On Third Anniversary Of Katrina, Officials Aren’t Confident New Orleans’ Levees Can ‘Handle’ Gustav
On Third Anniversary Of Katrina, Officials Aren’t Confident New Orleans’ Levees Can ‘Handle’ Gustav
Three years ago today, Hurricane Katrina made landfall upon New Orleans. The storm was tragically followed by an abysmal disaster response from the Bush administration and ultimately took the lives of nearly a thousand of the city’s residents.
Last week, President Bush appeared in New Orleans to say that “hope is coming back” to the city, due to $126 billion in disaster aid sent to the region in the last three years. As the Progress Report notes today, there is still mountains of work to be done, including “significant debris management issues,” a clean-up fraught with environmental issues, and vacant homes.
Today, Tropical Storm Gustav “threatens to become a hurricane and poses the biggest threat to New Orleans since the killer 2005 storm,” the AP reports. In an interview with CNN yesterday, Mayor Ray Nagin expressed concern about the sturdiness of the city’s levee system:
Well we are ready to evacuate. The big question is, which shape are our levees in. For all the work that the corps of engineers has done, is it going to be sufficient enough to handle what is projected to be a category 3 that right now is poised and pointed towards New Orleans?
Watch it:
In a press conference yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told residents, “Don’t try to rely upon the fact that the levees are stronger than they were in Katrina to assume that that’s going to necessarily protect you from harm.”
ThinkProgress assembled a timeline of the administration’s failure to respond to Hurricane Katrina. See the timeline here.
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The chickens come home to roost…
August 29th, 2008 at 8:36 pm3 Years to get their collective shit together and they still ‘don’t know’. This is the mantra of BushCo and the entire Repug gang of assklowns.
I would be SOOOO f’ing ashamed if I called myslef a Repug. They haven’t gotten anything right in 8 years.
August 29th, 2008 at 8:38 pmHere is some additional background information about the Bush Flood of New Orleans, which I penned about three years ago:
The Bush flooding of New Orleans: an unnatural disaster.
To the Editor:
“We don’t care, we don’t care” was the chant of pro-war, pro-Bush hecklers across the street from the Camp Casey peace vigil in Crawford, Texas in late August, 2005. This “we don’t care” chant pretty much sums up the attitude of the Bush Syndicate (B. S.) towards the rest of us in America. Actually, Bush, Cheney and the rest of this idiotic neo-con government believes that the only true function of the federal government is to create private money-making opportunities for themselves, their friends, and their corporate contributors. Any activity other than waging aggressive war to steal and colonize other countries’ natural resources falls into the category of “we don’t care.”
The Bush flood of New Orleans happened after the massive Hurricane Katrina had passed the city. It was both predictable and preventable. The Bush flood and the slow-as-molasses-in-January Bush response to it has ripped off the facade of the inept Bush Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its subsidiary, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The upper echelons of both of these massive federal bureaucracies have been staffed by incompetent and uncaring Bush buddies, cronies, hacks, frat brothers, former roommates, horse attorneys, contributors and other miscellaneous nincompoops. In making his appointments to the executive management of DHS and FEMA, Bush gave little if any thought to their actual qualifications in the field of emergency management.
Over the last several years, Bush and the GOP-controlled House and Senate have poured over one hundred billion tax dollars into “Homeland Security.” What did we get as the federal response to Hurricane Katrina? We got homeland stupidity. After the massive flooding of New Orleans, which initially covered about eighty percent of the city, thousands of residents were herded to the Superdome where they denied water, food, medicine, bedding, toilet facilities and police protection for several long days, meanwhile the Bush gang partied and carried on with their “business as usual” and “let them eat cake” imperial attitudes. George strummed his guitar, raised campaign funds, cut cake with Senator McCain, while Connie Rice did her Imelda Marcos imitation, shopping for expensive shoes in New York City before going to a Broadway play, while Cheney first went on vacation, fishing in Wyoming and then mansion shopping in Maryland, and Rumsfeld went to a professional ball game.
In the first several days of the flooding of New Orleans cable news reporters had to point out the severity of the suffering of thousands of people in the Superdome to the heads of FEMA and DHS. These two had apparently followed the lead of the ever-clueless Bush by not watching the unfolding disaster being revealed on television.
The searing images of human suffering that were shown on television in the first several days after the flooding of New Orleans showed thousands of poor people herded into the Louisiana Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center without any water, any food, any medicines, any toilet facilities, any bedding or any police protection.
The conduct of the inept corrupt Bush regime in this unnatural disaster (the Bush flood and the slow spastic Bush response of flood relief) is nothing short of criminal. Since the illegitimate Bush regime came to power in January 2001, they have allowed and encouraged massive developments in the natural low-lying wetlands around New Orleans. The presence of these wetlands traditionally helped to protect New Orleans from the storm surges which accompany hurricanes.
The first actions of FEMA after Hurricane Katrina and Flood Bush struck New Orleans was to try to stop almost all of the volunteer, state and federal help from coming into the disaster area. FEMA blocked volunteer help from WalMart, the Coast Guard, the Red Cross, AMTRAK, hundreds of airboats from Florida, the City of Chicago emergency teams, Loudoun County (Virginia) sheriffs, the Nevada police, the New Mexico National Guard, fire-fighting planes from the U. S. Forest Service and even the U. S. Bataan, a hospital ship stationed in the Gulf of Mexico. FEMA also stopped or ignored offers of help from foreign countries including Canada, Cuba and Venezuela, over twenty European counties and Asian countries including Iran and India.
One supposes that volunteer help and aid undercuts the Bush Syndicates system of private corporations making bags of money off of the Bush war on Iraq and the Bush expedited flooding of New Orleans.
It is troubling to see many no-bid federal contracts being given to large corporations for reconstruction along the Gulf Coast. The terms of “no-bid contracts” mean that the corporations get to charge their profits as a percentage of costs incurred, so there is no incentive to be thrifty; in fact, it is the opposite, the more money that the corporate contractor spends on construction, the higher their corporate profits. Add to this the fact that Bush just signed an executive order that suspended the traditional requirement that federal contractors must pay labor the prevailing wages, instead the federal contractors can now pay workers as little as minimum wage. So the folks who are the poorest, get kicked again by Bush. He kicks ‘em again when they’re down.
New Orleans should be rebuilt on a cooperative local basis. Habitat for Humanity should be the model used for the reconstruction of the many flood-damaged homes in New Orleans. As many physically-able local residents as possible should be employed in the reconstruction of their neighborhoods.
Yours truly,
James K. Sayre
11 September 2005
End.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:21 pmIn a press conference yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told residents, “Don’t try to rely upon the fact that the levees are stronger than they were in Katrina to assume that that’s going to necessarily protect you from harm.”
But you’re not going to suggest that anyone get out now, while there’s still time, are you? Are you suggesting everyone should just stay put? Help us out here, Mikey.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:42 pmWell written James.
I deeply apologize if I offend anyone with the question I am about to ask. Please, I am not trying to start any fights or belittle anyone. I was just interested to see what kind of response it would receive.
If my home and everything I owned were leveled on an almost annual basis, wouldn’t it be a good idea for me to find a less volatile place to call home? I mean, does that matter less when you’re in such a beautiful region or something?
I’ve heard it’s an exquisite place, but still. Somehow, rebuilding on nature’s railroad tracks seems to be asking for trouble.
I wish you the best if you lost anyone in Katrina.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:43 pme_to_the_p,
I live in the NE, so perhaps I am the wrong one to answer. I guess people rebuild there for the same reasons people rebuild in Tornado Alley, or along the Mississippi River, where flooding can and does occur. If you own the land, it’s your home. And if you grew up there, it’s a connection to your family and its history. And, as is probably the case for most of these people, if you don’t have the money to move (because moving can be very expensive), you don’t consider moving.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:03 pmE2TP@5
Some people dont see it the same way as you do.
I wish the best to anyone that may be in harms way.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:04 pmExcellent writing, Mr. Sayre. Well done.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:06 pmWAS@6
My understanding Wayne is that you get some pretty wierd and severe weather up in your parts, so I think you have room to talk, and I think you said it perfectly.
Cheers
August 29th, 2008 at 10:09 pmThanks, RandomChaos,
Other than the occasional severe blizzard, the weird weather we’ve been getting lately has been a fairly recent phenomenon. We used to rarely, if ever, get tornadoes in this part fo the country. Now we get warnings about them all through the summer. It’s not as bad as it is in the Midwest, and nowhere near as frequent, but it’s a lot worse than it was when I was growing up.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:15 pmThe good news is that there is a new Gov down there!! The old one and the Mayor were the ones responsible for the mess last time!
August 29th, 2008 at 10:37 pmJacka$$Kerry spewed:
Cleanup on isle JK
Its call FEDERAL EMERGANCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY. I dont recall that there are ANY governors or mayors running that agency.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:43 pmGooper
So, John Kerry,
August 29th, 2008 at 10:45 pmThey do not have to worry about hurricanes any longer? Did they elect God and Jesus?
Criminal negligence–multiple counts
August 29th, 2008 at 11:05 pmIts a sign from GOD. Republicans suck.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:09 pmLet’s see who was on vacation as Katrina spun in the Gulf of Mexico?
It turns out the big dogs were on vacation for Katrina, George Bush, Andrew Card, Condi Rice, and Fran Townsend. The man in charge was Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin, at least Scotty McClellan said so.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Joe Hagin has been very involved in it, and Joe Hagin updated the President earlier this morning on the latest in terms of the assessments that are being made and the response efforts. We have search and rescue teams deployed. We have ongoing efforts to make sure assistance is getting to those in need.
But in terms of the White House interagency task force, that’s being led by our domestic policy council. And in terms of — you know, Joe Hagin has really been a point person in terms of overseeing efforts from the White House.
For anyone interested in Homeland Security Adviser, Fran Townsend’s antics that week, click on the link below:
http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 04/ open-sourcing-unscathed-fran.html
August 29th, 2008 at 11:34 pmThey are going to do a mandatory evac this time.
Maybe our childrens is learnin.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:38 pmI have been watching the NOAA pics and frankly I dont see a Katrina, lets hope.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:58 pmBush&co used the shock that afflicted the victims of N.O. for their personal gain. This was a disaster that - while it could have been prevented - was a gift from the heavens to Bush&CO and their corporate donors. While the residents are stranded, dying, helpless, use that time to let things go unattended, people will either die or move away, eventually, and that will leave the land available for development into commercial interprises that will bring in millions if not billions of dollars to corporate bank accounts. Hire private contractors to help raze the buildings and clear the mess, eventually, but don’t give the residents support to rebuild themselves - hire it out - for corporate profit, at cost/ plus.
It’s like what they did in Iraq - while the people are still stumbling around in shock and incomprehension, they set their forces in place to take it over. It’s all about profit.
Where were Bush and McCain when NO was dying? They were sharing McCain’s birthday cake. No urgency there; only poor and/or black people were suffering. Bush brought his own generators and Kleig lights for his visit there days later - the only lights in the city - and when he left, he took the equipment with him.
Kanye West was right, Bushies don’t care about black people - and it isn’t like they didn’t know of their plight - they really didn’t care.
Barbara Bush - the mother who raised a pack of weasels - thought the stranded survivors living in the dome had it pretty good.
I hope that someone will chase them to McCain’s gates of hell.
August 30th, 2008 at 12:16 amIt’s an election year, folks - Bush will make an attempt to save at least the part of the city that can make a campaign donation.
August 30th, 2008 at 12:17 amThe levees and the rebuilt flood walls are still flawed because whatever the Corp Of Army Engineers rebuilt were rebuilt to only sustain catergory 3 hurricanes. Under congress approval that was part of the origina; deal and it still is today. In order for the levee’s and flood walls to be rebuilt to sustain catergory 4 or 5 hurricanes, the Corp would have to go thru more red tape plus it would be more expensive. So in other words, spending billions and billions of dollars to bomb and rebuild Iraq is fine, spending billions of dollars to correctly and safely rebuild the levee’s in New Orleans is too expensive. What a country we live in. Some how I think if New Orleans was populated by Wallstreet types our government would have built a glass dome lined with gold around New Orleans.
August 30th, 2008 at 1:57 amWhat I find incredible is that there is still “debris” in New Orleans. Surely the government would have done the work necessary to clean up after the last storm. It’s only been three years. I understand that rebuilding could take some time, but how long does it take to remove all the destroyed homes?
August 30th, 2008 at 3:51 amJK, you ignorant troll, Bush was more interested in his own photo-ops with John McCain and later his administration was more interested in shifting blame to Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin, because it knew that ignorant trolls like you would gobble it up.
August 30th, 2008 at 4:30 amAs per information just received, whether you live on the Gulf or up in Maine or California, you might just want to top off your cars gas tank and keep some extra food around. Why? A couple of reasons. Gustave will be a cat 3 or 4 storm by the time it his the Louisiana / Texas border where all of the oil refineries are located. If this happens, gas and oil are going to go through the roof and the Bush’s and Clintons know this. Perhpas that is why they got their hands on an illegal 18 billion yesterday and went long oil futures so they could clean up financially. If this storm is as bad as people say it is going to be, if there is a severe shortage of fuel, remember that most food is transported by trucks. At best, the US has only a three day supply of both food and fuel at any one time. For further information on what the Bush’s and Clintons are up to ( an believe me it isn’t looking out for us ) read todays update at http://www.worldreports.org
August 30th, 2008 at 12:28 pmAnd here I was just assuming all along that Michael Moore was a Bill Maher style atheist.
“I was just thinking, this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven,” Moore said, laughing. “To have it planned at the same time – that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for day one of the Republican Convention, up in the Twin Cities – at the top of the Mississippi River.”
Natural disasters are pretty damn funny, alrighty.
August 30th, 2008 at 1:19 pmGustav is now a Category 4 storm with 145 mile and hour winds. I don’t wish that on anyone…
August 30th, 2008 at 1:43 pmThank you to earlier commenters for the kind words. Next week, America will be threatened by two hurricanes, the natural one, named Gaustav, coming ashore from the Gulf of Mexico, and the unnatural one, the Republican attack, smear and lie machine, blowing hard out of a Minnesota location (partially disclosed). Batten down the hatches!
August 30th, 2008 at 1:49 pm