Responding to Catastrophe

[tw]

Originally Posted by skysidhe

I am remembering hurricane Katrina. So nope, I don't think we have the stones.

We had another disaster on a Katrina scale. The upper Mississippi floods were massive. And since government bureaucrats were technical people - not political friends - then massive floods across many states is hardly remembered. Remember when the river in St Louis rose 50 feet? Most don't because management was competent. How many forget events that were not news because top management did their job?

Katrina is an example of "management of the most incompetent type".

That was a magnitude 9 earthquake. Virtually all buildings survived due to planning like an engineer. We know a serious earthquake is overdue in the Arkansas, Memphis, Missouri region where buildings are not constructed to withstand earthquakes. Planning by bean counters. Where drills and region wide disaster organizations do not exist. And where someone was so stupid as to put disaster solution organizations into Fatherland security.

Wacko extremist fears are far more important than disaster prep. We have yet to know what that reorganization did. See how bad it can be when one actually prepares? Then only thousands die.

Imagine millions waiting like victims in the Convention center and Superdome for almost a week because the powers said everything was under control. As also happened for almost a week in FL after Andrew. When the powers that be even turned back numerous WalMart trucks carrying drinking water outside of New Orleans because it was not necessary.

That New Madrid region is a disaster just waiting to happen. No problem. We spent the money to save the world from a Saddam who threatened no one. And another $1.4(?) billion annually in military aid to Israel.