City had evacuation plan but strayed from strategy - Houston Chronicle

Houston Chronicle ^ | Sept. 8, 2005, 10:15AM | By LISE OLSEN

[joinedafterattack]

The mayor's mandatory evacuation order was issued 20 hours before the storm struck the Louisiana coast, less than half the time researchers determined would be needed to get everyone out.

[Republican Red]

I like this story being written in a Houston paper. Maybe the effected people will get to see it.

[Malesherbes]

The mayor "strayed from strategy." Well, that's one way to put it.

[Pessimist]

"In the city of New Orleans alone, more than 100,000 of the city's residents described themselves as disabled in a recent U.S. census"

"Described themselves". I wonder if this self description has anything to do w/ eligibility for gvt support.

[Rutles4Ever]

City officials had 550 municipal buses and hundreds of additional school buses at their disposal but made no plans to use them to get people out of New Orleans before the storm, said Chester Wilmot, a civil engineering professor at Louisiana State University and an expert in transportation planning, who helped the city put together its evacuation plan.

Bombshell.

Absolute criminal negligence.

[Minnesocold]

Tami Frazier, a spokeswoman for Mayor C. Ray Nagin, currently working out of Houston, refused to comment on direct questions this week or to answer several written questions sent via e-mail.

[ajolympian2004]

The liberals in the main stream media are kicking and screaming as they are forced to cover the obvious stories of neglect by the local and state officials.

[Rutles4Ever]

Saturday evening, Hurricane Katrina had intensified to Category 4, with the possibility that it could strike land as a killer Category 5 storm.

About 8 p.m., Mayor Nagin fielded an unusual personal call at home from Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, who wanted to be sure Nagin knew what was coming. Reported first HERE yesterday on FR!

Still, Nagin waited to issue a mandatory evacuation, apparently because of legal complications, said Frazier. She said the city attorney was unavailable for an interview to explain.

But Kris Wartelle, spokeswoman for the attorney general of Louisiana, said state law clearly gives the mayor the authority to "direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from any stricken or threatened area."

[bobsunshine]

This is a good story. Glad they got the parts about the buses and phone call from the National Hurricane Director correct.

[prognostigaator]

pass the buck.....^

[Sir Gawain]

Got a link?

[G.Mason]

Strayed?

Dogs stray.

I would submit that the elected officials of Louisiana are not as intelligent as dogs. Dogs usually come home.

Build their gallows high

[dfwgator]

The Mayor's strategy was "pray for another Ivan."

[Columbine]

Here's a link.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/special/05/katrina/3344347

[ProudFossil]

I have not seen the following mentioned anywhere. It has been more than adequately shown that the Governor and Mayor were adamant in not allowing relief material, first responders, medical teams and supplies, and volunteers with boats into the city during the first few days of the crisis. At the same time anybody who had a press badge was allowed free and easy access anywhere at any time into and from the city. Was this whole event seized by the powers that be in the Democratic party to be made into a photo-op of people suffering while blaming Bush, et.al. for everything?

[DrewsDad]

Thanks for the link. Where did this appear in the paper? I had trouble finding it by going to the main webpage.

[linkinpunk]

Planners decided not to use any of the New Orleans school buses for early evacuation, Wilmot said.

Bush's fault?

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

As the true facts emerge from the New Orleans flood waters, they will garner no more than a collective yawn from the MSM, dems and lefties.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Their outcome based education will assure they can't read it.

[liberallarry]

This is a good article. Hopefully the paper will stay focused on the two prinicpal issues

1) Why weren't the 700 or so available buses used to transport people out of the city?
2) Why weren't state-wide, or region-wide plans, made to shelter those people?

A difficult third question must also be asked. It's quite clear that many of the people left in the city after the hurricane struck were not nice people. To what extent was this a factor in the search for shelters?