Corps officials: Funding levels not to blame for flooding

[wacki]

Adios read this:

Linky

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
The relief effort and response has been basically incompetent, indicating that FEMA and local officials really weren't prepared for a situation in which communications would be compromised and security an issue. Whether additional funding would have improved preparedness or not is uncertain, but likely.

[/ QUOTE ]

Whoever decided it would not be a good idea to have at least 1 heavy lifting helicopter with sandbags standing by ready to go 24/7 is a moron.

[krazyace5]

The response to this natural disaster or lack of it I should say, has probably gotten would be terrorists salivating...

[sam h]

[ QUOTE ]
Whoever decided it would not be a good idea to have at least 1 heavy lifting helicopter with sandbags standing by ready to go 24/7 is a moron.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I don't understand this kind of stuff at all. They could have even just borrowed some big choppers from somewhere else at the last minute since they had a couple days advance warning before the storm hit.

In terms of total cost, they could have saved billions, as well as many lives, if they just had a shitload of helicopters, supplies, national guardsmen, and buses ready to go, as well as a real plan for refugees.

[Zeno]

This is a good point. And ‘blame’ goes up and down the complete chain of command or 'people in charge', from local officials to State and Federal Officials, to the elected idiots that we put into office.

I will add that communications is a critical nexus in all crisis/disaster situations, along with preplanning (what can be reasonably done anyway) and recognition of important threshold points that set other contingency plans or operations into motion etc. Most informed people knew the risks and possible dangers inherent to a hurricane landfall near New Orleans. Nothing really surprising about what happened at all.

But it is easy to cast stones. Also, there were a large number of people that responded in a remarkable and positive way to this disaster - For example the personnel in many of the local hospitals, the Coast Guard Rescue people, and many unknown ‘heroes’ etc. We sometimes tend to get caught up in all the negativity.

Some people are so misanthropic.

-Zeno

[sam h]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, there were a large number of people that responded in a remarkable and positive way to this disaster - For example the personnel in many of the local hospitals, the Coast Guard Rescue people, and many unknown ‘heroes’ etc. We sometimes tend to get caught up in all the negativity.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. My impression is that there was a lot of positive response and sacrifice, undercut in unfortunate ways by inadequate leadership and institutional failure.

[ QUOTE ]
Some people are so misanthropic.

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]