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

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

[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.