Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Stormed, But Not Caned
Katarina didn't touch my area of Florida. A few rain bands, a little wind. Ophelia sat off the coast, soaked us thoroughly, and moved out. After last year's pounding, it's been nice, getting multiple breaks this year.
Thing is, it's been painful watching Louisiana get spanked so hard. Before we start handing out blame and excuses, there is not only the loss of human life, but the loss of everything else for the survivors.
Almost immediately, though, thoughts turn to outrage. There's plenty to go around. PETA is angry because their people were blocked from jumping in and starting animal rescue sooner. They estimate thousands of animals died who could have been saved if the government hadn't got high-handed about allowing them in.
Seems like everybody's jumping on the FEMA/Bush Bashing Bandwagon, as usual. Some of that is deserved. In my opinion, though, the heavy blame lies right at the feet of the Louisiana government infrastructure, from Parish leaders right up to the Governor. Those people should be prosecuted over this mess.
You don't have to believe in global warming to realize that hurricanes, as they always have, generate different amounts of strength, and some of them are going to be monsters. It's long established historical fact. You also don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that one reason we survive as well as we do in Florida is that we're at or above sea level. Those considered living at "flood plain" level pay extra for insurance.
Well, in Louisiana, they're BELOW sea level. There was no excuse to continue putting off the creating of a sensible Emergency Management Plan for just such an occurrence as this. They cry poormouth, claim there wasn't enough money. Any time any government entity doesn't have enough money for something this simple and basic, they're lying. What they mean is, after all the bills got passed, and after all the "pork" was tacked onto the bills, after the corruption, greed and waste were taken care of, there was no money.
Over the past 5 years, the Army Corps of Engineers got a little over 25 million bucks to work on those dikes that broke. What was done with that money?
The one huge flaw that happens in Florida every year is, we run out of sandbags. While they probably wouldn't have saved much, handing out sandbags ahead of time might just have been a grand idea. It would be good down here, too. I think I'll call my EM people and see if I can have some.
Next, why didn't they consult with other states about preparedness plans, especially timing? As I've posted on the message boards, having their government tell all those people "If you're not out in two hours, you're going to drown" is NOT Emergency Management at its finest. The alleged "plans" included piling people in school buses and evacuating them. It might have been a good plan. I've seen a picture of dozens of school buses, all neatly parked, all flooded up to their roofs. Makes me suspect there was a flaw somewhere.
It's a shame the President has decided to take much of the heat on this. He earned some of it. Once again, he should have called on Jeb. Jeb has some pretty solid experience dealing with hurricanes, and taking care of a flood of problems quickly and efficiently. Looting is almost non-existent in Florida. The power companies are usually working their tails off before the hurricane is completely gone. People bringing down generators and selling them for a decent profit make a lot of money. People bringing down generators and gouging storm victims for them get prosecuted. My humble little city had trucks of bagged ice come in, and they handed out 30 or 5o pounds bags, whichever you wanted. There's a state law on traffic at intersections when the light doens't work. The guy on the right goes first, and then one car goes through in counterclockwise fashion. Cops will cover all the intersections they can, but that basic rule keeps traffic from stopping altogether.
Florida isn't the only ones with some pretty intense Emergency Management experience, either.
Georgia has taken a few hits. The Carolinas are becoming almost as experienced in hurricanes as Florida. Those plans aren't top secret. They share information willingly.
There's a Brit publication that claims some terminal patients were killed by doctors because they couldn't be saved. There was no power in the hospitals. Why not? Did they not have generators? If they did, were they stupid enough to put them on the ground instead of elevating them where they might do some good in a flood?
It goes on and on and on. This isn't even the first time that areas's been slammed. Let's hope this time some lessons will be learned some big steps taken to lessen the destruction if it happens again.
It's a shame the scoundrels responsible for so much needless death and destruction won't be brought to justice.
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