Think Progress

McClellan Breaches Truth About Levee Failure

In today’s press briefing, a reporter challenges Bush’s assertion that there was no way to anticipate the levees breaching after Hurricane Katrina. McClellan’s response:

If you will recall, on August 29th, when the hurricane hit, and then it passed the New Orleans area, there were a number of reports, including media reports, saying that New Orleans had dodged the bullet, and there was some sense that the worst-case scenario did not happen. … We learned the next day — all of us learned — that, in fact, the levees had been breached and that there was a systemic failure in the levees. That was what was certain the next morning.

First, the media was not reporting that New Orleans had dodged a bullet. In fact, newspapers around the country were reporting on the “catastrophicdamage to the Gulf Coast.

Second, McClellan’s timeline is wrong. Katrina made landfall at 7 AM CDT on Aug. 29. As early as 7:30 AM CDT, the administration received word from New Orleans Homeland Security Director Col. Terry Ebbert that the levees in New Orleans had broken. By 11:13 AM CDT, the White House Homeland Security Council began circulating an internal memo called the “Katrina Spot Report,” reporting on the levee breach:

Flooding is significant throughout the region and a levee in New Orleans has reportedly been breached sending 6-8 feet of water throughout the 9th ward area of the city.

A total of 28 government agencies, including the White House, reported the levee breach on Aug. 29. Therefore, McClellan’s claim that the White House didn’t learn of the breach until Aug. 30 doesn’t hold water. Check out the right timeline here.



80 Responses to “McClellan Breaches Truth About Levee Failure”

  1. Bob Loblaw says:

    “Therefore, McClellan’s claim that the White House didn’t learn of the breach until Aug. 30 doesn’t hold water.”

    In other words, McClellan’s claim has been breached!


  2. Spudge_Boy says:

    Actually, Katrina made landfall at 6:10 am CDT, in Buras, Lousiana.

    http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/katrina_trmm_0828_0829.html


  3. Skeptic says:

    Just being snide. None of the White House claims have ever held water. Why couldn’t someone use satellites to confirm the damage. Doesn’t the U.S. have spy satellites everywhere?


  4. Publicus says:

    To paraphrase Dorothy Parker: every word that comes out of this administration is a lie, including the words “a” and “the”.

    The best bet is to assume everything the administration says is wrong, unless or until some evidence appears supporting their assertions.


  5. Bob Loblaw says:

    ” there were a number of reports, including media reports, saying that New Orleans had dodged the bullet”

    Nope, Whittington tried to dodge a bullet, it was a Cat 4 HURRICANE that hit New Orleans.

    Every one in the world new about the levee’s breaking on Aug. 29. Every one that is except the high ranking government officials.


  6. Sharon Cox says:

    Just more bull shit from the reich wing……Blessings


  7. Alan H. says:

    *yawn* I think we should move on.


  8. Jodi says:

    Scotty, can’t you get anything fuckin straight?


  9. Moorehead says:

    Alan #7 – The people of New Orleans aren’t yet able to just move on and the Bush administration hasn’t yet done its job.


  10. meander says:

    Another montage of newspaper headlines, none of which say “Dodged a Bullet”, is here. I think the Al Franken staff found that only 2 small newspapers said “dodged a bullet,” and neither was based on the Gulf Coast.


  11. wisedup says:

    #7, your right Alan H., we should ‘move on’ towards impeachment. We can ‘move on’ and it will just ‘go away’,it’s old news anyway …right? Are you sure your at the correct blogg?


  12. mighty aphrodite says:

    Sorry Amanda, even the Associated Press had to clarify their misstatements re: the “topping” of levees – not the breeching – pretty BIG difference – and they don’t involve the words “is” and “the”.


  13. Spudge_Boy says:

    OMFG,

    A levee in Sacramento California just broke. Just as Arnold had said they would.


  14. Hardy Haberman says:

    The dodged a bullet comment came from an NPR reporter who was in a downtown highrise and he was referring to the French Quarter in one report.

    Now, come on. We all know Bush doesn’t listen to Public Radio. Oh yea, I forgot, he doesn’t listen to anyone!


  15. Spudge_Boy says:

    mighty aphrodite,

    The National Hurricane Center put out a Katrina hurricane advisory that stated that flooding would be up to 25 feet. The highest leveel in New Orleans is 23 feet. This lead to overtopping, which caused subsidence. Subsidence is when the vegetation is ripped off of the side of a levee. This lead to the breeching of the levees.

    Are you gonna tell me that levee ain’t breeched?

    null

    New Video Shows George W. Bush Knew Levees Would Be Breeched


  16. Marq says:

    How do these people live with themselves? Do they know that Jesus hates Liars?

    Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

    The Bush Administration can go to hell, I mean it…


  17. Tannen says:

    It is a most horrific shame that our own government allowed the calamity of the loss of human life to occur. W doesn’t care. When will we finally have enough and begin Impeachment Hearings. Somebody HAS to get this ball rolling!
    We can’t wait for anything else to happen.


  18. ic says:

    When you have told so many lies, you can’t keep track of them all.


  19. Marie says:

    As I told my kids — if you tell the truth, you have far less to worry about – I may be angry with you, but the matter will be resolved. If you tell a lie, you have to tell other lies to cover up the first one and the lies are hard to keep track of – and the trouble you will be in for the original misdeed, and the lies is far, far greater.
    So be honest, and take your punishment — it’s better than lying – which ruins your reputation.


  20. one eye buck tooth [X^B says:

    no word passes neo-con lips without touching lying dubious tongues


  21. Tom The Republican says:

    Whats the point of rebuilding they will get hit by another hurricane next year, its called global warming and cause the main damages hit america, I cannot drive my 4×4 enough i think i’ll even buy bags of coal and burn them outside just to heat the enviroment a bit more


  22. Sid Leader says:

    Big Bully Bush will wish the cool waters of the flooded Mississippi wash over him when he visits Lee Atwater at the right hand of Lucifer sometime very soon.


  23. Skeptic says:

    Actually, I understood the “dodge a bullet” remark. The very worst case scenario was the levees breaching at the height of the hurricane and the wind and water combining to drown all of New Orleans. As it was the flood came after the hurricane and boats and rafts and swimmers rescued most of the people from immediate drowning. However this didn’t mean the N.O. didn’t need lots and lots of help to rescue the now flooded survivors. Bush and company are the most stupid set of liars ever to hold office . Did they have any preperations for the WORSE case disaster?


  24. Bush is Watching You 24/7 says:

    “We have to address the fact that the president has broken the law.” — Senator Russ Feingold


  25. Bob Loblaw says:

    Marie, that kind of thinking has no place in politics, besides, isn’t that the sort of teaching that is supposed to take place in schools and church?

    /sarcasm off

    Marie, such a simple life lesson isn’t it?


  26. buzzbomb says:

    its called global warming and cause the main damages hit america, -Tom the Republican.

    Is it too much to ask for you to communicate in complete thoughts instead of this disjointed jumble-f*ck of words. You should drive your 4×4 into a levee, idiot.


  27. joe says:

    #12. Maybe you can explain the “pretty BIG” difference between ovetopping and breaching.


  28. Amanda says:

    #12 mighty aphrodite — The AP story you’re referring to is completely separate from this post. In the Katrina video (briefing with Brown), Bush was warned about the topping of the levees. But this post deals with entirely separate events. There’s no mistaking the words of the Katrina Spot Report — He was told the levees were breached.


  29. mighty aphrodite says:

    Amanda – thanks for your response – what would you have had him do while considering the topping (which was underway) and the possible event of a breech?? How much responsibility to you lay at the feet of local and state authorities?


  30. Clif says:

    #29 Since the Levees are the responsiblity of the US Army Corps of Engineers and Bush is commander in chief, then the responsibility for the levees rests at his desk which he was not at, instead he was enjoying cake with John McCain.


  31. Phinga Bheng says:

    Clif,
    Those levees weren’t designed under Bush admin, were they?Dumbass.


  32. Lora says:

    To paraphrase Dorothy Parker: every word that comes out of this administration is a lie, including the words “a” and “the”.

    The best bet is to assume everything the administration says is wrong, unless or until some evidence appears supporting their assertions.

    Comment by Publicus — March

    #4 Publicus,
    I agree with your point, but I believe the statement you’re paraphrasing came not from Dorothy Parker but from Mary McCarthy (in reference to Lilian Hellman).

    To Mighty Hypocrite,
    The point you miss or deliberately ignore is that Dumbya lied by saying four days after Katrina hit that no one could have anticipated the breeching of the levees when he was clearly forewarned. All your spin will not change that. I know you want to blame the state and city authorities since they’re Democrats, but do you really think it was right for the federal government not to act at all after being forewarned? Isn’t this the President who is supposed to be so gung-ho on protecting Americans? Of course, those of us who don’t drink the reichwing kool-aid know very well that Bush also ignored FBI warnings over the summer of 2001 about the high numbers of Arabs in flight schools wanting to learn only how to fly, not to take off or land.
    Mighty dear, unless you’re on Karl Rove or Ken Mehlman’s payroll (which seems within the realm of possibility), try to face the facts occasionally. After all, it has to become respectable enough for conservatives to criticize Bush sometimes now that prominent ones like William Buckley, George Will, etc. are doing so.


  33. Clif says:

    No Phinga Bheng but since he is commanding the corps of engineers he is responsiblie for what they did when Katrina hit, including the advice they gave him about the levees, see the media probabnly does not have enough expertise to understand whether an overtopping of the levees would lead to the breaching of the levees but the corps does and could have told bush about this if he was not preoccupied with Johns birthday cake.


  34. wake up and smell the hoses says:

    Wake up! This administration has been about ONE THING and one thing only. The religious right agenda, the wars-for-oil, the subversion of the media, etc …all smokescreens. This administration only took power to do one thing: TO TRANSFER THE PUBLIC WEALTH OF THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD INTO PRIVATE HANDS.
    This admin has been straight-arrow loot-and-pillage on an epic scale. If Guiness had a world record book of crime, this is it, folks, the crime of the millenia. The wealth of the wealthiest country has already been looted, robbed and diverted from public coffers and banked in the accounts of private contractors, armament industries, communication and energy companies, favorite drug companies (what do you think the Medicare change was about?) and private buddy corporations during the last 5 years.
    What’s truly horrifying is is wasn’t just the surplus the admin inherited or revenue from the last 5 years. This deficit will have our kids and grandkids enslaved and endebted throughout their lifetimes. The services designed for their benefit have been and will be cut to fix this ‘money problem.’ That’s a killer coup, eh? Not just to steal the money, but to steal it in such a way that an entire nation will work 2-1/2 lifetimes, with far fewer safety nets, to try and replace it. And then to set up a bunch of new tax cuts for the wealthiest (ie: the beneficiaries of all our public money) that insures they and theirs will never have to be responsible for paying back any of it!
    Period. That’s what all about, the erupting scandals, Bush never vetoeing a bill, that’s why we went to war. It’s all about the money.
    We’ve all been hosed, by leaders who haven’t hesistated to leave 3 generation of American tax payers naked and bleeding on the ground, and 1000s of people dead and bleeding in the sands of the Middle East. (1000s so far. Just watch…this has been too much fun for them, like taking candy from a baby, can’t turn the war milk cow into hamburger yet.)
    It’s too late. We’re all screwed and they’re rich beyond a glutton’s wettest dream. They stole America’s money. We let them. It’s gone.
    Better wake up before the administration finally figures out how to transfer Social Security — the last, vast, untapped oil field of federal and public monies — into the pockets of the brokerage house.


  35. ajr says:

    and less we miss the whole blody point! which is – they were not prepared for ANYTHING! can it be said that they were “fully prepared to offer assistance – blah blah blah…” up until the second that the fucking media said told them that NOLO had “dodged a bullet” – yeah thats it! they were ready for the worst – then thay found out that Fox News (or whomever they are sourcing for the quote) says everything is peachy – then they called back the big reasources. see its the liberal media

    call your reps – tell them to impeach the chimp and jail his handler


  36. ajr says:

    what Skeptic said – #23


  37. Clif says:

    Don’t just impeach the chimp, put the puke back in uniform and tell him to finish his obligation, and by the way tell him that they need dedicated folks for a little problem overseas he might have heard about.


  38. Spudge_Boy says:

    thanks for your response – what would you have had him do while considering the topping (which was underway) and the possible event of a breech??

    mighty aphrodite,

    There are recently released video from August 28, 2005, that shows George W. Bush being fully briefed on the hurricane Katrina situation. Part of that briefing was given by the National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield. Max Mayfield said that the worst part of Katrina would be “storm surge.

    On the same day, the National Hurricane Center sent out advisory Hurricane Katrina that said the “storm surge would cause flooding up to 25 feet with “large and battering waves.”

    The highest levee in New Orleans is 23 feet. That is two feet below the expected 25 feet of water from the “storm surge.” Add on top of that “large and battering waves” and you get some serious “overtopping.”

    The massive amounts of water caused by the flooding and waves caused “subsidence” of the levees. Subsidence means that the vegetation is removed from the levee. Once the vegetation is gone, the ground gives way to the water and the levee is breached. This is what the Katrina inspectors found.

    The Times-Picayune
    January 30, 2006
    Levees must be armored, corps says

    Katrina proved overtopping is the far more serious threat to the metro area, investigators said. Evidence clearly showed overtopping caused the Industrial Canal I-wall collapse that flooded much of the 9th Ward and parts of St. Bernard Parish. Overtopping also was the main cause of the wholesale disintegration of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet levee, which allowed Lake Borgne to rush over much of northern St. Bernard Parish, engineers said.

    Had either system stayed intact while being overtopped, the flooding would have been much reduced, because the storm surge receded below the tops of the levees and flood walls in little more than two hours, records released by the corps show. But when the levees collapsed, the water continued to pour through the breaches for hours until the lake receded to sea level or the hole was filled by the corps.

    Don’t mix words mighty aphrodite. These are the facts. The levees were breached and people knew they would have a pretty damn good idea they were gonna go.

    Bush was told about it and did nothing. He could have been a hero, instead, he is a zero. He did nothing right when it came to Katrina. Nothing and you know it. You type whatever you want here, but you know I am right.

    Bush could have went on national TV and told the people of Lousiana to get the hell outta there. You want to hang that on state and local government? Completely bogus. If the president of the United States of America suddenly showed up on every TV, and took over ever radio station all at once and said “People of New Orleans I behoove you to leave the city in as orderly of a fashion as possible.” people would have listened to him.

    But he didn’t do that. Did you know that on August 28, 2005 after he found out that the levees were 23 feet at their highest, there would be 25 feet of flooding and large battering waves that all had the potential of taking out the levees, Goerge Bush did a radio address?

    There are 12 paragraphs in this address. 3 were spent on hurricane Katrina. So, he only spent 25% of his speech on Katrina. Should have been the only thing he spoke about.

    These are those paragraphs:

    THE PRESIDENT: This morning I spoke with FEMA Undersecretary Mike Brown and emergency management teams not only at the federal level but at the state level about the — Hurricane Katrina. I’ve also spoken to Governor Blanco of Louisiana, Governor Barbour of Mississippi, Governor Bush of Florida, and Governor Riley of Alabama. I want to thank all the folks at the federal level and the state level and the local level who have taken this storm seriously. I appreciate the efforts of the governors to prepare their citizenry for this upcoming storm.

    Yesterday, I signed a disaster declaration for the state of Louisiana, and this morning I signed a disaster declaration for the state of Mississippi. These declarations will allow federal agencies to coordinate all disaster relief efforts with state and local officials. We will do everything in our power to help the people in the communities affected by this storm.

    Hurricane Katrina is now designated a category five hurricane. We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to Gulf Coast communities. I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety of their families first by moving to safe ground. Please listen carefully to instructions provided by state and local officials.

    Guess what Bush spoke about for the other 9 paragraphs. The Iraq Constitution, which still hasn’t been ratified. So, Bush’s Iraq PR campaign was more impotant than saying “Get out.”

    You’ll notice that Bush said listen to Ray Nagin and Katherine Blanco.

    Our little trolls like to say that Katrina was state and local governments fault.

    But, as you can seef from this CNN article ALSO from August 28, 2005. Ray Nagin and Kathleen Blanco had ordered MANDATORY EVACUATIONS.

    NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) — A solemn New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered mandatory evacuations Sunday as his city faced its worst fear — the threat of a direct hit from a major hurricane that could swamp the low-lying city.

    Residents who had delayed their departure — some not quite believing that Katrina could be the storm New Orleans authorities have always called “the Big One” — jammed Interstate 10 westbound, prompting Blanco to urge evacuees to go north.

    This is Bush’s legacy to live with, not the local governments.



  39. Glad, Damn Gald says:

    Spudgy,
    You’re an idiot. From IPETF’s Performance Evaluation Plan and Interim Status Report, Jan 10 2006

    “Observations made at the breaches at the 17th Street Canal and London Avenue Canal North and South show that the most likely cause of breach is due to a soil foundation failure. Extensive observations by a number of teams found no signs of major overtopping of these canals at the breach sites.”


  40. Spudge_Boy says:

    Glad, Damn Gald,

    Hey dipshit.

    What you posted:

    Observations made at the breaches at the 17th Street Canal and London Avenue Canal North and South show that the most likely cause of breach is due to a soil foundation failure.

    What I said:

    “The massive amounts of water caused by the flooding and waves caused “subsidence” of the levees. Subsidence means that the vegetation is removed from the levee. Once the vegetation is gone, the ground gives way to the water and the levee is breached. This is what the Katrina inspectors found.”

    “soil foundation failure” = Subsidence

    You my freind are a moron and made yourself look very foolish trying to outwit somebody that HAS done their homework.

    SLAP!


  41. Spudge_Boy says:

    Oha and let me rip apart your seond sentence too;

    You stupidly wrote:

    “Observations made at the breaches at the 17th Street Canal and London Avenue Canal North and South show that the most likely cause of breach is due to a soil foundation failure. Extensive observations by a number of teams found no signs of major overtopping of these canals at the breach sites.”

    And I wrote:

    Evidence clearly showed overtopping caused the Industrial Canal I-wall collapse that flooded much of the 9th Ward and parts of St. Bernard Parish. Overtopping also was the main cause of the wholesale disintegration of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet levee

    You are sighting a report about a different set of canal walls. Idiot.


  42. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    Spudgy,
    Nagin order for mandatory evacuation was less than 24 hours from Katrina’s landfall. That was a little late don’t you think? Doesn’t the emergency evacuation plan call for 40 to 50 hours in advance?
    Jefferson and St Bernard Parishes – 50 hours in advance
    New Orleans south of Mississippi River – 40 hours in advance


  43. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    Yes, I was citing the report concerning levees surrounding New Orleans. You were talking about the levees that protect St Bernard Parish.


  44. Spudge_Boy says:

    Doesn’t the emergency evacuation plan call for 40 to 50 hours in advance?

    Not according to the City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan

    I. GENERAL

    Evacuation planning and actual implementation has to be based upon certain assumptions. It must be understood that the need to evacuate elements of the population can occur at any time, events resulting in evacuations occur with various amounts of lead time and every evacuation will be unique and offer unexpected challenges to those conducting the evacuation. Evacuations in response to hazardous material spills or sudden severe weather are provided with little or no warning, and often have to be accomplished after the fact, and in a disaster response environment. Throughout the Parish persons with special needs, require special consideration regarding notification, transportation, and sheltering. Resources of equipment, facilities and personnel are more difficult to locate and coordinate when an evacuation is required during late night or early morning hours. If possible, advance warning should be given so an evacuation can be coordinated. Adequate provisions should be maintained at all times in order to conduct a warning or alert of an area.

    Certain hazards, such as a hurricane, provide some lead time for coordinating an evacuation. However, this can not be considered a certainty. Plus, the sheer size of an evacuation in response to an approaching hurricane creates the need for the use of community-wide warning resources, which cannot be limited to our City’s geographical boundaries. Evacuation of major portions of our population, either in response to localized or citywide disasters, can only be accomplished if the citizens and visitors are kept informed of approaching threats on a timely schedule, and if they are notified of the need to evacuate in a timely and organized manner. If an evacuation order is issued without the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area impacted by toxic materials.

    In this day of high-speed communication and wide-spread availability of information, mechanisms do exist to transmit emergency related information to the vast majority of the community. For our most serious threat, hurricanes, information from the National Hurricane Center in Miami and our local office of the National Weather Service, can reach the general population through local governments and mass media outlets. It is the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Preparedness to guarantee that not only is the public alerted, but that other emergency response organizations and personnel are alert and in position to meet the real or potential threat.

    Warning for an emergency requires notification at two levels: notification of public officials and response organizations and the warning of the general public. The mechanisms chosen to accomplish these critical events must be rapid in execution and comprehensive in application. This annex outlines the procedures which will be implemented for notifying the emergency response network of its activation, and of informing the general public of the potential or actual occurrence of life threatening events and hazards.

    The extent and methods of warnings issued will be determined by the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and are based upon the geographic area impacted. When events necessitate the immediate evacuation of threatened individuals, these decisions may be made by the on scene Incident Commander. Decisions affecting larger geographic areas will be made by the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness in conjunction with the Superintendent of Fire and Superintendent of Police.

    General evacuations that may result from an approaching hurricane will be ordered by the Mayor of the City, upon the recommendation of the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness. The area affected by the warning may range from blocks and portions of neighborhoods, to the entire city.

    Nope nothing about 40-50 hours. And you will also notice that a General evacuation is to be “ordered by the Mayor of the City, upon the recommendation of the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness.” Nagin ain’t the guy. Good try.

    Next!


  45. Spudge_Boy says:

    Yes, I was citing the report concerning levees surrounding New Orleans. You were talking about the levees that protect St Bernard Parish.

    Wrong again. I wasn’t talking about anything. That was a quote fromt he Katrina inspectors. And I wasn’t just talking abou the levees near St. Bernard Parish. I had also sited the 9th Ward levees. St. Bernard Parish and the 9th Ward are in New Orleans proper.

    It is like saying “The Upper East Side” or the Lower West Side.” Both places are still in Manhattan.


  46. Lydia says:

    Yep, saw that today. Had to laugh when Scotty Potty kept repeating that the Prez got involved to lift people’s spirits before the hurricane made land. Cripes.


  47. Amanda says:

    #30 – mighty aphrodite,

    This post deals less with what Bush didn’t do than the fact that McClellan and the White House, once again, are telling flat-out lies. Why won’t they just tell the truth?


  48. katy says:

    Harper’s Magazine discussion/forum on IMPEACHMENT
    Sam Seder is moderator
    c-span 2 on NOW


  49. WaltTheMan says:

    Spudge_Boy,
    Calm down! If you don’t you’ll explode and at the rate that Vet benefits are being closed down, you will be left to rot in the street.
    This admin has no Vets and is trying to (please excuse me but I can’t think of a milder word) rape America for everything it can. Except for Nana, who arrived in 1872, all of my forebears arrived prior to 1825, going back to 1673. Grand daughter’s forebears go back a bit further as her maternal grandmother is Hopi.


  50. Spudge_Boy says:

    Oh I’m good WaltTheMan, that was actually a lot of fun. I love putting the smack down on the trolls. I like it best when I can kill ‘em with facts.

    I agree. How can America expect anything but failure in Iraq. These jokers have no military experieince at all. They have advisors, but we know they don’t listen to them.


  51. WaltTheMan says:

    #51 – Spudge_Boy,
    I had just noticed that you had started to run/split words in #46. Not your usual style. Was concerned about you blowing a vessel.


  52. ajr says:

    right on spudge – i got a kick out of your virtual ass whipping of a tool of disinformation. the house that corrupt corporations built is imploding.
    Impeach the silver spoon frat boy (apologies to all silver spoon frat boys – you deserve better) and put the dungeon master behind bars.


  53. Clif says:

    #53 Better yet put him in AF nat guard blues and make him the last one out of Iraq(he can walk)


  54. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    Sudgy is making it up in it’s response to the mighty aphrodite,
    “The highest levee in New Orleans is 23 feet. That is two feet below the expected 25 feet of water from the “storm surge.” Add on top of that “large and battering waves” and you get some serious “overtopping.” This is someone getting ready to explain that it was the overtopping is what lead to levee failure, when it was actually a combination of things. Levee topping was happening all over 100’s of miles of levee systems. If this alone was the reason for levee failures you would have had massive breaching and segment collapses. Didn’t happen. It was much more complex Spudgy, read my cited report.

    “The massive amounts of water caused by the flooding and waves caused “subsidence” of the levees.”
    This is not what is described in the report that I cited. Inpsectors describe structural, material imperfecions and design failures as the reasons for the levee failures. Read the report Spudgy.
    “Subsidence means that the vegetation is removed from the levee. Once the vegetation is gone, the ground gives way to the water and the levee is breached. This is what the Katrina inspectors found.”

    Actually this not what the inpectors found. They have found that levees designed for no more than Cat 3 held up pretty well against a Cat 5 storm. There should have been more failures. In fact your simple subsidence due to overtopping explanation is not described in the report as being the cause. Although they haven’t made any conclusions, (this is phase one – the next phase the team will be testing their findings with computer modeling), they think that in addition to the expected, but not completely predictable levee failures, that levee failures were occuring where two levee segments with different heights met causing an imbalance in the way the levee performs unuder stress greater than it was designed to handle.

    Bush asked the people to get out. It was the first thing he said in his address for christ’s sakes. The first thing in an announcement is there for a reason. It’s the most important. It’s urgent. He didn’t save it for the middle or the end. Blanko and Nagin had the resources (Bush assigned 10,000 national guard when he made his radio address, and Blanko proudly announced in press conference that 7,000 of them were in “her command”. The City had a plan. Nagin’s evacuation announcement should have come at the maximum prescribed by the City’s plan – 72 hours. The evacuation of the gulf region should have been carried out as prescribed by the State Emergency Evac Plan. In phases, the southern most portion of the state (the coast and St Bernard) 50 hours before landfall, the next region (New Orleans 40 hours before, etc.

    Look it up Spudgy. I will gladly provide my sources, you know I got them, but I’d be dissapointed in you Spudgy if couldn’t find them yourself.


  55. Blackside says:

    Yes yes Ray Nagin and Blanco are at fault for not getting the pepole out of harms way…but the federal response was criminal! As evidenced by the video…I dogged brownie on my blog but I have to put up an apology because he was at least concerned and did try! I still feel he was not the guy for the job but I feel the same way about most of the Crooks in this mis-administration…How DO these people sleep at all shrub or any of his supporters?!


  56. ajr says:

    Glad, Darn Glad,

    So it would seem from your writting that you place no blame on the federal govt. for this?

    simple y/n.


  57. ajr says:

    Glad, Darn Glad,

    So it would seem from your writing that you place no blame on the federal govt. for this?

    simple y/n will suffice.


  58. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    The federal govt definitely shares the blame, but no one person or agency should be singled out for the levees not providing 100% protection in conditions they weren’t designed for. No one is to blame for not being able to predict which levees would fail. I’m surprised that the damage to the levee system wasn’t more catastrophic.


  59. Clif says:

    GDG given all you have posted and the fact that GWB was warned about the possible severity of the Hurricane where should have GWB gone to; DC to coordinate there, stay in crawford to coordinate there or John McCain’s in Arizona?


  60. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    Clif,
    Coordinate what? That was Brown’s role at FEMA along with the Corps and the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness, at least it should have been. Besides, with today’s (make that yesterday’s) communications technology the president doesn’t have to physically be present to give executive orders. Since when has the president’s role been coordinator of federal response to hurricanes?


  61. Spudge_Boy says:

    Glad, Dick, Glad,

    You have already been given the proof that Bush is a dumbass. I am not going to keep proving the same thing to you. You have already been bitch slapped and your current line of unreason will not change if I continue posting more facts. You will remain a retard. Have a good one retard.

    You are trying to argue about how the levees broke. The point is that Bush knew they would not hold up to this kind of storm, but decided to spend time talking about an Iraqi Constitution, that is still not ratified, have cake with McCain and play guitar in San Diego, instead of warning the people of LA, AL and MS.

    You go ahead and beleive whatever you want, bu the majority of Americans are not apologizing for Bush the way you are.

    Bush failed the Gulf Coast States. Plain and simple.


  62. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    Just admit that your were wrong Spudgy and move on. The fact that you had to come back here and call me names proves that you didn’t read the report. Once again:
    Performance Evaluation Plan and Interim Status, Report 1 of a Series, Performance Evaluation of the New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana Protection System, by the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET), Jan 10, 2006. But I’m sure it’s too technical for your pea brain. It’s so much easier to call me retard isn’t it?


  63. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    And Spudgy you might want to correct your so-called “facts” that were really just uniformed supreme b.s.

    “Subsidence means that the vegetation is removed from the levee.”
    No where in the report does it describe this. The soil foundation failures did not occur because of waves removing vegetation. You made up, therefore not a fact.

    And this is great, you said:
    “Evidence clearly showed overtopping caused the Industrial Canal I-wall collapse that flooded much of the 9th Ward and parts of St. Bernard Parish. Overtopping also was the main cause of the wholesale disintegration of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet levee.”

    But later on you claim you didn’t say it:
    “I wasn’t talking about anything. That was a quote fromt he Katrina inspectors. And I wasn’t just talking abou the levees near St. Bernard Parish.”
    No, that was indeed your quote. That was not a quote from an inspector. Besides, you were completely wrong again. The IPET has not found that overtopping, although it was occuring, was solely responsible for the failures.

    “You are sighting a report about a different set of canal walls. Idiot.”
    Wrong again, the report I cited does indeed discuss the Industrial Canal and the Mississippi Gulf outlet. Vegetation removal was not a factor in these levee failures.

    In response to my question
    Doesn’t the emergency evacuation plan call for 40 to 50 hours in advance?

    “Nope nothing about 40-50 hours. And you will also notice that a General evacuation is to be “ordered by the Mayor of the City, upon the recommendation of the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness.” Nagin ain’t the guy. Good try.
    But you weren’t aware of the State Emergency Evacuation Plan were you. It very clearly prescribes the phased evacuation just as I explained. And Nagin would be the guy to order the evacuation since he is the mayor. What were you thinking? Nagin knew Katrina was a Cat 5 but he wouldn’t do anything until the Director said so? How is Bush responsible for this F’up?

    Looking forward to bitch slappin you again Spudgy.


  64. Spudge_Boy says:

    Fvck you, dumbass. I laid out the facts. Bush knew and didn’t do anything about it. You agreed with what I said. The report you keep talking about agrees with me. You are just too stupid to realize it. So, keep on posting your drivel and making apologies for Bush. It doesn’t mean you are right. Especially when what you are siting agrees with me. You are an idiot.

    How is Bush responsible for this F’up?

    Read post #38. All the facts are there and your report backs me up dumb fvck.


  65. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    Your “facts” have been debunked. Nothing you’ve said agrees with the report I cited. You haven’t read it. I laid it all out for you. Does name calling make you feel better? It doesn’t bother me. It’s obvious that your completely unhinged and have lost all ability to think rationally. I’m rather enjoying slappin you down again and again and again. I think an apology and a correction would be the right thing to do, don’t you Spudgy? Something like this, “I was wrong GDG, thanks for the tip about the IPET report that I had no f’ing clue even existed. Next time I’ll check my facts before I call you a retard.”

    I’m settin you up, pal. Are you ready for the knockout punch?


  66. Spudge_Boy says:

    Go for it bitch. Let’s see your knock out. I posted nothing but facts that prove Bush knew the levees would break. You posted a report that backs ME up asswipe. Let’s see your knock out punch. I am unhinged. Unhinged that people as dumb as you are still left in this country. You are a moron apologist. You are welcome to join your leader in hell, because that is where you fuckers are headed. Say hi to Hilter and Jeffery Dauhmer while your there.


  67. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    Gov Blanko, Aug 26
    “In response to the situation I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on August 26, 2005 in accordance with Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. A State of Emergency has been issued for the State in order to support the evacuations of the coastal areas in accordance with our State Evacuation Plan and the remainder of the state to support the State Special Needs and Sheltering Plan.”

    Ah Spudgy, there’s that pesky State Emergency Plan that you weren’t aware of. Feeling a little stupid?


  68. Spudge_Boy says:

    What the fvck are you talking about I knew that. We were talking about Ray Nagin. I agree 100% that Blanco call for an evacuation also and earlier.

    Would you quit arguing my side of the arguement here. You are supposed to be proving to me that the State and Local Government fvcked up. Now you have posted a link to a story backing up my assertion that they didn’t.

    Are you for local and state and against federal or are you against state and local and are for federal. Make up your god damn mind you lunatic.


  69. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    I hate to gloat Spudgy, but…

    http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9613133

    WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 — It was Gov. Blanco’s first big disaster — and less than 48 hours before Katrina hit, she reassured the state.

    “I believe we are prepared,” she said in Jefferson Parish on Aug. 27. “That’s the one thing that I’ve always been able to brag about.”

    Though experts had warned it would take 48 hours to evacuate New Orleans, Blanco did not order a mandatory evacuation that Saturday. Remember what’s prescribed in the State Emergency Evacuation Plan? Oh, that’s right. You didn’t know about it. Feeling stupid yet?

    “We’re going to pray that the impact will soften,” she said.

    Blanco and the mayor waited until Sunday, Aug. 28 — only 20 hours before Katrina came ashore — to order a mandatory evacuation, the first of what disaster experts and Louisiana insiders say were serious mistakes by the governor.


  70. Spudge_Boy says:

    Did your knock out punch hit you in the chin?


  71. Glad, Damn Glad says:

    You’re going to have to wait…I’m settin you up buddy ;)


  72. Spudge_Boy says:

    Well, you set me up real good with the last one. Hurt much “buddy”

    You must be a paid troll (and not a very good one) to spend this much time proving me right.

    Thanks, “buddy”

    Isn’t there something on Fox “News” you should be watching?


  73. Spudge_Boy says:

    If you can give me info that shows that Bush did everything in his power to help the people of LA, AL and MS after hurricane Katrina, you will have “got” me. But considering that you keeping making my point. I am not antisipating much.


  74. Spudge_Boy says:

    Okay, since we agree on Katrina, here is another one we can agree on.

    BBC
    March 7, 2006
    Moussaoui ‘hid 9/11 plot details’
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4782524.stm

    Prosecutors in the sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui’s say he conformed to al-Qaeda training by not revealing details of the 11 September plot.

    On the second day of Moussaoui’s trial, government lawyers sought to prove that he deliberately kept silent and is responsible for nearly 3,000 deaths.

    Don’t you think we need to kill this bastard? I am all for it. But, unlike the liberal you want me to be, I think we should torture him to death.

    You see, you have me mistaken for a Democrat or a liberal. I am neither. I am me.

    I joined the military under George H. W Bush to fight in Desert Storm.

    I just cannot begin to beleive that people would back an idiot like George W. Bush. He is an imbecile. If you looked into the facts, you would see that, but you choose to get your “news” from Fox.

    You need to get out more. I highly recommend getting some pen pals from other nations. I am the International Marketing Manger for a global technology company and I get e-mails daily form people around the globe. They think our president is insane.


  75. David says:

    Slavery wasn’t abolished, the Repugs just changed the name to Welfare and blamed it on the Democrats. Now Bushco wants to take away the money too. Actually the disparity between the two(Iraqis and African Americans) is not too difficult to understand: the Iraqis here in the US voted for the Government backed by Bush while the African Americans usually vote Democratic. Even Queen George figured that one out. As in the last three elections,”If they don’t vote then we don’t have to rig that precinct.”


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