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Originally Posted by Hobbs
It's FEMAs job to forcast things like this, that's their job, the reason why they exist. However, I don't think that anyone predicted this could be as bad as it is.
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FEMA had just run an exercise (maybe one year earlier) exactly about a major hurricane swamping New Orleans. That is why FEMA knew up to 100,000 people in New Orleans would have no means to leave the city. FEMA's own studies say that the flooding in New Orleans should have been much worse - faster, more destructive, deadlier. FEMA even claimed to be ready for a disaster that was predicted days in advance.
FEMA claimed they had everything propositioned. They had been authorized days before the hurricane to provide all necessary support. It turns out FEMA has insufficient food to feed the victims. Insufficient warehouse space to accept and distribute the aid. No transportation to help 100,000 leave. FEMA has even abandon victims in the Convention Center. FEMA is not even feeding people in the Superdome. Just another fact that Michael Brown, Director of FEMA preferred to avoid.
Koppel was quite blunt. Koppel said you even bring in flatbed trucks to carry the people out if you must. Micheal Brown refused to respond.
When 10,000 people in the Superdome became 20,000, then FEMA was surprised? FEMAs own studies said up to 100,000 would not be able to leave New Orleans. But then facts don't seem to have relevance to FEMAs response - that they claimed was ready well in advance.
The events in New Orleans are no where near as bad as what FEMAs own studies expected. And yet still FEMA is apparently completely overwhelmed. Knowing they were overwhelmed, FEMA did nothing to request massive assistance from the military and other government agencies until, well .... do you remember the American response to the Tsunami? How many days did it take this administration to finally decide to start aid flowing? In disasters, aid must be moving in hours. Especially when Katrina's attack was forecast so many days in advance - as a category 5 storm. That means leaders must make decisions this minute - not six days later. That means leaders must not be in denial.
Koppel's interview of Michael Brown was telling. FEMA was still in the planning stage five days after the hurricane. People start dying on day three. You could see Ted Koppel seething as he calmly kept asking embarrassing questions. He had to ask some repeatedly because Michael Brown, Director of FEMA, was avoiding most answers.
Any leader who did not predict things would be this bad must have his ass up his ass - be that inverted. A category 5 hurricane striking a bowl only built for category 3 storms? It's a no brainer. Anyone who makes excuses for such leaders must also be in denial.
At what point does a Cellar dweller admit that "85% of all problems are directly traceable to top management"? The devil is in the details in New Orleans - such as a president who says no one expected the levees to be breached. No problem. George Jr is going there personally to fix things - just like he did Iraq?
To think these same people worried about where Clinton's penis had been.