Hurricane Pam--How'd They Do?

Dara

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In June 2004, FEMA ran a hurricane scenario in the area Katrina hit. Shallwe take a look at what they knew, what they concluded, and how they did using all that info in this crisis? As the New Republic comments:

President Bush was on ABC's "Good Morning America" this morning talking about the devastation from Katrina. I caught only part of the interview, but at one point Diane Sawyer asked him to respond to the frustration people were feeling with the apparently slow and disorganized federal response to the crisis. After promising that help was on the way, Bush explained that a faster response was not possible because it was not possible to imagine this kind of catastrophe. Sorry, but that just isn't true. Not only has the prospect of a hurricane breaking through the levees and flooding the entire city been the subject of widespread media coverage, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) actually practiced for precisely this scenario just over a year ago.

I heard journalist Tom Foreman talk about this earlier on CNN. He said they knew the city would flood and knew many, many people wouldn't leave. They knew it a year ago. We can all read the scenario they predicted and the response they felt was needed.


We also know that it was long known that the levees could break. This article may make a good companion piece to what those in charge knew ahead of time and should have prepared for.


Michael Brown said (to Larry King Wednesday night) of the Hurricane Pam drill:
"Hurricane Katrina caused the same kind of damage that we anticipated," Brown said Wednesday. "So we planned for it two years ago. Last year, we exercised it. And unfortunately this year, we're implementing it."

So, a lot of people say none of this could have been predicted, but Michael Brown says it was and that they had planned for it. We have their preliminary, partial plan to refer to.


So, how'd they do?
 
Hmmm. I saw that CNN spot where they were talking about this. Problem is...it’s kind of like a mock fire drill you’d have at your school. You HAVE to have a plan, but until it really happens, there is no way to know if it will work. You HOPE it will, you THINK it will....
SSOOOO...how DO you put over one million people through a fire drill? You don’t. You pray lightning doesn’t hit, you pray for years, then when it does, you implement your drill.

Back to the drawing board.
 
Sounded to me like they had some idea of what would happen, that lots of people would die, but I think they may not have realized that so many of the roads in and out of town would be destroyed. Their scenario probably also didn't account for the damage in other states, the need to spread resources very thin to get to everyone; and I can't imagine how they would have forseen the horrible behavior of a substantial group of citizens who saw this as a free day, and started looting, shooting, raping, and attacking the rescuers.
 
I have a poor memory for names so excuse me. I was watching MSNBC today, Rita was interviewing a professor from La. He said he was Dam mad. He attended a meeting with FEMA, someone from White House, several more people. He said that they were told this would happen. He asked that they send them tents to hold for shelter. The lady told him Americans do not live in tents. He was so mad. I will try to find his name and an article to verify this.
 
LadyLuck said:
I have a poor memory for names so excuse me. I was watching MSNBC today, Rita was interviewing a professor from La. He said he was Dam mad. He attended a meeting with FEMA, someone from White House, several more people. He said that they were told this would happen. He asked that they send them tents to hold for shelter. The lady told him Americans do not live in tents. He was so mad. I will try to find his name and an article to verify this.
I think I found it. Is this him?

And the hurricane experts shook their heads in disgust and futility, much of it directed at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

"We told FEMA, and we told them long ago, and we told them more than once that they needed to purchase the land for tent cities with full facilities in anticipation of this," said Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, where experts warned since the late 1990s that New Orleans' levees couldn't withstand the storm surge of a major hurricane.

"They told me Americans don't live in tents," van Heerden said. "I guess that sums up their attitude."
Thanks for all the responses. I'm beat but I'm going to think about all of them in more detail after sleeeeeeeep.
 
LadyLuck said:
I have a poor memory for names so excuse me. I was watching MSNBC today, Rita was interviewing a professor from La. He said he was Dam mad. He attended a meeting with FEMA, someone from White House, several more people. He said that they were told this would happen. He asked that they send them tents to hold for shelter. The lady told him Americans do not live in tents. He was so mad. I will try to find his name and an article to verify this.
YOU are kidding me?!! I think these people would have been grateful for ANYTHING especially on a temporary basis! At least I would.
 
Details said:
Sounded to me like they had some idea of what would happen, that lots of people would die, but I think they may not have realized that so many of the roads in and out of town would be destroyed. Their scenario probably also didn't account for the damage in other states, the need to spread resources very thin to get to everyone; and I can't imagine how they would have forseen the horrible behavior of a substantial group of citizens who saw this as a free day, and started looting, shooting, raping, and attacking the rescuers.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record.....we knew this 30 years ago.We also knew the gang problem was substantial and the criminal aspect was formidible but it was all kept as quiet as possible because of tourism. Don't think for a moment I will excuse any of this or give a free ride for politicians in Louisiana.This has broken my heart as well as many Americans but it can't be allowed to continue.
 
T'sNana said:
YOU are kidding me?!! I think these people would have been grateful for ANYTHING especially on a temporary basis! At least I would.

I'm going to get clobbered for saying this....but here goes.

MOST people would be grateful for ANYTHING on a temporary basis or otherwise (I would!!).....but a few - a small few - would begin complaining about why they were put in tents and that they shouldn't have to live like that. During floods in N.C. people were given trailers to live in until they could get back on their feet or forever, whichever they chose. People accepted that generosity but after a few short weeks some began complaining.
 

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