Evacuees being turned away from Houston's Astrodome

[Jaskohouston]

So let me get this straight - they are supposed to just let everyone into the Astrodome? What do you think would happen if they didn't control how many people were let in there? I'll say No thanks to a Superdome in my backyard, thank you very much.

None of this is going to go smoothly - it just isn't going to happen.

A big injustice in this is that people that actually listened to the order to leave New Orleans weren't allowed in the Astrodome. Those that didn't leave, at least some of them, had a reserved spot.

(I'm aware many couldn't leave - but there are a whole lot of people there that waited this thing out in their house, and when that levee broke, they were screwed. Many of them should NEVER have been there.)

[ligastar]

[ QUOTE ]
So let me get this straight - they are supposed to just let everyone into the Astrodome? What do you think would happen if they didn't control how many people were let in there?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, everyone can't be let into the Astrodome. The fire marshall and local authorities understand that X number of people can be sustained there. A few posters have touched on one of the main issues here ... THERE IS NO LEADERSHIP. None. Zip. Unacceptable. No gameplan. No logistics. No communication. Not enough National Guard, Airborne, Marines, Infantry in NO. This hurricane was bringing menace. National Guard (at least 5,000) should have been stationed in NO BEFORE Katrina hit land. One poster stated its too early to tell how the relief effort is going. Ummm, come again. I heard the director of FEMA say tonight that he didn't realize people were at the convention center until today. I knew this information yesterday. Lack of foresight. Lack of leadership.

I am pissed that people are dieing as I type this. I am pissed that American citizens have gone 72 hours without food and water. What are you missing people. American citizens have gone without food and water for 3 days. Hello. I'll go out on a limb and say we'll hear our first canabilism report tomorrow.

Greg H.

[illini99]

Who should be leading this effort? Probably the governor, right? But we have the FEMA people, director of homeland security, the mayor, the president, etc. making statements. Presumably they are all making decisions. Or not making decisions, which actually seems to be the case. Who do you think should take over?

[blatz]

That's a damn good question. None of the obvious choices fit, and Mayor Ray Nagin, who I voted for, needs to toss in his badge like the scared deputy who crumbles under pressure in all good westerns. He is a business man who wanted to stamp out corruption, and has done as admirable job as possible, but he is so out of his league here, it would be funny, if people were not dying.

The best I can think of is take whoever is the top military strategist in Iraq, give him a 12 hour briefing and give him a post as special commander to Katrina Relief. He would know how to deal with chaotic situations like this, and would have to be respected by the bumblers who were now below him.

[ligastar]

[ QUOTE ]
Who should be leading this effort? Probably the governor, right? But we have the FEMA people, director of homeland security, the mayor, the president, etc. making statements. Presumably they are all making decisions. Or not making decisions, which actually seems to be the case. Who do you think should take over?

[/ QUOTE ]

The state and the feds should be working in conjuction. State and local authorities supposedly gameplan for things like this. They pay universities millions to do studies, crunch numbers, do analysis, gameplan. Even my simple idea of placing National Guardsmen in NO before Katrina hit would solve many issues. I'm just Joe Six Pack and I was paid nothing but it just seems logical to me. We are talking about a city of hundreds of thousands that could become paralyzed should the levee system break. Let's show some leadership and have boots on the ground should the worst case scenario happen.

I've seen no leadership from the Mayor, the Governor, FEMA or Bush. Also, Bush is a fool for visiting the destruction zone tomorrow. That's just going to piss people off more. We don't need images of that clown hugging a black child tomorrow (btw, I'm black, FWIW). Stay in Washington and work on the problem and the solutions that are needed for the months ahead. In fact, if I was a NO citizen and I ran into Bush I'd ask him one question: Why did you slash the NO Corp of Engineers budget by 20% to $71M when we've been asking Washington for assistance for years to shore up our levee system? We spend $1B a day in Iraq but can't appropriate funds to protect American citizens and infrastructure.

Sorry to rant, and I know this is the wrong forum, but some of you need to take a step back because much of this could have been avoided with proper leadership from top to bottom.

Greg H.

[OtisTheMarsupial]

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Who should be leading this effort? Probably the governor, right? But we have the FEMA people, director of homeland security, the mayor, the president, etc. making statements. Presumably they are all making decisions. Or not making decisions, which actually seems to be the case. Who do you think should take over?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've worked emergencies (7 forest fires and 1 oil spill). There is protocol. First responder is in charge... until someone comes along with higher status. So, yeah, right now it's the President. He's in charge and if you're mad about what's goiing on, it's our fuckhead president who's at fault.

They just keep saying they can't navigate because the phones are down and everything is in water. Well, people have been living in swamps and canals for thousands of years. Get a [censored] boat and figure it out.
And the phones? Hello??? short wave? CB? what the [censored] is going on?

Sorry this is so emotional. I'm mad as hell.

[touchfaith]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Who should be leading this effort? Probably the governor, right? But we have the FEMA people, director of homeland security, the mayor, the president, etc. making statements. Presumably they are all making decisions. Or not making decisions, which actually seems to be the case. Who do you think should take over?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've worked emergencies (7 forest fires and 1 oil spill). There is protocol. First responder is in charge... until someone comes along with higher status. So, yeah, right now it's the President. He's in charge and if you're mad about what's goiing on, it's our fuckhead president who's at fault.

They just keep saying they can't navigate because the phones are down and everything is in water. Well, people have been living in swamps and canals for thousands of years. Get a [censored] boat and figure it out.
And the phones? Hello??? short wave? CB? what the [censored] is going on?

Sorry this is so emotional. I'm mad as hell.

[/ QUOTE ]

The whole thing has been cluster [censored] from top to bottom. I don't even have the energy to outline the numerous obvious failures, let alone think about the gross negligence.

Put me in [censored] charge. I've studied the [censored] aerial photos. I'll have one end of that [censored] airstrip filled with off-loading C4's and the other with copters and boats making deliveries and moving people in a heartbeat.

These fucktards can't even drop MRE's for these people.

This is sad and I'm ashamed

[Broken Glass Can]

The governor of Louisiana and the mayor of NO screwed up big time in the leadup and aftermath of the hurricane, and now it is left to the Feds to solve all problems.

FEMA will do the job. It is sick to blame federal officials when local officials screw up. But it is typical of the politically motivated activists.

[Spaded]

I've noticed that people are VERY quick to blame. The longer they stay in the disaster area, the more irrational their complaints are.

One guy shouted at a journalist "Why don't they turn the damn pumps back on!?!" Hmm, broken levee? Lack of electricity?
People are always raving about why there are no police or FEMA to help them. Maybe there are too many victims for them to handle? People are carjacking the ambulances.
People complaining about the dead bodies not being taken care of by the police. Maybe the police have more important things to do?
People on the forums are wondering why they don't take the abandoned school buses and get the refugees out. What about the flooded streets? Lack of gasoline? Stolen buses?

Gas is probably the biggest issue. You can't have the refugees follow a national guard soldier out of the city in a big congo line. They need gas to power their bullet hole ridden rescue vehicles.

[MelK]

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You can't have the refugees follow a national guard soldier out of the city in a big congo line.

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Y not?