Hurricane Katrina: The Beginnings of Something Awful?

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Now wait a minute,

I really do not like Bush either but lets think about this a minute:

1) The people of New Orleans had ample warning to get out of town (up to a week). There there were people that could not leave because of poverty, the city could have offered buses to transport them out rather than opening up the Superdome.

2) The city had no plan for what to do if a levee broke. Considering that the city was 14feet under water, I am sure there it would not have taken a rocket scientist to know what would have happened.

3) The US government was not called for until Wednesday at which time, President Bush immediately (as well as congress) called their vacations short and got things moving as quick as they could. It still takes time to mobilize things. Besides, certain agencies have not suspended their rules (such as FMCSA regarding Hours of Service) so that takes even more time when the rules are set to if things operate normally. I think the US Governments actions were appropriate

4) Finally, if news agencies and buses could get into town and since people were looting anyways, what would it taken to loot a pair of hiking boots, a backpack, some non-parishable food, and other neccessities (which if you take that in a situation like that, I do not consider it stealing), and leave town. When I looked at the news this morning, the convoys were rolling in alright. There had to be a way into and out of town.

5) Besides residence of New Orleans, there were many people there who decided to go there on vacation AFTER the warnings were posted.

In short, Part of this is the fault of the people who stayed in town and the US governments actions once called for were swift and it looks like effective.

From what I've heard, the governor called for 500 school buses to extract the poor. And also, congress only approved 10 million dollars for relief, instead of the 100 billion they approved for Iraq. I gaurantee you if it was Whites down there instead of Blacks many more would be out of there. And also, Bush should have been informed of what could happen, he knew the scale, he knew they hadn't been hit in a while, he should have been preparing. And also people and trucks with relief food aren't being let in, and supplies aren't being airdropped much either. What we need is a couple hundred planes loaded with supplies doing airdrops on the superdome and other places. (Parachutes of course though.)

I personally think Bush should have acted before he was called, leaving it his fault regardless. I think it's crazy they can do more for rich Florida than they can for New Orleans. Also Florida is rich, New Orleans is poor, and Florida gets hit many times a YEAR, in which they shouldn't be getting relief, as they can't expect to move down there without losing a home logically.

I was in Barbados in early July, and I sat through Hurricane Emily, which was a moderately strong hurricane. Having seen it myself, I can say that Barbados (A Third World Country!!) is better equipt to deal with hurricanes than New Orleans. Why has one of the richest nations on Earth failed to provide for its people, when a poor country like Barbados can.

Barbados had special shelters that the poor could get to and be safe. From TV pictures of New Orleans, I saw people outside during the hurricane!! In Barbados, that is a criminal offense to be outside during a hurricane - you had to go to the shelters, or stay in your house if your house was strong enough, which ours was.

I think there was something really bad about the way that hurricane was handled. Both before the hurricane, during it, and the so called relief effort afterwards.

I agree with you, to an extent. I think it's wrong to point the finger at Bush alone. I've only caught some stuff on the TV about the situation, so I'm not that well informed, but it does seem that when the full situation is analysed at some later date, a lot of people will have some very difficult questions to answer on both a local and national level. And, of course, if individuals really did get adequate warning, then it was their responsibility to look after themselves.

It does, though, raise some important questions about how other countries in the Western world would cope with a similar situation; and I'm not just talking hurricanes and flooding. A terrorist attack using a dirty bomb or biological agent would create similar conditions in a British city, for example. In that case, the military would cordon off the area and shoot anyone attempting to escape; this would avoid spread of contamination. The water supply would be cut-off, and the inhabitants would be left to their fate, because our health service can't even cope with things as they are, and the idiots who run the whole show couldn't organise a piss-up in a bloody brewery, let alone decontamination of a million people. The only people in these areas with guns would be the criminal low-life, and the military surrounding the area. The situation on the Gulf coast is a vision of hell we will see again, though replayed in a slightly different format.

Perhaps, we should question the way we are governed; how the political elite who lord over us have reneged on their commitments to the people thay supposedly represent. How, in the case of current events, a society can degenerate to the extent that hospitals and rescue helicopters come under gun fire. And I think it's wrong of British people here to say some people in the UK wouldn't act in a similar manner, because in many of our major cities the criminals go unchecked, and there's huge mistrust between different ethnic groups, as well as the haves and have-nots in society. It raises the question of exactly how free we are, and how free we will be, or not be, in the future.

It's hard to find the words that express all the ways in which this situation rocks my core.
It saddens me to think that things would have moved faster for a white richer community. But unfortunaltely it's a valid point.

Sure there are people who chose to stay behind and died for it. No point getting huffy about that. I am sad however for those that had no way of making there way out in time, were scared out of there wits yet had no-one to help them.

I am not sure about things in my mind at this stage. I am sure however that there are a lot of questions to be answered, as well as lots of attempts to cover things up.

I was watching Bush adressing the media and he was having trouble repeating what was coming through his earpiece! It was so dam* obvious I can only shake my head (again).

There were australians in the Superdome who were not aloud to be rescued. I think this would be the old saying - if we resuce them the every one would want rescuing. Well why could everyone not be rescued? Even if it was going to take AGES at least people would have seen something was being done.

Where are all the resourses to handle this?? You do have them.

And they were told this would be a safe refuge to go to. Then they get isolated from the world for days. No food to feed them, no medication for them. One nurse amoungst the hole lot who is a refugee herself and she is BURNT OUT! No wonder. Of course these people are going to go to extremes they never thought imaginable within even themselves!

And more than likely there are gangs that usually have their own territory now jammed together having to share the same space.

And then there are the tipically unruley that like to have power and control over others that are doing so with violent and horendous crimes against the innocents.

So the reason behind the lack of response is that they did'nt know it would be that bad. Well lets hope some insight is gained from all of this tragedy!

It upsets me to see that the news media could get in there to document people dead or dying and very sick and hungry, but no rescue teams moved on for days after!???

I'm not trying to be rude, bouchard, but do you know anything about PTSD and that any of us in that situation would likely have not had our witts about us to do something as proactive as steal that stuff and walk out of town? Plus, MANY of those people weren't just poor but sick or enfeebled.

I was watching all this since before Katrina hit, as I think many people were. It is extremely conspicuous to me that aid was not delivered (it was also lied about saying the Superdome was receiving aid when people were actually leaving the Superdome to go and find food) until the media and US citizens began screaming and criticizing Bush's government about not getting their butts in gear. And then all of a sudden, aid came. I am not one to assume a coincidence is just that right away.

I don't know how much of the coverage everyone has watched. But it was DAYS before aid came. REAL aid. And some people have actually blamed the victims for not getting out. Is it coincidence that the VAST majority of those who stayed behind were POOR??? They were also told they could count on the Superdome. Now, many of them will likely need help just to get over what happened there in regards to trauma. Rapes, murders, people dying left and right from dehydration, too little too late. The Mayor of New Orleans was asking for aid and it wasn't coming or too little was coming. The Red Cross was being held back, the National Guard was being held back. Everyone.

If Congress and Bush had really wanted to send aid down there PRONTO, they could have done it. Sincerely. They could have done it. It was despicable. Once Bush and the government started getting bad press, that's when things began to happen.

After the tragedy of 9/11 some people feel that Bush delayed interception of the terrorists to a most tragic ending... and the Patriot Act was born (very curiously soon, after this attack of the terrorists) and the American people quite readily gave up some of their freedoms to make America seemingly safe from terrorists.

Hurricane Katrina's devastation left many Americans stranded without help and again many people feel that Bush has again delayed...but this time, delaying the process of helping these poor individuals. It makes me wonder because of this horrendous & conspicuous delay, if Americans might be more willing now, to opt for Marshal Law to be in effect during any disaster, natural or man-made. This will also take away many American freedoms but will ensure a sense of safety to Americans in the most desparate of times and times of disaster & chaos. I wonder what "Act" Bush will set in motion this time...I feel it will be set before us sometime this month.

....or perhaps a new order???

I'm just worried about gas prices, and how I will be able to afford it in coming months and days.

I'm an 18 year old working two days a week (thanks to college), and a 3.0l V6 isn't the cheapest car to fill up, and buying a new car isn't feasable until I'm done with college. Before I cut my hours down, I wouldn't have a problem, but ugh.

Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuella, is offering cheap fuel to poor Americans in an attempt to undermine the big US oil corporations who steal from other countries and sell at high prices, making a huge profit.

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA owns Citgo, which has 14,000 gas stations in the United States. These will be used to sell the fuel at cut prices to impoverished Americans.

Well, that's good news, but when will we be seeing these prices at the pump?

I'm not sure how they would verify low income. If they just lower prices in low income neighborhoods, people will travel from all over to fill up there.