September 09, 2005
Katrina's Damage Just Outside New Orleans
The hurricane went after the middle-class and wealthy too.
Posted by Mark at 07:16 PM | Comments (0)
September 03, 2005
Give To The Red Cross And Help Victims Of Hurricane Katrina And Others Around The World
Posted by Mark at 04:21 PM | Comments (0)
Google Maps And Google Earth Update Updated To Reflect New Orleans Post-Katrina
Maps.Google.com (note the "Katrina" button) and Google Earth now show the devastation in New Orleans.
Posted by Mark at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)
September 02, 2005
Hurricane or Terrorism. There Is No Plan ... To Act
Hurricane Katrina, in its strike on New Orleans, has proven - convincingly - that the US is in no way prepared for a terrorist strike on its soil.
It doesn't help that our leadership - for the second time in a row, the first being on 9/11 - just isn't serious:
George W. Bush As Hurricane Katrina Arrives In New Orleans
New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina
Actually, we have a plan. Turns out FEMA ran a five-day exercise in preparation for just such a disaster (or "attack" if you prefer):
Release Date: July 23, 2004 Release number: R6-04-093BATON ROUGE, La. -- Hurricane Pam brought sustained winds of 120 mph, up to 20 inches of rain in parts of southeast Louisiana and storm surge that topped levees in the New Orleans area. More than one million residents evacuated and Hurricane Pam destroyed 500,000-600,000 buildings. Emergency officials from 50 parish, state, federal and volunteer organizations faced this scenario during a five-day exercise held this week at the State Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge.
The exercise used realistic weather and damage information developed by the National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the LSU Hurricane Center and other state and federal agencies to help officials develop joint response plans for a catastrophic hurricane in Louisiana.
"We made great progress this week in our preparedness efforts," said Ron Castleman, FEMA Regional Director. "Disaster response teams developed action plans in critical areas such as search and rescue, medical care, sheltering, temporary housing, school restoration and debris management. These plans are essential for quick response to a hurricane but will also help in other emergencies."
"Hurricane planning in Louisiana will continue," said Colonel Michael L. Brown, Deputy Director for Emergency Preparedness, Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. "Over the next 60 days, we will polish the action plans developed during the Hurricane Pam exercise. We have also determined where to focus our efforts in the future."
So there you have it. A plan. Now, why was nothing done about it? Reminds me of the 9/11 Commission's Report: deja vu all over again.
Posted by Mark at 07:01 AM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2005
San Diego Shows Its (Admirable) Character In Wake Of Katrina
Local Red Cross Workers Head To Gulf Coast
Dozens of San Diego-based relief workers headed Thursday for the Gulf Coast, where thousands are feared dead and millions have been left without vital services in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the American Red Cross is preparing to send hundreds of relief workers from across the country to the devastated areas, including the San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter," the organization said.
Nine trained Red Cross volunteers from San Diego have been deployed to assist in the relief operation, said Gayle Falkenthal of the organization's local chapter.
Three are in Florida, three in Baton Rouge, La., two are in Houston awaiting assignments, and another person is in Washington, D.C., helping to manage food distribution operations, Falkenthal said.
The Red Cross considers the hurricane volunteers' efforts a "hardship" assignment due to the lack of water, power and the extreme heat in many affected areas, according to Falkenthal.
They will be housed and fed in Red Cross shelters.
The San Diego Red Cross chapter is also taking part in the nationwide "Response Call Network," at (866) GET-INFO. Local volunteer call center operators began taking calls on 10 incoming phone lines Tuesday, according to Falkenthal.
About 1,500 calls were received on the first day including inquiries about the welfare of family members, requests for lifesaving assistance and offers by the public to help with donations, according to the Red Cross.
An 80-member team of emergency-services specialists from various government agencies in the San Diego area set off for Mississippi Wednesday in a fleet of buses and trucks, hauling tons of search-and-rescue equipment with them.
"It's a mammoth undertaking," Maurice Luque, a public information officer for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, said Wednesday. "There hasn't been an activation of this size since 9/11."
The contingent is part of the regional Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 8, one of 28 such teams in the nation, eight based in California. All of them are deploying in communities devastated by Katrina.
"It's the first time that's ever happened," Luque noted.
The local personnel -- including firefighters, medical technicians, hazardous-materials handlers and structural engineers -- left in the early evening for Hattiesburg, Miss., aboard passenger coaches and three flatbeds.
With them were three scenting dogs and a cargo of generators, excavators, jackhammers, pry bars, heavy-duty saws, tents, sleeping bags and other equipment, as well as food and water to last about three days.
The emergency workers -- from agencies in Chula Vista, El Cajon, La Mesa, Oceanside, Riverside and San Diego -- were expected to reach the disaster zone in about 30 hours.
The local chapters of the Red Cross and the Salvation Army continued, meanwhile, to collect financial contributions to assist hurricane victims.
The civic groups collected about $150,000 in local donations Wednesday.
The American Red Cross is accepting financial gifts through its Disaster Relief Fund, which helps the organization provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need, according to Falkenthal.
San Diegans can donate money by calling (800) HELP-NOW, (800) 257-7575, or online at Red Cross.
Posted by Mark at 06:18 AM | Comments (0)
New Orleans Shows Its Character In Wake Of Katrina
New Orleans evacuation delayed by shooting, chaos
By Jason Reed
Authorities suspended an evacuation of New Orleans on Thursday after a reported shooting at a U.S. military helicopter and President George W. Bush urged "zero tolerance" for lawlessness in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Thousands of people died after the storm devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu (news, bio, voting record) said.
In New Orleans, shell-shocked officials tried to regain control of the historic jazz city reduced to ruin by Monday's storm.
The helicopter incident was just part of the chaos that prompted New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to order police to drop rescue operations to fight looting and other crime that gripped the city. A National Guard soldier was shot and wounded on Wednesday in the Superdome arena housing thousands of refugees in increasingly squalid conditions.
An angry Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco told reporters: "We will do what it takes to bring law and order to our area."
"I'm just furious. It's intolerable," she said.
A National Guard official said on Thursday as many as 60,000 people had gathered at the Superdome for evacuation.
Bush condemned the rampant looting after the storm and warned against charging artificially high prices for gasoline.
"I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this, whether it be looting, or price-gouging at the gasoline pump or taking advantage of charitable giving, or insurance fraud," Bush said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."
As more National Guard and Army troops headed into the region to help with relief efforts, thousands of people waited hours or waded through floodwaters to catch rides out of New Orleans, one of the world's most famous tourist destinations and the birthplace of jazz.
Storm survivors in the Superdome scrambled to get out of the city, clambering onto 300 buses that shipped them 350 miles
west to another stadium, the Astrodome in Houston.
The first refugees began arriving early on Thursday at the Houston stadium, where Red Cross workers set out thousands of cots and "comfort kits" that included toiletries and a meal.
HELICOPTER SHOOTING
But the operation was put on hold when shots were fired at Chinook military helicopters being used to transport the evacuees, a local official said in Texas.
"We were told they are shooting at Chinook helicopters and the operation has been put on hold until daylight," said Gloria Roemer, spokeswoman for Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, who has been involved in the evacuation.
Trash fires near the Superdome and other logistical problems were also delaying the evacuation, Louisiana National Guard Lt. Col. Pete Schneider told CNN.
Elsewhere in New Orleans, gunshots repeatedly rang out and fires flared as looters broke into stores, houses, hospitals and office buildings -- some in search of food, others looking for anything of value.
Similar scenes played out in Mississippi where looters freely ransacked stores in Biloxi and Gulfport, both shattered by the storm that slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Monday with 140 mile per hour (225 kph) winds and a 30-foot (9-meter) storm surge.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told NBC's "Today" show that part of the looting problem has been an inability to get enforcement personnel into critical areas. "We will have several thousand National Guard by the weekend and will put a stop to it," he said.
Posted by Mark at 06:12 AM | Comments (0)