Thread: Katrina Aftermath: Woeful Incompetence (rant).

  1. #16
    Yes, my avatar is stolen anonytmouse's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ober
    You're out of your mind. Do you understand that this isn't a normal situation? They can't navigate the streets because they are flooded. The work is slow and tedious because most of the rescues are done by helicopter, and that takes time. It's only been about 3 and a half days since they could even start to head that direction. And how would you feel if you are trying to save someone, but some .............. is shooting at you? You'd start to give up too.

    You act like the government isn't doing everything they can. STFU.
    I didn't think my post would be particularly controversial given that several newspapers, electronic media and the mayor have slammed the response. Even President Bush says "The results are not acceptable".

    I never claimed the government isn't doing everything it can. However, I do believe poor decisions have been made.

    Minimal rations (water and food) for a person is about 2kg a day. The payload for a Chinook helicopter is about 12,000kg. The 10-20,000 people at the convention center could have been fed with half a dozen Chinook flights a day. This would have saved several lives. Beyond the capacity of authorities?

    The 1000 people on the slip could have been given emergency rations with one or two flights a day. Beyond the capacity of authorities?

    It appears that most of the helicopters were tied up doing rooftop evacuations while elsewhere many more people were dying from lack of supplies. This often happens, in disaster situations, the most visible (people waving flags on rooftops) get help, while a greater number, but less visible (thirsty, starving) do not receive the help they need.

    And yes I'm afraid I do expect the military to endure dangerous situations if it is a matter of saving thousands of lives. I don't expect them to "give up". If you were at the convention center, severely hungry, desperate and thirsty, would you think it acceptable for your government to abandon you due to the actions of a few individuals?

    As quasi-official shelter points, why were there not security personnel at the convention center and dome throughout?

    Today, the authorities are bussing people out, supplying food and water, pooring security people in and evacuating hospitals. If some of this (as far as possible) had been done three days ago, many people may not have died.

    I think many others have pointed out the inadequacy of the original evacuation. A more comprehensive pre-hurricane evacuation could have greatly lessened the loss of life.

    This isn't a political attack (although politicians must ultimately bear responsibility), and I hope this thread won't become political, but a criticism of the response in itself.

  2. #17
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    jverkoey - that's nice to see - I stand corrected.

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  4. #19
    Lead Moderator kermi3's Avatar
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    I'm not going to be as in depth as I should here, time is short for me...

    But I agree with Alex that there have been balls dropped. However, we also can't judge them here from afar. I think the biggest problem is that nothing was prestaged. Everyone knew what was going to happen. Bush took the extreme measure of declaring a disaster area before the disaster struck. Plans should have been laid in more depth before the storm hit. Troops should have been brought to Jackson or some other suitible staging area. I do know that helicopters were staged nearby before the storm, but supplies and troops should ahve been prepared as well.

    I think the local authorities spent too much time staring at the weather and encouraging people to evacuate. More efforts should have been made to plan. I realize that the local officials save lives by spending the time telling people to evac, but federal officials should have been preparing for the aftermath ahead of time instead of waiting to see what we would ask for afterwards.

    I also think we have to remember that it's only been 3 days. The problem is bad, but our perception of it is worsened by the 24/7 coverage (which is a good thing)...as compared to the tsunami - IE I agree with Sean...
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  5. #20
    Yes, my avatar is stolen anonytmouse's Avatar
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  6. #21

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    You're out of your mind. Do you understand that this isn't a normal situation? They can't navigate the streets because they are flooded. The work is slow and tedious because most of the rescues are done by helicopter, and that takes time. It's only been about 3 and a half days since they could even start to head that direction. And how would you feel if you are trying to save someone, but some .............. is shooting at you? You'd start to give up too.

    You act like the government isn't doing everything they can. STFU.
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  7. #22
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    i think we are doing to much.

  8. #23
    Software Developer jverkoey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by anonytmouse
    Wow, just read the scientific american one....I hope their estimates of 100,000 dead aren't going to be too close to the fact, everything else they've shown in the article is true though.

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    i think we are doing to much.
    Are you serious? Would you care to back that up with any kind of argument?

  10. #25
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    no nothing to argue its my opinion.

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by national geographic
    It was a broiling August afternoon in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Big Easy, the City That Care Forgot. Those who ventured outside moved as if they were swimming in tupelo honey. Those inside paid silent homage to the man who invented air-conditioning as they watched TV "storm teams" warn of a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing surprising there: Hurricanes in August are as much a part of life in this town as hangovers on Ash Wednesday.

    But the next day the storm gathered steam and drew a bead on the city. As the whirling maelstrom approached the coast, more than a million people evacuated to higher ground. Some 200,000 remained, however—the car-less, the homeless, the aged and infirm, and those die-hard New Orleanians who look for any excuse to throw a party.

    The storm hit Breton Sound with the fury of a nuclear warhead, pushing a deadly storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain. The water crept to the top of the massive berm that holds back the lake and then spilled over. Nearly 80 percent of New Orleans lies below sea level—more than eight feet below in places—so the water poured in. A liquid brown wall washed over the brick ranch homes of Gentilly, over the clapboard houses of the Ninth Ward, over the white-columned porches of the Garden District, until it raced through the bars and strip joints on Bourbon Street like the pale rider of the Apocalypse. As it reached 25 feet (eight meters) over parts of the city, people climbed onto roofs to escape it.

    Thousands drowned in the murky brew that was soon contaminated by sewage and industrial waste. Thousands more who survived the flood later perished from dehydration and disease as they waited to be rescued. It took two months to pump the city dry, and by then the Big Easy was buried under a blanket of putrid sediment, a million people were homeless, and 50,000 were dead. It was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States.
    Scary how accurate these articles are....it seems a lot of people saw this coming and nobody acted upon it...talk about procrastination

  12. #27
    Lead Moderator kermi3's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ILoveVectors
    i think we are doing to much.
    That's a troll, first warning. Further violations of the guidelines could result in temporary or permanent banning. No discussion about this warning is desired on this thread. If you have any questions PM me.
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  13. #28
    Lead Moderator kermi3's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by anonytmouse

    Yea, it's been known for a while that this could happen. In fact there was one FEMA study/memo a while back stating that they would not rebuild the cirt if this happend. Obviously they can't nor should they stick to that...but it was there.
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  14. #29
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    Wouldn't it be pointless to rebuild the city? You're really only asking for disaster, all just for the sake of being built in the same "area". Based on all the studies I've seen, it's going to take 20+ billion just to clean up new orleans, that's not including rebuilding the thousands upon thousands of homes, cleaning damage from the polluted water all over the city....I'm sad to say this but I really think New Orleans as a city should be moved...even though that's probably completely irational.

    It's scary, thinking that only 6 or 7 years ago I was actually walking down the streets of New Orleans...now it's all under water.

  15. #30
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    I wonder, why is that China was able to evacuate half a million people in a couple days, where in the states, far fewer than that are still stuck in New Orleans? This makes no sense.

    http://english.people.com.cn/200509/...02_206032.html
    Typhoon Talim pounded East China's Fujian Province Thursday afternoon with strong winds and rainstorms after wreaking havoc in Taiwan.

    According to the Fujian provincial observatory, Talim slammed into the Putian region at 2:30 pm, with gusts of 126 kilometres per hour.

    About 193,000 local residents were transferred to safety Thursday, following relocation of 286,000 people in the previous two days.

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