First Response Means Exactly That
From the Independent Sources mail bag:
Dear Independent Sources:
Read this thoroughly. The major and the governor have a lot to answer for. I am astonished at the spin this disaster is getting in the mainstream media. Do most people actually think the federal government job is to be a ‘first responder’? The New Orleans evacuation plan clearly states that 100,000 people in the city do not have their own transportation.
Also, I think the Louisiana National Guard are under the command of the governor. I also believe Federal law prevents the president from using Federal troops for law enforcement on U.S. soil except with a congressional order. But, hey, why split hairs when it’s obviously Bush’s fault (and, of course, global warning makes hurricanes worse as well).
http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26
Signed,
Pissed off in Vermont
Dear Pissed Off in Vermont:
Pissed off in Vermont? Alphecca is that you? Anyway, we could not agree more with your assessment. We have been less than impressed with every official involved with this disaster including the local cops who were looting Wal-Mart while people were literally dying miles away.
The Hurricane threat to New Orleans has been well-known for years and thus the City of New Orleans has an Office of Emergency Preparedness which works under the direction of the Mayor to deal with natural disasters like Katrina. The following is from the City’s own website on dealing with hurricanes.
Authority to issue evacuations of elements of the population is vested in the Mayor. By Executive Order, the chief elected official, the Mayor of the City of New Orleans, has the authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane.
The Hurricane Emergency Evacuation Standard Operating Procedure is …[responsible for] the transportation network, especially the carrying-capacity of proposed evacuation routes and existing or potential traffic bottlenecks or blockages, caused either by traffic congestion or natural occurrences such as rising waters. Identification of sheltering resources and the establishment of shelters and the training of shelter staff is important, as is the provision for food and other necessities to the sheltered. This preparation function is the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Preparedness.
The person responsible for recognition of hurricane related preparation needs and for the issuance of an evacuation order is the Mayor of the City of New Orleans.
TASKS: Mayor: Initiate the evacuation. Retain overall control of all evacuation procedures via EOC operations. Regional Transit Authority: Supply transportation as needed in accordance with the current Standard Operating Procedures. Place special vehicles on alert to be utilized if needed. Position supervisors and dispatch evacuation buses. If warranted by scope of evacuation, implement additional service.
Approximately 100,000 Citizens of New Orleans do not have means of personal transportation.
The mayor of New Orleans who, per its charter, is responsible for the evacuation of the city and even noted in the plan that 100,000 citizens did not have means of personal transportation and thus depended on the New Orleans city government. The city either had the transportation resources to evacuate his citizenry or didn’t (if the former why didn’t they, and if the latter why in the world did the mayor and other local officals sign off on a plan that was impossible to achieve?). Either way he has a lot of explaining to do unless of course he is able to shift the blame to the federal government. (One thing that won’t help him of course is the photograph below and others like it showing submerged buses in New Orleans. I’m sure these are Bush’s fault too.)
So having read this twice Independent Sources now has the following conclusions.
The City of New Orleans knew full well that a direct hit of a Hurricane would have a devastating affect.
They had a plan and infrastructure in place to deal with such an occurence.
The plan and infrastructure was under the control of the Mayor.
The plan acknowledged that 100,000 people would be dependent on the city’s transportation system to evacuate.
Nowhere in the plan does it talk about reliance on federal emergency response to achieve any of the above.
Now who’s really at fault? When you read New Orleans own website on dealing with disasters, federal resources are only referenced after the disaster, principally in financial matters:
Following a disaster, once the principal threat has passed and the primary concern of protection of citizens from harm has been addressed, it becomes critical to public safety to ensure the speedy yet orderly recovery of the community. Recovery functions include continued, potentially long?term response operations (such as debris removal and disposal, infrastructure repair, etc.), liaison with State and Federal response and recovery agencies…
And here:
Following a disaster of such magnitude that far exceeds the City’s and State’s ability to meet the needs of the community and results in the requesting and granting of a Presidential Disaster Declaration, the Office of Emergency Preparedness shall, as previously described, at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness, establish Disaster Relief Centers for individuals seeking recovery assistance.
I lived through the Northridge earthquake of 1994 and didn’t see the Los Angeles Mayor on TV asking where the feds were. I didn’t see LAPD looting stores (at least not while people were trapped in buildings). Instead city officials were stressing calm and presenting a plan. When 9/11 happened then-New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani took charge and orchestrated a phenomenal response (at least in comparison to New Orleans).
I think we all know what is going to happen and the folks who want to blame the federal government will have the images of 85 year-olds on rooftops at their disposal. However, even in this partisan atmosphere I hope that someone takes the time to look at the dismal response from the very people who are supposed to be the first responders in cases exactly like this. This is a point that is not in dispute and before people post flaming comments read New Orleans own policies on the issue as we have.
I should note that I have no particular illwill towards New Orleans nor gain any pleasure at seeing them take the blame. Instead I am far more interested in insuring that local officials around the country learn from what happened in New Orleans and follow-thru on their municipal responsibilities instead of hiding behind the federal government. If and when disaster next strikes Los Angeles, where I live, I would prefer to see a strong mayor managing the crisis than a weak one out there pointing the finger at everyone other than himself while I sit on a rooftop waiting it out.
Others blogging about this:
Bill Hobbs: “Why are scores of school buses sitting in the flood waters of New Orleans today? Blame New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who is one reason things have gotten worse, not better, in his stricken city since it was hit by Hurricane Katrina. His laissez faire approach to looting allowed the looters to become increasingly armed and violent, interrupting rescue and recovery operations.” Hobbs later says: “I don’t know if Nagin broke city ordinance or state law in ignoring the emergency plans, but his failure certainly makes him morally culpable in the deaths of the people he failed to provide a way out. And his failure likely cost hundreds, maybe thousands of lives.” Hobbs also points us to:
Tim Saler: Perhaps Mayor Nagin, if he was so concerned about evacuating the city of New Orleans and save all the poor black residents who people like Randall Robinson, Jesse Jackson, and Kanye West believe were slighted by the President and the Republican government, he would have used the over two-hundred school buses at a depot in New Orleans. It is estimated that each bus could have carried around sixty-six people. At a round number, if there were two-hundred buses that could carry sixty-six people at a time, that’s 13,200 people evacuated to safety — on just one trip. Now those buses are under water and are mostly useless. But instead of doing what he could have done at a local level to save his residents, Mayor Nagin sat on his hands and waited for the federal response, then proceeded to bite the hand that is trying to save his city. Days later, Nagin complains to CNN, “Right now we are out of resources at the convention center and don’t anticipate enough buses. We need buses.” You had them, Mayor. You chose not to use them, and now you blame the President and the federal government for your mistakes.
Malkin points us to Brainwash who has a lot to say on the matter.
Update: A day after two police suicides and the abrupt resignations or desertions of up to 200 police officers, defiant city officials on Sunday began offering five-day vacations - and even trips to Las Vegas - to the police, firefighters and city emergency workers and their families. As QandO says: “Am I freakin’ missing something here? What about those who’s whereabouts are unknown? What about those still to be rescued? They’re citizens of YOUR city, Mayor Nagin.”
Update: Ace of Spades is reporting that Mayor Nagin has told both CNN and the AP that “the CIA might take him out.” (Indepedent Sources take: We wish they would. )
Update: The Counteterrorism Blog noted that “There was at least one notable exception to the lethargic institutional Federal reaction to the hurricane disaster, and that was the United States Coast Guard. As soon as the weather conditions allowed, the Nation saw those orange Coast Guard choppers rescuing victims from the flood waters. And those efforts have continued relentlessly throughout the crisis. One recent report noted the Coast Guard rescued an incredible 10,000 victims.” (Independent Sources take: But did they save Sean Penn?)
Update (9/7): Captain’s Quaters noted that ABC is finally reporting that New Orleans had an emergency response plan for hurricances and evacuations that somehow never got implemented. ABC News yesterday asked why Mayor Ray Nagin not only did not follow the plan, but actively sent non-evacuees to a site that had no preparations to handle them. ABC also asked Governor Kathleen Blanco’s office about their response to the evacuation. They responded that they never asked for evacuation assistance from the federal government as part of their interaction with FEMA, only for assistance with shelter and provisions. They assumed that the city of New Orleans had followed its own evacuation plan.
flooded busses photo hat/tip
technorati: katrina FEMA Nagin
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September 6th, 2005 at 5:34 pm
You claim to be Independent (much like Fox News and their ‘Fair and Balanced” crap), but you are so obviously not. If you were independent, or unbiased, you would have also included information easily available from the Dept. of Homeland Security website. Funny enough, this information is somewhat different from the one you quoted.
——————–
Preparing America (http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp )
“In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America’s families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS.”
Planning and Prevention ( http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=14 )
“The mission of DHS includes preparing for natural disasters and terrorist attacks through preventative planning, technology, and coordinated efforts. In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, DHS will be the first federal department to utilize a full range of state, local, and private partnerships to alleviate the effects of a potential disaster.”
——————–
Moreover, you talk about your experience in the Northridge earthquake of 1994, but you forget everything changed after 9/11. The whole process was centralized under the DHS, so your experience, as real and horrific as it might have been, is outdated and can’t be used to compare with Katrina’s aftermath.
——————–
First Responders ( http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=63 )
“The first responders of this nation put themselves on the line every day to protect and help our communities. The Department of Homeland Security is committed to helping first responders nation-wide
-by ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared, equipped and trained for any situation, and
-by bringing together information and resources to prepare for and respond to a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency.”
——————–
With its creation, the DHS became responsible for assuring the preparedness of First Responders. If they aren’t prepared, trained, or are lacking in materials and equipment then its up to DHS to remedy that. Furthermore, Katrina wasn’t a simple everyday storm, it was a storm category five – catastrophic. And, as you’ve stated, the government knew about the threat of levee failure if a storm of enough force passed though New Orleans. The last study of this kind was funded by FEMA, so the Federal government knew this would be an Incident of National Significance.
——————–
Planning and Prevention (http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0569.xml )
“For those events that rise to the level of an Incident of National Significance, the Department of Homeland Security provides operational and/or resource coordination for Federal support to on-scene incident command structures.”
Proactive Federal Response to Catastrophic Events
“The National Response Plan provides mechanisms for expedited and proactive Federal relief to ensure critical life-saving assistance and incident containment capabilities are in place to respond quickly and efficiently to catastrophic incidents. These are high-impact, low-probability incidents, including natural disasters and terrorist attacks that result in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, and/or government functions.”
——————–
To top it all off, on Sunday (8/29/05) the President highlighted the Federal government’s responsibility over Katrina when he granted a Presidential Emergency Declaration, and stated that such a declaration “will allow Federal agencies to coordinate all relief efforts.”
——————–
Multi-Agency Coordination Structures (http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0569.xml )
The National Response Plan establishes multi-agency coordinating structures at the field, regional and headquarters levels. These structures:
-Enable the execution of the responsibilities of the President through the appropriate Federal department and agencies;
-Integrate Federal, State, local, tribal, nongovernmental Organization, and private-sector efforts; and
-Provide a national capability that addresses both site-specific incident management activities and broader regional or national issues, such as impacts to the rest of the country, immediate regional or national actions required to avert or prepare for potential subsequent events, and the management of multiple incidents.
——————–
So, contrary to what you say and quote to support your claims, the Department of Homeland Security “assume[d] primary responsibility for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation” the day it was created, and therefore the primary responsibility for this fiasco. Looks to me like the Federal government is as much to blame (if not more) than local and state officials.
I do agree with you on something, leaders are important during moments like this, and I would also like to have a strong mayor, and I have. I lived tough 9/11, lost some friends, had others injured and traumatized. I helped set-up blood drives and shelters for those stuck in the city, and I was inspired by my Mayor, and my Governor, and my President. But everything is different for those suffering Katrina’s wrath.
I believe the Mayor and the Governor took too long in becoming outraged with Federal lack of responsiveness. After reading the DHS website I’m convinced it was the DHS’s responsibility to manage something they know could be this big. – With all that’s gone on, it scares me to think the DHS is responsible for us during a terrorist attack. – I also believe the President, as strong and reassured as he made me feel in 9/11, was the complete opposite for the Katrina survivors. We lost a city, and it took him and his staff three days to realize it. By the way, has anyone seen Dick Chaney?
September 7th, 2005 at 6:47 am
at September 6, 2005 09:48 PM Trackbacks were working before Bush Cut Budget to Fund Illegal War against Iraq. Due to trackback problems NOPD officers are forced to loot in order to survive! Posted by insider at September 7, 2005 12:36 AM
September 7th, 2005 at 1:15 pm
When all is said and done, the feds will be shown to have saved New Orleans from its self-inflicted wounds.
I invite you to review:
Looking for holes in this thesis on the so-called lack of federal response in New Orleans
September 7th, 2005 at 7:16 pm
Mac, everything you cite points to “relief” by DHS. What do you think would have been different if Nagin had followed the evacuation plans as written and gotten those people out of New Orleans in the first place? The whole intent of the New Orleans evacuation plans are to get people out of harm’s way. Someone didn’t do that. That someone was supposed to be Nagin. He’s the one that was supposed to know where those buses were and who drove them. The governor can’t be held responsible for that. DHS can not be held responsible for that. Bush can not be held for that. Nagin knew where the buses were and didn’t make the first effort to “evacuate” a single person except his family. Telling people to hop in their cars and drive is not exactly what those written plans had in mind.
If Nagin had done his job, the timeline of DHS coming in would have not been critical.
September 7th, 2005 at 11:14 pm
Well, yes, most of what I cite does talk about relief; however, did you not read the first two paragraphs I cited? They are on the DHS website under the headings: “Preparing America,” and “Planning and Prevention.” They not only talk about having responders prepared before an event, but also talk about having the citizens prepared. Moreover, an actual quote from the website tells us that “the mission of DHS includes preparing for natural disasters and terrorist attacks.” Are these just words? Where they not paying close attention to what Nagin and Blanco were or were not doing? I’m sorry, but this country was created under a system of checks and balances so as to assure its citizens that, if someone was sleeping at the helm, someone else was still keeping an eye.
Now, this is what worries me. If - after 9/11, the creation of DHS, the moneys spent on preparing America, all the investigations on 9/11 and the ones for WMD – we still have miscommunication between the different government levels and agencies, how are we sure we are prepared for another terrorist attack?
I think Katrina was the dress rehearsal, and we failed. Katrina was nature’s weapon of mass destruction. We don’t know how many people died, there’s about a million people displaced, some estimate that it could be 100 billion in losses, and we had 2 days of prior notice. What happens when we don’t have a 2 day notice?
(Observe, that I don’t say 2 days to prepare, because preparations for these kinds of events should’ve started the day the DHS was created. Remember, “the mission of DHS includes preparing for natural disasters and terrorist attacks.”)
Is this fiasco not the responsibility of the Federal government? If its not, then that’s the mistake, it should be.
I sure hope that when we finally do have to go on stage this failure saves us.
PS
To Porkopolis: You go and tell New Orleanans they were “saved.” Tell that to Mississippians as well. Tell that to people who lost family members because of starvation. The Federal government started responding when people from their own aisle started questioning their lack of responsiveness.
Video examples:
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Hannity-Colmes-Smith-Rivera-freak-in-NO.wmv
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/The-NewsHour-David-Brooks-bashes-Bush-Katrina.wmv
To all the others that are writing about Local response before Katrina hit are forgetting one simple little detail: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOOK OVER ON SUNDAY. The President declared a State of Emergency for the region, that’s above the Governor (who’s supposed to ask the President for the emergency declaration). Furthermore, on a August 29 memo, FEMA Director, Michael Brown, wrote to DHS Secretary, Michael Chertoff, the need for more volunteers in response to the “catastrophic event.” And, FEMA spokeswoman Natalie Rule later stated that “all of our [FEMA’s] first-responder teams pre-deployed [32 teams in all]… and were ready to go by Sunday.” Rule added, “his is deployment that requires that the governor make a request to the federal government.” In other words, Governor Blanco realized Katrina was beyond the scope of the State and that she would have to depend on the Federal government before the storm hit. Then she did what she had to, she called the President and FEMA. The timeline can’t be argued with.
Info on memo (its at the bottom of the page):
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/07/katrina.congress/index.html
Timeline video:
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Countdown-Timeline-Katrina.wmv
September 8th, 2005 at 7:34 am
UPDATE
I’ve recently become aware that the first emergency declaration signed by the President for Louisiana was actually signed on Friday, August 26, 3 days before Katrina devastated the area. Even in that early “Statement of Emergency” the heavy role of the Federal Government is clearly defined.
Quote:
“FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html
How more do you want it spelled out? FEMA was supposed to “identify” and “provide… equipment and resources.” They were supposed to keep an eye on the ball, to say or do something if Negin dropped it.
One thing about this press release, all the parishes cited as being granted a Title V of the Stafford Act are the northern parishes. Take a look at the map:
http://www.bobharris.com/images/stories/Katrina/bushincompetencemap.gif
Oh, I don’t know if any of you know what the Title V of the Stafford Act federally grants, but here’s another citation from that same press release, “The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), … under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of…”