mayor of NO should have, or even could have gotten everyone out of NW before Katrina hit. It's idiotic to even think he could have acomplished that. Even IF everyone could have been offered a ride out, many would not have taken it. That's fact. However, a good portion could have been evacuated had resources been utilized in and around new Orleans alone... I have done it myself. I have hauled people out of danger before it arrived. What he and his city council COULD have had was a contingency plan IN PLACE for such things. You say Katrina was a 200-300 year storm, but it wouldn't take hurricane to flood the bowl that we call New Orleans to the point that folks would have to get out. Do you remember Tropical Storm Allison, and what it did to Houston? I had personal dealings with THAT ONE as well. The city of Houston, the same city who is taking in more evacuees than any other single city in the US, had a contingency plan....they put it into place, and it saved lives.
People are taking the time to blast the federal government, and yes there were failures at every level of government....but it starts at home, at the lowest level of government and that means the city council and mayor of New Orleans, as well as the other cities affected. The Mayor of New Orleans, as well as members of the city council failed the citizens of New Orleans. Period.
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Originally Posted by vautrain
Like I said, I think it's possible he could have evacuated 10,000 to 20,000 out of the city. This would have been a fraction of the people who might have been willing to leave (who do you choose to stay and go?). It also would have been at the expense of the people who could not have left.
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This also would have been a fraction of people to survive as well, rather than die from the hurricane or the flooding afterwards. If NO had a plan and executed it, we could look back and critique what they did.... but they didn't do ANYTHING. Don't you get it? Anything would have been better than nothing.... 1 - 1 single life saved would have been worth the effort. He could have started with the sick and elderly.... Haven't you heard the reports comign from the hospitals that lost lives because they couldn't come up with basic necessities..ie; running water, electricity, etc... Just evacuating the sick and elderly would have gone a long ways. But for many being sick and/or elderly was their death sentence.
BTW.... Where do you live? If
YOU lived near the Gulf region you would know that Hurricane season is a big deal every year, and every city should have some sort of contingency plan in case of a hurricane. And, if you were familiar with the area you would know that it doesn't take a hurricane to cause the massive devastation and loss of life we are seeing.... a good tropical storm stalling off the coast like Allison did will do quite a bit of damage on it's own.