A Tale of Two Hurricanes
Four years ago, “Katrina” had never been used as a hurricane name. Hard to believe, aint it?
I was watching a Weather Channel story on Katrina last night, where they had NBC’s Brian Williams talking about his experiences covering it and showing footage taken at the time.
Before I go any further, I want to say that those were truly some horrific situations many, particularly in New Orleans but not exclusive to that area, found themselves in. As my wife said when we were watching the show, there is truly no way you can see those images, even now, and not be moved by them.
But I found something particularly disturbing about the footage that was shown, something I didn’t pick up on at the time as we were first seeing all these images come out.
Remember all those people waiting at the SuperDome and other locations throughout NOLA and surrounding areas? They were waiting for someone else – the government in particular – to come save them.
These people were either so delusional or so beaten down by their own government that they thought it was the government’s job to save them! Rather than taking action on their own to get themselves OUT of the situation they found themselves in, they sat there and waited to be “rescued” by the government!
What is interesting is the distinction between that show about a hurricane and its aftermath and the one right after it, also about a hurricane and its aftermath. In the second show, the story chronicled was that of a hurricane that hit Hawaii in 1992 – the day before filming of Jurassic Park was set to end.
This film crew – including everyone from Steven Spielberg and the stars to the newest assistant cook- worked together to get themselves out of the situation and its aftermath on their own. As the storm was raging, the stunt men had to send one of their own outside into the hurricane so that his storm radio could pick up the latest weather reports. They tied him into the same harnesses they used for their stunts and had several men holding the ropes, but the guy was able to get outside, get the report, and get back in safely – even though the wind had blown him horizontal and the only thing keeping him from flying away was the very harness he was strapped into. Speilberg himself coordinated everything and comforted people as best he could, including telling ghost stories to the various kids in the crew (including the young actors) that were apparently scarier than the hurricane! Once the storm was over, the set/grounds crew was able to use the equipment that only the day before was being used to build the massive Jurrasic Park sets to clear the debris from the roadway and allow both the crew and the local citizens a way to get to the airport.
Several other things happened, but none of these people waited on the government to rescue them – they rescued themselves.
In most situations today – Cash for Clunkers, the various “stimulus” and bailout programs, Obamacare, and yes, Medicare and Social Security – we see a LOT more “victims” and a lot less people willing to do the hard work to help themselves. Until THAT changes, we will see no real change – no matter what any politician tells you.
What then can government do about this?
Reign itself back to its Constitutional limitations and restore Freedom – and with it, Responsibility – to the People.
The hardest thing for any non-sociopathic person to do is to let a person fall flat on their face and hit rock bottom. THAT is the basic underlying reason for each of the programs I mentioned a moment ago and many other programs currently run by government.
The unfortunate reality is that letting that person hit rock bottom is sometimes the single most caring and loving thing anyone can possibly do for them. By restoring the Freedom and Responsibility of the People, government shows just how compassionate it truly is.
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August 16th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Are you seriously comparing a major city being underwater with a film set backed by the resources of one of the richest men on the planet.
August 16th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
People are people, regardless of resources. The poorest person on the planet still has two feet and a will to live – which those at the SuperDome didn’t employ, instead choosing to wait on the government to “rescue” them.
August 16th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
you don’t even need to compare two hurricanes. compare mississippi and lousiana’s responses to the same hurricane.
August 16th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
And when some of them tried, they were met on the Crescent City Connector by men with guns.
It must be very easy to live in a world with such narrowly defined rules.
August 16th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
so try a different freaking route! No, IF they tried at all, they tried the easy way and when that didn’t work, they gave up.
August 16th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Have you ever been to New Orleans, Jeff? There are only so many ways in and out.
August 16th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Actually, yes, I have. Just this past April my wife and I ported out of there on a 5 day cruise on the Carnival Fantasy.
Matter of fact, the level of destruction STILL present is part of what motivated this post. I’m not just talking the areas you would expect either, but downtown skyscrapers still had a good deal of windows missing, among other things.
Also, I’m looking at satellite imagery right now and can point to SEVERAL different routes I would try. I’ll grant you that heading North or East may have been truly impossible (though even then, I doubt it, but it really depends on what supplies you can forage for). In general though, west/southwest would be the best direction to go on foot out of that city – and there is enough area out there that only a truly organized military/police force will be able to stop you from getting out that direction. And btw, that direction is solid no matter which side of the Crescent City Connector you are on.
August 16th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
‘there is enough area out there that only a truly organized military/police force will be able to stop you from getting out that direction’
THEY DID
August 16th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
you’re saying they blockaded every foot on some line that would prevent anyone from getting through?
And you’re saying the government that can’t close off the southern border of the US to illegals is the same one that did this?
August 16th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
You are comparing a thousand mile border which is mostly desert to a city which has limited access under normal conditions but in this case most of these access points were UNDERWATER.
And yes, one of the few ways in and out was shut down by men with guns.
August 16th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
who says you need roads to get out of an area? Particularly one that is flooded? Indeed, most of what I’m looking at would involve quite a bit of cross-country treking – but it could be done.
But hey, I’m posting a historical account that will (hopefully) enlighten you.
August 16th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
[...] page a couple of months ago, and in light of the discussions GriftDrift and I are having re: “A Tale of Two Hurricanes“, I finally decided to post it here: For those who may have never heard the story of Davy [...]
August 16th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
The people of NO and the whole region had MANY days notice that it was coming their way. There was plenty of time to make plans.
August 16th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
This has nothing to do with any interpretation of the general welfare clause and everything to do with your complete disregard for the facts of the aftermath of Katrina.
August 16th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
[...] why I get royally pissed when dicks like this continue to perpetuate zombie lies. It’s especially maddening when said dick has no clue [...]
August 17th, 2009 at 5:00 am
Grift,
The aftermath of Katrina is one thing, and is full of horror stories of one kind or another. No one can really argue that.
But the point is that people who could have left, didn’t. Remember the people who talked about not wanting to deal with the traffic, so they just went to the Superdome instead? It’s not about the General Welfare clause, but about people expecting government to bail them out of every situation.
August 17th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Yes, Tom. You could argue people made mistakes in judgment by not evacuating sooner (that is if it were possible for them to arrange transportation and what not).
However, this judgment was absolutely not based on an attitude of the “government will save us”.
It was based on history, many people had survived Betsy and believed they would just as easily survive Katrina. They were wrong.
It was also based on the unpredictable nature of hurricanes. It wasn’t until the last 24 hours (when the decision point had passed for practically everyone) that it was finally determined New Orleans was in grave danger. Even then, the forecast had the storm passing to the east thereby putting New Orleans on the “easier” western side of the storm.
But most importantly, however the decision was made by individuals, to somehow say that once the storm was passed, the people of New Orleans could easily tromp through chest high water filled with snakes and gators to reach safety is pure, unadulterated fantasy.
And to compare an entire city cutoff by flood waters to one film set which still had access to nearby civilization is laughable.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
There are so many things wrong with this discussion that I feel compelled to get involved.
We’ll start with the fact that Hurricane Katrina did not hit the city of New Orleans. The storm passed to the East and hit other parts of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Levees designed and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers failed below design specifications, and the city flooded. In some places, it flooded so fast, people who had gone to sleep because the storm had passed drowned in their beds.
Once things started to get really bad, groups of people attempted to leave the city. With elderly people and children, they walked miles in the 100 degree August heat with no water and no supplies over the Crescent City Connection bridge onto the unflooded West Bank. There, they were met by a smaller locality’s law enforcement officials, who turned them back AT GUNPOINT back into the city. These individuals fired weapons into the air to get their point across.
But you wouldn’t know all that if you just listened to the MSM and right wing radio nonsense you obviously listen to. I find it unbelievable that this tragic episode in US history has been glossed over by so many individuals who refuse to do the proper research.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
CP:
For the record, I don’t listen to talk radio – well, other than recently I’ve started listening to Frank Barnas on 105.9fm out of Valdosta in the mornings. But that is mostly because I’ve been talking to him about politics for a few months now, and not because I am a particular fan of talk radio.
Secondly, a) can you really blame the local cops for doing their jobs and protecting their town? b) If one way fails, TRY ANOTHER WAY. The FACT of the matter is, these people took the easy way and when the easy way didn’t work out, they decided to sit and wait on the government to rescue them.
August 24th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Unquestionably one of the most vile things I’ve ever read.
Congrats Jeff.
August 24th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Unquestionably one of the most vile things I’ve ever read.
You must have lived a sheltered life then.
August 24th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Jeff, there are four basic ways in and out of the city, I-10 towards Slidell, I-10 towards Metarie, the Pontchartrain Causeway and the Crescent City Connection.
I-10 towards Slidell collapsed. I-10 towards Metarie was underwater. The Crescent City Connector was guarded by men with guns. That leaves the Causeway which is 24 miles over open water.
So you tell me, with help of google and Carnival cruise experience, exactly how they were supposed to just get up and leave.
The only reality you will deal in is the one that allows you to portray these people as sitting around waiting for the government to help. Unfortunately, that was not the reality.
August 24th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Well, you sure sound like talk radio with this post. Sorry I got confused.
Protecting their town from what? People in distress? Dehydrated, exhausted men, women, children and elderly? Every cop, law enforcment officer and first responder I know is trained to help such people, not shoot at them.
And leaving town, on foot, on the CCC is not an “easy” way out of New Orleans. You have to climb uphill hundreds of feet. You have to walk nearly 3 miles in no shade. You have to do this without water, food, or shoes in some instances, carrying people. In 100 degree heat.
Then you are met by individuals who shoot their guns at you.
I don’t know a single locality in South Georgia where any of that would be considered “easy.”
The other routes? What were they going to do, walk up Canal Street into the flood? Walk east towards flooded St. Bernard Parish and the 9th Ward?
Their only options would be the elevated I-10 West or Tchopitoulas Street (again, with no supplies), which they A) could not have known wasn’t underwater, B) would have taken them through areas with paramilitary units that they feared C) would have taken them past armed gangs that they feared and D) still led them through the Parish whose police shot at them.
And YET, they still tried these routes, or did you miss the videos of bodies lying on interstate overpasses and sunstroked people walking out that way?
August 24th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Meant to say recently.
August 24th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
This reminds me so of a little poem I wrote just after The Big One. Find it here:
http://spaceygreview.blogspot.com/2005/10/poetry-of-katrina.html
August 24th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
In other matters, let me point your attention to a blog entry I wrote, likely while high as a kite, but written after working a news desk in the aftermath of Katrina.
If you’re well-connected and have money in this world called America, you will be waved right through any gov. checkpoint. If you’re not, well you’re pretty much screwed.
And yes, left alone for a government to save you. Luckily, we have one, a government, that has a humanitarian function at its core. Still. Hard to believe, but it does. It really does.
Only thing is, it’s very hard to see it, let alone believe in it, until you witness it in action. Or in struggle. Or in times of extreme crisis.
I’m one of the lucky ones though. In my professional life I was able to witness the “good” parts of government in action, time and time again. And as much as it fails, remember… government is made up of human beings too. American humans. And Lord knows, we are all trying as best we can. Sometimes that’s hard, just trying, even for the best and the brightest of us. But we’re all Americans, and goddammit, we get up again every day and we go at it again. We never stop trying.
And if, by now, you’re at all interested, that post-Katrina post from 2005 called “Soggy Vampires” is here:
http://spaceygreview.blogspot.com/2005/09/soggy-vampires.html
August 24th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
grift and CP:
Again, you are looking only at roads – and Interstate Highways at that.
Cross-country isn’t ideal in the best of circumstances, and I am in no way trying to say it would be easy – but if that is what it takes, that is what it takes.
August 24th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Cross country? Through flood waters? And bayous? It’s not the same as trekking through south Georgia! That’s insane.
August 24th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Don’t forget swimming! There are boats and any number of sea-going vessels! Air travel! You could dig up a pterodactyl and manage to clone it, recreate it, and latch on to its leg as it flies away.
I mean, if that’s what you got to do, that’s what you got to do.
August 24th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
No, insanity is sitting on an asphalt parking lot in 100 degree weather for a week waiting on someone to come rescue you. At least trekking cross country through bayous you can cool down to a certain extent in the waters.
August 24th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
[...] ‘A Tale of Two Hurricanes’: The Backstory About 8 days ago, I wrote a piece for SWGAPolitics.com I called ‘A Tale of Two Hurricanes‘. [...]
August 24th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
I’m now convinced you’re joking. No one can be that daft.
August 24th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Since the trackback apparently doesn’t want to come through, here is the link to the post I just did on my personal site: ‘A Tale of Two Hurricanes’: The Backstory
August 24th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Maybe you will understand if we actually SHOW YOU the problem:
http://www.wwltv.com/sharedcontent/breakingnews/slideshow/083005_dmnkatrina/img/1.jpg
That water that engulfed virtually every building and most roads, and was to the rooftops in many neighborhoods, was also full of toxic chemicals, snakes, alligators, dead bodies, disease, raw sewage, dangerous and hidden objects, etc.
So, just to be clear, you think they should have just kept wading until they got to somewhere halfway across Louisiana that hopefully would have them, regardless of the risks that wading/swimming through that water would likely pose to their lives and health?
August 24th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
These last two statements just demonstrate an utter lack of understanding when it comes to the geography of the area. They also demonstrate a lack of seriousness in considering what happened. It isn’t like there is a shortage of literature, video and first hand accounts on this matter. This is simply willful ignorance, and frankly it is a terrible disappointment.
No one wanted to wait at the Convention Center. Many decided not to wait, and took their chances to go someplace else. Some made it, many did not.
But it is obviously history you aren’t interested in hearing or considering seriously.
August 24th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
cp:
“No one wanted to wait at the Convention Center”. Yeah, and that’s why thousands were there. Also, read the backstory. I dealt with someone personally that was there, and 6 months later she was STILL playing the “victim”, even though she had been given a chance at a brand new life hundreds of miles away.
August 24th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Yeah!
And all those lazy 9/11 victims could have just repelled down the sides of the buildings with a rope stitched together from torn dress shirts. It was only 110 stories.
Really Jeff, this is one of the more batshit insane things I’ve read in a long time.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Rusty:
Nowhere near as many options in a skyscraper, not a comparable situation.
Every single satellite view I’ve seen – and I’ve been looking at SEVERAL over the past week – show dry/semidry paths that could be taken to get out. Usually within a dozen blocks or so.
Again, I’m NOT saying it was easy – but neither could it have been all THAT easy to get to the Superdome from some of these areas.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Case in point, look at this image.
The Superdome is just left of center, about 4/5 of the way down. It is actually the closest dry land to VERY little of the flooded area – and this was (I believe) after pumping efforts had already begun.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Sorry to bloviate, but I have already tried to explain why thousands were there.
These were people who had walked out of their flooded neighborhoods with children and disabled family members and elderly individuals.
Many, many, many individuals did not wait for rescue in their neighborhoods, they just waded and swam miles through floodwater filled with industrial waste and sewage. Or their neighbors had plucked them out of the worst of it and put them there.
They wandered from place to place and water was still everywhere. Somehow, word came down that buses would be coming to the Convention Center to get people out. That is where they went. First hand accounts tell us that certain officials continued to tell people this.
They had no way to know that the buses were not on the way. The only transportation they had were their own two feet, or cars they could hotwire.
They had NO physical way of knowing there were a few roads out. Still they tried. Walking out put them at the mercy of the elements, armed gangs and paramilitary groups. Still they tried.
But many died on the elevated highways. How hard is it to leave a dead family member on the side of the road, and keep walking to try and stay alive?
Even if they could have known those roads out, they didn’t have the water or supplies to make it all those miles in the heat without collapsing from exhaustion, dehydration, hypoglycemic shock, heat stroke and hosts of other ailments. They had no means to move the injured family members.
Would you leave grandma behind?
When they attempted to find necessary supplies, they were called looters.
It didn’t take that long for help to get to Hugo victims, it didn’t take that long for help to get to Andrew victims, it didn’t take that long for help to get to tsunami victims or victims of the earthquake in Qom, Iran, where US relief was allowed in to an “enemy nation.”
There are always individuals in any demographic and any situation who continue to play the victim or martyr. Coloring the whole situation with the narrative brush that these individuals were “waiting for a handout” is nothing more than oversimplification to serve an agenda.
This is the United States of America. As much as some individuals find it distasteful, our de facto social compact has included the expectation of rescue and succor in times of great tragedy.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Look at this picture and tell me there was a place for those people to go.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/15000/15423/new_orleans_msi_aug31_2005_dg.jpg
You have stepped off the deep end, Jeff.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Your image shows much the same as the image I provided the link to Jason, and my point remains.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
And this is the map you want to look at. The Superdome and Convention Center are approximately on either side of the “CBD” neighborhood. Northeast took you back to the flood. North took you back to the flood. Northwest took you back to the flood. West took you back to the flood. Southwest took you back to the flood.
East took you across the bridge to the men with guns.
The only way out was south along the river’s curve, around the flood, then west, then north, then west again. The whole time walking through areas where paramilitary units were hired to surpress looting.
And not everyone ended up at the Dome or Convention Center. Some were taken straight into Jefferson Parish to the West. Some evacuated Chalmette across the river into Algiers. Many ended up on elevated highways trying to walk out.
And plenty of people were rescued and told to go to the Convention Center to wait for the buses.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
You don’t really have a point, Jeff. You have taken two situations entirely out of context.
Yes, people rely on government too much, but this is a situation where waiting to be rescued is entirely understandable because there is no way to go.
You can’t see shit in the link you posted. You can actually see the water surrounding the Superdome in the link I posted.
You are marginalizing yourself. That’s all you’re doing.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
yeah, I got my directions mixed up earlier, sorry. Safety was west/southwest. Knew it in my head, typed the wrong words.
Again, I’ve NEVER said getting out was the easiest task. But again, I’m a guy that makes things more difficult for myself from time to time just to prove that I can handle the more strenuous situation. In other words, I would’ve fought to get out just to prove that I could.
Well, I also don’t play around with hurricanes – no matter their size. If the weather report says a hurricane may be coming anywhere near Albany, I’m hightailing it back to North GA for a couple of days.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
East took you across the bridge to the men with guns.
To be more precise, cops were keeping people from entering Gretna.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Also realize that my own views of the entire group of survivors are based by and large on the one student I knew – fair or not. The problem is that I saw much of the same attitudes she displayed in many of the survivor interviews demanding to know when the government would get to them.
Then again, this could truly be a matter of my own style – I rarely even send food back at a restaurant when it is cooked wrong or the wrong order, instead dealing with what I’m given. I do my best not to expect anything from anybody – period.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Your link does not go to a picture, Jeff. It goes to a server error.
But in analyzing the many available aerial photographs of the flood waters, it is important to remember that those taken 5 or 6 days after the levees broke will show the waters after they had begun to recede. It’s not hard to find a photo from that time period that makes the situation look far more navigable than it was a day or two after the storm moved through.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
hm, I’m staring at this picture on my computer right now. I do apologize if it still returns a server error.
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/133637main_jsc2005e37987_high.jpg
August 24th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
I believe you are looking at photos on this page:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/new_orleans_hurricane.html
The page clearly notes the photographs were taken September 8, 2005. That was more than a week after the levees broke, and after the waters had already receded several feet in most of the city.
Instead, look at pictures taken August 30th. Here is a blog that compiled as many aerial photos on August 30th as they could find:
http://www.kathryncramer.com/kathryn_cramer/2005/08/new_orleans_lev.html
August 24th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
I’m seeing the picture.
In it, you can clearly see the Superdome. If you follow the elevated highway southeast, you can see the Convention Center (large rectangular building hard against the river). You can see why people were moving to that place, as it is high and dry.
One more thing to notice about the Convention Center’s locale. That’s right. Had anyone thought to bring a boat up the Mississippi, there is a terminal RIGHT THERE to take on evacuees or offload water, food and medical supplies.
As for the “walking out of New Orleans” theory, look again at the Superdome. Now follow the elevated expressway northwest (the way out of town). Notice that right before it hits the Parish line, it submerges into an inland lake at the interchange. It is close to a half mile from where the highway goes under to where it comes up again.
I’m sorry your opinion of survivors is based on the behaviors of one individual. Having lived here for nearly three years, and having assisted evacuees during Gustav, I can tell you that individual is an exception rather than the rule.
August 25th, 2009 at 9:51 am
re:
With what power, Internet, computers, and televisions were these people supposed to look at a weather map to plot a course out?
Presuming they could even afford those things when they weren’t in the middle of a Category 3 hurricane which many couldn’t.
Saying “this isn’t a delusional fantasy, I really have a point” over and over again doesn’t make it so.
August 25th, 2009 at 9:56 am
“But again, I’m a guy that makes things more difficult for myself from time to time just to prove that I can handle the more strenuous situation. In other words, I would’ve fought to get out just to prove that I could.”
Just so you know that is perhaps the stupidest thing to do in a survival situation. All I’m saying is that that kind of questions your view of what is the appropriate thing to do in an extreme situation.
“The problem is that I saw much of the same attitudes she displayed in many of the survivor interviews demanding to know when the government would get to them.”
Yes, probably because it is a LEGITIMATE FUNCTION OF THE GOVERNMENT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE DON’T DIE IN LARGE NUMBERS DURING AN EMERGENCY! There is a reason we (and every other government that can) provide aid in emergency scenarios. I truly can not believe an adult has to be told that.
Just asking here but… not sure if you watch “Deadliest Catch” or not but the Coast Guard regularly has to go rescue boats and crews in distress. Do you think they shouldn’t wait for the government to come rescue them? Because it sure wouldn’t be easy but they could try to get back to harbor. They could eventually try swimming somewhere etc etc etc. Would you in that instance say, leave the life raft (survival suit completely optional here) just to prove you could survive?
I say all that to say this…I’ve found in life that if everyone (or say a huge majority as is the case here) is opposed to what you’re saying, there is a pretty good reason for it.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Regarding “arranging transportation”. The company I worked for sent me to MS and LA to recover flood totaled cars for insurance companies. My company and our main competitor hauled over 25,000 cars out of NOLA, most from driveways and city streets in the affected areas. The city ran their transit system for two days before Katrina made landfall offereing rides to the DOme and Convention Center.
The fact is that people stayed because a) they thought they could ride it out (happens in EVERY hurricane in the southeast US) or b) the government would take care of them.
Regarding the speed of response. FEMA said then, and still does today, that you are on your own for the first few days, at least. State and local orgs are supposed to handle things until FEMA can get there. The US Navy was on site with a hospital ship and rescue helicopters within about 30 hours. I wonder how different things would have been if the state and local governments had ordered an evacuation and activated the Guard, as they were urged to by the Bush administration. Louisiana had over 14,000 Guard troops available.
That said, comparing Katrina and Iniki is ludicrous. My wife was in Iniki and narrowly escaped Katrina.
Bottom line – if you are an able bodied person who spent time on your rooftop in NOLA, you are a fool.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Because the levees routinely fail and drown the city?
Thanks for helping get rid of the cars. They were a problem. I wonder how many were found in elevated driveways and on neutral grounds. When I got down here in October 2005, that’s where I saw the majority of them. Folks that put them there expected maybe 1 – 2 feet of street flooding from the heavy rains, not 6 – 10 feet of water from a levee break.
The mayor did not call a mandatory evacuation until too late. He was too afraid of disrupting business.
The hospital ship was on its way to New Orleans and was rerouted to the Mississippi coast.
The Guard was activated, as well as the Coast Guard and the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries crews. Unfortunately, a great deal of Guard equipment ended up flooded at the Jackson Barracks because the levee failure was not anticipated. The Coast Guard, heroes one and all, had rescue flights in the air as soon as wind conditions allowed.
Those heroes threw out their rulebooks to keep their rescue operations working.
The Convention Center was not a shelter until after the storm had passed and the flooding had begun. The Dome filled up in a few hours, not over two days.
It is a fantastic idea to prepare for disaster as if no help will ever be coming. I learned that growing up on St. Simons. At some point, however, our disaster response infrastructure must be called upon to respond far faster than they did in this instance.
You don’t let babies and old folks die of dehydration because someone else screwed up. This is America, we have the means to rescue people and we do it. We do not say “they should have known better, we’re going to take our sweet time.”
August 26th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Elevated driveways and Nuetral ground? There is no such thing in a city that exists below sea level. What difference does it make where they were found when they were not used to flee a clear and present danger.
Governor Blanco admitted, on video, that she activated the Guard too late. The LA Guard was activated after the storm.
Huge amounts of Federal assistance were on site within 72 hours. To this day, after billions of dollars spent, there are still people in FEMA trailers.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
City below sea level? Untrue. 52% of New Orleans is above sea level, and the city does not border the sea. Levees failed due to faulty construction. If they had held (as they did during Gustav) there would not have been such a disaster.
Activating the Guard too late? Absolutely. Activating the Guard after the storm? Not so much.
Federal assistance was on site, but it was at the WRONG site. Brown and Chertoff had no idea people had congregated at the Convention Center 72 hours after the storm.
All of this is a matter of public record. One of the most infuriating things about the situation is that too many people believe falsehoods they heard in the media.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:19 am
I will accept your statement that 52% of NOLA is above sea level, but I am not aware of any part of NOLA that is high enough to stay above a hurricane storm surge or the flooding from a broken levee. I think that is proven by the flooding and the cars we hauled out. Regardless of where they were parked, there was plenty of transportation available for people to leave. The vast majority of them chose not to leave. Chose.
It doesn’t border the sea in the sense that it is not on the beach. It borders one of the largest lakes and the largest rivers in the hemisphere. To ignore that it has a huge flood risk is to be ignorant of every storm assessment ever made for the city. Levees break – even Memphis Minnie knew that in the 20′s.
Normal Guard active duty levels were barely increased. Blanco had 14,000 troops available and only about 5,500 were deployed. She did not request Federal troops until after the flooding.
Her state government actually prevented the Red Cross from entering New Orleans.
I agree about the falsehoods, especially about the Dome and Convention Center violence. Technically the Guard was active, but practically they were not. Even Blanco admitted she blew it.
August 27th, 2009 at 11:10 am
I left out that the huge lake and gigantic river are directly connected to the Gulf. Kind of like the executioners hand is not connected to the bullet that penetrates the skull.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
“Because the levees routinely fail and drown the city?”
No, because huge hurricanes routinely kill people.
August 27th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Jeff says “And you’re saying the government that can’t close off the southern border of the US to illegals is the same one that did this?”
No, the local police departments did it, although the only one I heard of was Gretna.
December 30th, 2009 at 6:43 am
[...] Ferrell Doesn’t Have a Clue 2. Looks Like We’ve Got An Interesting Race Shaping Up 1. A Tale of Two Hurricanes Tags: 2009 Year In Review, Jeff Sexton December 30, 2009 – 6:40 am Posted in Year In Review [...]