It must be due to the lack of a convention center and domed stadium — that is the only differences between Katrina/LA and Ike/TX, right? (wink wink)
Police Arrest 81 Looting Suspects After Ike
Houston Police Department FOX 26 News
HOUSTON -- Many felt disgusted after witnessing looting in the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina left thousands of people dead and victimized. Who would steal at a time like this? According to Houston Police Department officials, more than 75 Houstonians and counting.
At least 81 people have been arrested for looting. The crimes have hit several areas of our city as Ike was making landfall and after the monster storm moved out.
"It's very disheartening because there's enough tragedy to infrastructure,...to the act of a theft," Houston Police Department Capt. Bruce Williams said.
So what did they steal during Ike? Officials say everything from furniture to clothes and even liquor.
Council member Adrian Garcia - a former Houston Police Officer-- says the act is disgusting at best.
"This is horrible when mother nature is upon you and is putting your life in danger and you want to be out there trying to steal from someone else it is unfortunate that someone would have that kind of mindset," he said.
Williams says the criminals - the 81 people - Houstonians accused of trying to steal from Houstonians will be dealt with swiftly and with a firm hand.
This was an image Houston frowned upon in New Orleans but now needs to deal with in it's own backyard.
Who dat? True dat.
Standard operating procedure for most people throughout history. Consider it a reminder of how luxurious our society is, and what "normal" is to humanity.
These comparisons are getting SOOO tired. Was Houston under water for weeks and then back under water a second time? Was a vast percentage of the housing there destroyed?
Of course I’m sure that Texas isn’t accepting any government help with this, either. By golly, them Texans will just take care of everything by themselves. Right?
Nobody is going to state the obvious. 81 arrested around Houston....New Orleans....
Bennin Houston the whole time and heare are my observations:
The churches have indeed stepped up to the plate and hit one out of the park. My church fed 15,000 people and afterwards was a distribution point for food, water and ice at the rate of about 1,000 per hour. Other churches did as well serving as distribution points and spending their own money for the relief effort. The number of volunteers in this city who have worked distributing food and clearing brush is larger than some European countries.
Centerpoint energy repaired the commercial areas first, particularly the areas that had grocery stores and they were up and running within a few days without a problem. For those who feel that commercial operations should be in charge of distribution, that is exactly what was done and it works so well it is astonishing. The Fema Distribution points have lasted only so long as the nearby commercial areas were inoperable and have been moved within hours of the power coming back on. Kudos to the energy companies and the grocery companies for their spectacular management of this aspect of recovery.
On Saturday at twelve noon, the day after the hurricane passed through, the wind died and people came out of their homes in my neighborhood and shook hands congratulating each other for surviving Ike. A few minutes later, rakes and shovels were out and by Sunday afternoon the neighborhood looked normal except for the piles of brush on right of way, and trees that had fallen into roofs. On Sunday evening we noticed that many fences had been repaired or had been completely replaced with new wood.
The crime rate for the past two weeks has been unusually low and it has simplified the Police’s job dramatically.
Although there has been some friction with Fema, the problems that presented themslves were quickly resolved.
Yesterday, 600 loaded Fema trucks were sent home as they were not needed. I guess Fema was prepared for another Ray Nagin/Kathleen Blanco situation that never materilaized.
The speed with which Houston has rebooted is absolutely astonishing. Galveston and nearby areas are going to require some additional work, but we will git ‘r done.
God has Blessed Texas. And we thank Him for those Blessings.
All the Gulf states have GOP governors now - even loosieanna.
Gabriel went to the Lord and said, "I have to talk to you. We have some Texans up here who are causing problems...
They're swinging on the Pearly Gates, my horn is missing, and they are wearing T-shirts instead of their robes; there's barbecue sauce and Picante sauce all over everything, especially their T-shirts; their dogs are riding in the chariots and chasing the sheep; they are wearing baseball caps and cowboy hats instead of their halos. They refuse to keep the stairway to Heaven clean, and their boots are marking and scuffing up the halls of Wisdom. There are watermelon seeds and tortilla chip crumbs all over the place. Some of them are walking around with just one wing; and they insist on bringing their horses with them."
The Lord said, "Texans are Texans, Gabriel. Heaven is home to all of my children. If you w ant to know about real problems, call the Devil."
So, Gabriel calls the Devil who answers the phone and says, "Hello---hold on a minute." When he returns to the phone the Devil says, " O.K., I'm back. What can I do for you?" Gabriel replied, "I just want to know what kinds of problems you are having down there with the Texans."
The Devil said, "Hold on again. I need to check on something." After about five minutes the Devil returned to the phone and said. "I'm back. Now what was the question?"
Gabriel said, "What kind of problems are you having down there with the Texans?"
The Devil said, "Man, I don't believe this ... hold on." This time the Devil was gone 15 minutes and when he returns he says, "I'm sorry, Gabriel, I can't talk right now. Red Adair has put out the fire; and, Brown and Root is installing air conditioning."
“reports of assaults and rapes; bullets fired at helicopters and rescue workers;....”
As it happens, those things did not take place in New Orleans either. Those incidents, as well as other stories of horrible violence that supposedly took place in those hellish days after Katrina, have since been disproved.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_7_37/ai_n15975589
God bless my Houston! :-D