The lesssons I have learned from the Hurricane Katrina disaster and tragedy

JEFFHEAD.COM ^ | September 5, 2005 | Jeff Head

[Jeff Head]

Over the last ten days I have, with the rest of America and the world, watched a horrific natural disaster and tragedy unfold. I say natural disaster because that is exactly what a hurricane is when it strikes humanity and destroys property and lives and leaves suffering in its wake, as hurricane Katrina did along the Gulf Coast last week. I say tragedy because I have sat transfixed as I have watched as governmental social programs long in place, contributed to the disaster, and as a number of unimaginable and crass mistakes made by those who could have and should have exhibited stronger leadership, failed to do so which also added significantly to the loss of life and to the human suffering.

As I considered this over this holiday weekend, I thought it imperative, if for no other reason than to get these issues of my chest, to write down the lessons I have learned as a result of this disaster and tragedy. Hopefully, there are those who will reads this and benefit from it, most notably my own children and grandchildren and their descendants.

So, here are the lessons, I pray they reverberate within the hearts and minds of those who read them, so that more and more people can avoid some of the circumstances which have led to what will probably be recorded as the worst natural disaster and tragedy in American history.

LESSON NUMBER ONE: When clear warnings of an imminent natural disaster are issued, heed them When the weather service or other agencies, private or public, tasked with making such warnings issue them, take the warnings seriously and move well out of the path of danger. Do not wait for governmental officials to issue a so-called "mandatory" evacuation. Use your own initiative and resource, whatever they may be, to move yourself and your loved ones out of danger. Irrespective of how many false alarms have been raised in the past, irrespective of how well your or neighbor's structures have survived in the past, act for yourself and move yourself and loved ones out of the path of the oncoming danger. Your very life and those of your loved ones could well depend on it...and to err on the side of caution is a good thing in such circumstances.

The specter of those who decided to stay, and who were partying in the path of this storm on live news coverage up to the time the storm began to come on shore, will remain etched in our memory for the rest of our lives. Such foolishness punctuates the need to remember and act upon this first lesson. It is a lesson wholly within each of our power.

LESSON NUMBER TWO: Be prepared. Start now, in whatever sustained way you can. Any preparation is better than none, decent preparation is better than just a little. Realize we live in a world where natural disaster, economic fallouts, upheaval, strife and war exist and can strike us with little warning, leaving our entire lives and livelihoods completely altered in the space of a few days. We should do what we each can, within our respective circumstances, to have food and water supplies set aside to sustain ourselves and loved ones for a period of several months if possible. If possible, have your own well on your property with a manual pump. Also, if possible, have your own septic system.

We should also all strive to have a 96-hour kit set aside for ourselves and each of our immediate families should we have to leave our homes in response to lesson number one above. Such a 96-hour kiy should contain all of the following:

1. Water (Including purification tablets)
2. Food (Including high energy and vitamins)
3. A good First Aid kit
4. Toiletries
5. Temporary shelter
6. Two or three changes of Clothing, including underwear and socks
7. Firearms
8. Ammunition
9. Spending cash, several hundred dollars, or whatever is possible
10. Reading material (The Holy Scriptures, a couple of Classics)

LESSON NUMBER THREE: The welfare state of any nation is a destroyer of human compassion and civilization. It teaches people to be (mistakenly) wholly reliant on government and indolent and therefore lacking in the necessary moral clarity when faced with a crisis. Far too many caught up in that life style either turn into a mob seeking only what they feel at the moment is good for themselves, even to the destruction of those around them, or, they are left without the means to effectively apply lessons one and two, leaving them defenseless and at the mercy of the danger itself, of incompetent officials, or at the mercy of the mobs that follow on the heels of such disasters in sections of cities that are largely populated by those dependent on such programs. Avoid such programs and such areas like the plague...because that is exactly what they turn into in such dire circumstances as we have witnessed over the last ten days, particularly in New Orleans.

Who will ever forget the site of so many woman, with their children, no men responsible for these families within sight, as they waded through brackish, polluted waters in search of safety? The social programs that were manipulated and changed in the 1960s under Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" have come home to roost and had their thin veneer dashed by these circumstances, revealing the ugly, festering sores just beneath the surface.

One example, in the 60s, a longer term program that provided governmental relief for children of widows who had been legitimately married, but whose husband had died, was altered to allow any illegitimate children to be included. It wasn't long before more and more desperate woman found that by having four or five children out of wedlock, they could sustain themselves on governmental programs. Men, normally raised to understand that one of their primary roles was to provide for children, found that that role could be supplanted by the government...and so a horrific seed was sown that has resulted in the destruction of the traditional family in a growing segment of American society. It impacted particularly the black family to begin with, but has since spread throughout society...and this is just one example of a myriad of such programs that have had the effect of creating huge segments of society dependent on government for their livelihood, and beholden to politicians whose careers are made by promising more and more of the same. The result is that individuals, families, and entire communities become corrupted...and the outcome is horrific when pitted against circumstances such as Katrina where the foundational building blocks of society such as hard work, strong families, commitment, individualism, creativity and moral strength are indispensable.

LESSON NUMBER FOUR: Large inner cities are breeding grounds for the welfare state. The resulting drugs, indolence, gangs, and other traits make these areas a dangerous place to be at almost any time, but especially during any crisis. Avoid them like the plague, at the mortal threat to your very life.

The site of utter lawlessness, looting, murder, rape and pillaging in the wake of hurricane Katrina has horrified and shocked us all. Much of it is a result of the seeds sown in lesson number three above.

LESSON NUMBER FIVE: Local, liberal politicians are not prepared or equipped to provide help to citizens in a major natural disaster. After their initial (late) warnings, their decisions and indecision resulting from their ideology (which ideology produced the welfare state in the first place), are more apt to significantly worsen the crisis than to provide relief...and this includes planning in advance of such a crisis.

While I am sure there are many civic leaders who will remain unsung heroes in this (such as the numerous initial Coast Guard rescue flights and those who made and coordinated them, I was struck by two examples of this lesson in this particular crisis.

One was the Mayor of New Orleans, at a late date (within 12-18 hours of the storm actually striking, calling for a "mandatory" evacuation. In essence, he told everyone who could get out on their own to do so...and then proceeded to gather large segments of the poor and welfare dependent, at ground zero in the direct path of the storm with little or no food, water or relief for them. The horrific reality was that the mayor could have gotten those people out of there, even at that late date. He had hundreds of school buses that were slated, in normal circumstances, to carry many more children all over New Orleans the next day...and yet they were not utilized but left in their parking lots to weather the storm Instead, he gathered tens of thousands of the most at risk citizens at the Superdome and the Convention Center, or left them in hospitals and rest homes, which later lost all power and water, and were surrounded by flood waters. Left in those circumstances, horrors unparalleled occurred. The pictures of those busses, covered in water the next day, stands at a punctuation and a witness to this lesson number five.

Another example was the governor of Louisiana. When it became apparent how terrible the decision had been to leave the people in the Superdome, she flew there with part of her staff to see for herself how bad the circumstances were. In a later news briefing she described a man holding a small baby who was seriously ill and how that child and many others like it were left in the Superdome and in need of immediate assistance. I could not help but ask myself while she was talking, "Governor, how did you get out?", and, "If you could get out, that sick child could have gotten out". Indeed, the helicopter or whatever transportation the governor used could have been utilized to carry many sick children out of those circumstances. A strong, moral and inspiring leader would have kept themselves and staff at the Superdome themselves, with their security people, and then used their transportation to take out all of the most seriously ill to the safety of the State Capitol from where she later gave the news conference, I was appalled that such a leader could not be found amongst the highest officials of the city or the state. Perhaps there were...but not in the instances I cite here. In addition, the Governor had it within her power, from the beginning to send the Louisiana National Guard into New Orleans as early as Monday to stop the looting. That she did not, and days later complained about the President not reacting fast enough was a classic example of a lack of leadership lashing out at other leadership to fix blame in my opinion. It not on was a disservice to those citizens in New Orleans, it may well have been fatal for a good number of them.

LESSON NUMBER SIX: Federal government programs cannot logistically react quickly enough to provide the level of assistance necessary in the first 72-96 hours. While they may eventually get the needed relief to the survivors (particularly in the hands of a moral, conservative leader), that relief may come too late of good planning and preparation on the part of the people themselves and local leaders is not already in place. In order to ensure the maximum chance for survival, see lessons one and two above and make sure you abide them...better for you and yours to err on the side of caution, than to be caught in such a circumstance.

If people (and particularly my own children, grandchildren and descendants) understand and apply these lessons, they will be in a much better position to preserve the life and liberty of themselves and their loved ones. Having done so, they will also therefore be in a position to help, aid, and provide relief to their fellow citizens in the crisis, as opposed to simply becoming another victim unable to help anyone, even themselves.

Finally, on a final note: These are lessons we as a society simply MUST learn and apply quickly. The lessons of the impact this disaster and tragedy has had on our society is not something that is being felt, noticed, and learned from here alone. Our enemies are also watching. It is imperative that we learn the lessons and apply them before any such enemies can take advantage of them

[Jeff Head]

The most critical preparedness in any disaster or hard times is moral and spiiritual. Those give you the wherewithall to aptly apply the other preparations, and in fact, cause a sense of responsibility to actually make them.

[Jeff Head]

Exactly...unbelievable.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Bumping your post...

[Jeff Head]

No problemo whatsoever...have him use the one posted on my site (JEFFHEAD.COM) where I am updating it with some of the advise used in this thread. Should be ready by this evening.

[Eva]

The declaration entitles the feds to take control, but they still cannot do it without the permission from the state govenor. Listen to the explanation in Blanco's own words in an interview with Larry King. She said Bush had called her repeatedly to ask for permission and she refused. She likened it to declaring martial law.

Don't you find it interesting the the govenor and other state and city officials had the time to appear on CNN while the emergency was going on? The left is more interested in rebuilding the Democrat party than they are in rebuilding New Orleans. Have you heard of one single positive effort put forth by the left? I haven't.

[Eva]

I just read that CNN has reported in an interview with Nagin that even after Bush visited NOLA, Blanco refused to allow the feds to take control. Nagin said that he was on airforce one with both the President and Blanco and Blanco was arguing with him about allowing the federal gov't to take over and Bush and Blanco went into another room and she came back and said that she needed twenty four hours to think it over. Her excuse is that she needed time to read it over and decide.

[Double Tap]

Ah, come on. All you need to survive is a good, accurate rifle and plenty of ammo. You can get anything you need with that!!!

I'm kidding, I'm kidding!!!

Seriously, good post. But I've been prepared like this for years. Only thing I need to add is Squantos water filtration kit. I never seem to think about that for some reason. Taking clean water for granted can get you dead.

[Countyline]

No kidding. Prepare.

[spunkets]

"No. The President of the United States does not have to get permission from state governors to call in the National Guard or to coordinate response efforts during a national emergency."

The meaning of the term "coordinate" implies permission must be present. Coordinate does not mean dictate. It is clear that you are hear to obfuscate the matter, so as to cause as much unfounded damage to the Bush administration as you possibly can.

THe fact is, that the various local govm't subdivisions of and LA itself were to have their own plan and are supposed to be the chief improvisors also. In order for the feds to take that job over, the LA people need to specifically die off, become incapacitated, abdicate their powers, or the feds have to impose criminal law to force the issue.

From the fed site:

" National Response Plan Main Page >> Local/Federal Response Strategies & Coordination Structures

"Emphasis on Local Response

All incidents are handled at the lowest possible organizational and jurisdictional level. Police, fire, public health and medical, emergency management, and other personnel are responsible for incident management at the local level. 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 support 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."

[Jeff Head]

Taking clean water for granted can get you dead.

Absolutely.

[Jeff Head]

If you are truly prepared in this manner...you shall not fear.

[nascardaughter]

FEMA has the authority to call out the National Guard.

These are not small sections of federal plans -- the quotes I cited come from three different sources.

One is the Department of Homeland Security's National Response Plan -- a document which is rife with quotes like the one I cited. The clear intent of the National Response Plan was to improve federal coordination and control of domestic incidents. You can read it at:

http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRPbaseplan.pdf

Another is from the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, which was explicitly invoked by both the governor and the president. You can read it at:

http://www.fema.gov/library/stafact.shtm

Neither of these are minor documents -- they are the controlling authorities for dealing with a national disaster. How in the world can a president of this country justify not acting in a national disaster because "the locals won't give him permission", when these documents exist?

The President of the United States is supposed to lead during a time of national emergency, not make excuses and look for legal reasons to not act.

I gotta say, I'm surprised to see people on Free Republic claiming that the President of the United States has to ask for local officials' permission in order to act during a national disaster. And I wonder if people here are perhaps so used to defending the Republican party in the interests of their deepest beliefs, that they have begun to do it reflexively, even when the party's actions do not reflect their convictions. There is nothing wrong with being loyal to a party, but it sure doesn't mean that everything Republicans do is right.

There is honor in saying, even though there are things that I admire about this individual, in this case I do not agree with his actions.

[Eva]

Thank you for the help. I knew that I had read that someplace, but I just didn't remember where.

[spunkets]

"The President of the United States is supposed to lead during a time of national emergency, not make excuses and look for legal reasons to not act."

Clever twist of words, but it doesn't match reality. Again, coordination does not equal dictation. The President is not a dictator and the US is not a dictatorship.

[Jeff Head]

The President has led and he has coordinated the most massive, quickest, anmd efficeint response (despite whatever errors) to such a wide spread disaster in history. Such large scale logistical issues do not turn on a dime. For the first 96 hours or so, it is expected that the individuals, their local governments, and their state governments (in that order) will hold the line as much as possible until the large scale national relief can be coordinated and applied.

The local and state part, particularly in New Orleans, failed the muster test in this case. The other, federal response is doing quite well in the face of a huge disaster.

...and yes, a President cannot simply go around the elected governor of a state...irrespective of all the white papers and other planning documents. It is expected that governors and local officials will look for and desire such help in horrible emergencies. When one starts playing politics with it...it interferes with the entire process...from chain of command, to logistics, to legal matters, etc.

That is what is really happening here.

[Badray]

Excellent, as usual, Jeff. Thanks.

[Eva]

You are so wrong and won't even listen to the truth. Nagin admitted on CNN today, that the govenor was in a power struggle with President Bush and repeatedly refused permission for the federal government to take over. Nagin said that he witnessed it on airforce one, the day that Bush visited NOLA.

What would you have President Bush do, declare federal martial law?

Don't post any of your stupid, obtuse, partisan attacks to me any more. I don't want to hear them. Go tell someone a little more gullible.

[nascardaughter]

You've got to be kidding me. So let's see, the president can call out the National Guard, but see, he can't "coordinate" anything because it depends on what the definition of "coordinate" is.

Even aside from the fact that, as I said earlier, the DHS' own National Response Plan clearly states that the President can put the DHS Secretary in charge of response with or without local officials' request -- the Gov. of Louisiana explicitly gave permission to DHS to do this under the Stafford Act in two separate letters to the president prior to the hurricane's landfall. In an 8/27 letter, she stated:

Pursuant to 44 CFR ? 206.35, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster. I am specifically requesting emergency protective measures, direct Federal Assistance, Individual and Household Program (IHP) assistance, Special Needs Program assistance, and debris removal.

(The 44 CFR ? 206.35 is a reference to the Stafford Act, which explicitly puts the federal government at the top of the chain of command.)

In an 8/28 letter, when the hurricane had been upgraded to category 5, she says:

I request direct federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property.

[La Enchiladita]

Hey, Jeff, don't forget a transistor radio and flashlight in the 96 hour kit, matches too. In southern Calif., it behooves us to have heavy duty shoes nearby and even a hard hat. Thanks.

AS for guns and ammo, I have yet to enter that realm either.

[nascardaughter]

Eva, I have not spoken one unkind or disrespectful word to you. I have merely respectfully disagreed with you. Your unkind remarks to me are uncalled for. Don't worry, I won't reply to you again.