Hurricane Katrina

[Ben]

Let me ask a question - does anyone here still believe that the relief and rescue efforts were acceptable or understandable? I'm not talking about which agency or which level of government was responsible for the efforts - I'm saying, have the overall relief efforts been good enough for America? SGH? Spock? If anyone thinks the relief efforts have been satisfactory, please post and I'll address that. If not, we can now go about addressing the issue of why the relief efforts were not up to snuff, and who messed up.

Where was the State's contingency plan? The federal government, as far as I understand, is supposed to stay out of the way of the states for the most part in things like that. - Tessar

You know, I was also confused about how the federal, state, and local governments were supposed to coordinate in the face of this kind of disaster. I did some research, and I found proof that the federal government is supposed to not only not stay out of the way, but actually take charge. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is now part of the Department of Homeland Security.

On the official federal website of the Department of Homeland Security, I found this (emphasis added):

In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America's families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS.

Does anyone dispute that the federal government, under its own regulations, was supposed to have "primary responsibility" for the relief efforts? If so, please respond using information from government websites or news reports. Or even respond using snide comments and opinions. If not, then this is settled - the federal government was obligated to have taken charge during this Hurricane aftermath. Still unresolved on this thread is the question on who was supposed to have taken charge in building the levees, making preparations, etc. I'll get to that in a later post.

I'm sure the reaction from Louisiana and New Orleans also hindered the rescue efforts, but according to the Department of Homeland Security, the federal government was the one that was supposed to bring them all together and take charge! On August 28th, right before the storm hit, Gov. Blanco of Louisiana officially asked for federal help - here's the letter she sent, and note the date.

Personally, I think that since no major hurricane has hit Louisiana since the 60s, it makes more fiscal sense to have a federal agency ready to respond anywhere in the country than an independent, local group that could sit dormant for decades.

. However, that was just the most glaring example - Bush continued with his schedule of giving stump speeches about Iraq and domestic policy, and was at a birthday celebration for John McCain.

Lief - I've seen your well-supported, logical points and I'll get to them next.