George Bush appointed his friend Michael Brown Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Michael Brown, a Republican party activist, had no related previous emergency management and/or disaster preparedness experience. In fact, he was fired from his last job (certifying judges at horse shows. Arabians. Ironic.) "Brownie" (as Bush calls him) was forced out after a series of lawsuits related to his supervision failures but in an administration where failures lead to getting medals and promotions, Bush apparently found his crony more than adequately prepared to safeguard our country.
And here's the job the two have done since Katrina hit:
Thurs, August 25 - Hurricane Katrina hits Florida late Thursday. This category 1 hurricane killed 9 people in Florida and then moved into the Gulf of Mexico, gaining power and momentum. Meteorologists predicted she would hit Louisiana and Mississippi early Monday, probably as a category 4 hurricane! President Bush is vacationing at his Crawford Ranch - again.
Fri, August 26 - Meteorologists measure Katrina as a category 2 hurricane as she moves across the Gulf. Gulf Coast officials ask residents to evacuate their homes. President Bush defends his ongoing vacation in a press conference saying, "I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy, and part of my being is to be outside exercising. So I'm mindful of what goes on around me. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live, and will do so." (By this time, Bush has been on vacation for over one month.) The Governor of Louisiana declares a state of emergency. New Orleans is below sea level. The possibility of devastating hurricane destruction there had long been considered one of the most likely natural disaster in the United States. (The 3rd most likely to be specific.)
Sat, August 27 - At 5 AM, Katrina measures as a category 3 hurricane. At 5 PM on Saturday New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced a voluntary evacuation of the city. Major interstates are converted to one-land roads out of the area. Hotels are booked solid for 150 miles. Greyhound, Amtrak and airlines halt service late Saturday night. The Governor of Louisiana requests federal assistance in advance of the incoming storm and Bush declares a "National Emergency."
Sun, August 28 - Mike Brown and Michael Chertoff (secretary of Homeland Security) are briefed by the National Hurricane Center and told that Katrina "has potential for catastrophic damage" and that it may produce "storm surge capable of overtopping levees in New Orleans." By 11:00 PM, experts predict that Hurricane Katrina will hit the city with all the force and power of a Category 5 hurricane. They predict that 60-80% of the city's homes will be destroyed. The mayor of New Orleans declares a mandatory evacuation of the city. The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi request additional security forces from the federal government. (Most of the state's national guardsmen having been pulled - along with their equipment - to serve in Iraq.)
Mon, August 29 - At 6:10 AM, Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast. Entire neighborhoods are submerged to their roofs. Large numbers of people must be rescued from rooftops. It becomes clear many are being swept away by storm surge. President Bush hits the road to promote his prescription drug plan. Less than five hours after landfall, the National Weather Service reports the break of a levee on the Industrial Canal near the St. Bernard-Orleans parish line. Five hours after landfall, Brown decides to dispatch 1,000 federal employees to assist with disaster relief. He gives them two days to arrive! They are told to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public." He also tells local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into the disaster area without explicit requests for help from state or local governments. Brown then briefs President Bush who, following the briefing, travels to Southern California to talk to seniors about changes to Medicare. He then plays golf before retiring to rest before his speech the following day to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War Two.
The USS Bataan arrives in the Gulf Coast. This ship is equipped with six operating rooms, hundreds of hospital beds and the ability to produce 100,000 gallons of fresh water a day — only it sits for four days without patients. Also team of volunteer firefighters from Houston with hurricane disaster recovery experince and with special expertise with oil infrastructure and repair arrives outside New Orleans and FEMA refuses them entry into the city until "the National Guard has secured the city." When asked if they should help out in other communities along the coast impacted by the storm, FEMA responds, "No". Their special expertise is needed in New Orleans. However, FEMA repeatedly turns down advice or help from the team. After waiting in a parking lot for five days (until Sat, Sept 3), the experts finally give up and return home to Houston.
Tues, Aug 30 - Breached levies have submerged 80% of New Orleans in water. President Bush give his speech and returns to his vacation. CNN airs footage of a convention center filled with people and dozens of others stranded on rooftops.
Wed, Aug 31 - President Bush declares a public health emergency ... but he doesn't return from vacation. Chertoff reports that relief efforts are "going well". (Sound familiar? Things are supposedly "going well" in Iraq too.) The Forest Service offered their fixed plane aircrafts to extinguish the forest fire-like fires raging in New Orleans. Homeland Security grounded the planes because they had not authorized their use. Canada tried to send Urban Rescue Teams directly to the area but were not permitted due to "mass confusion at the U.S. federal level in the wake of the storm." Governor Blanco requested Bush order the "expiditious return of a national guard combat unit from Iraq to assist with the rescue effort. She also requested a base for humanitarian relief be set up in Baton Rouge. Both requests went unanswered. Later that night, the first 100 refugees are evacuated...by an 18-year-old boy who finds keys to a school bus and drives his charges to the Houston Astrodome - where he is told he will be charged with stealing the school bus.
Thurs, Sept 1 - Governor Blanco reports the death toll to be in the thousands. Bush is still on vacation. Four days after landfall, the federal government finally requests airline industry assistance to evacuate flood victims. Bush orders "zero tolerance" against looting. No food or clean water has come into the area in over a week. Inside the convention centers, people who steal and provide food and water from stores are greeted as heroes. The caravans promised by FEMA Director Mike Brown to evacuate residents do not arrive - however the Navy announces it has hired Halliburton to "restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris from three naval bases in Mississippi. (This while bases in perfect shape around the country have just been slated to closed because we have too many.) Swift water rescue teams from California who have rescued hundreds of people are halted from rescuing victims by FEMA due to "security concerns" even though a CNN journalist embedded with them insists "no incidents have occurred in this area!"
Fri, Sept 3 - The President finally decides to cut short his vacation and flies over the site on his return to Washington. The Red Cross reports on their website that they have been kept from providing food, water and medical assistance in New Orleans because, "The state Department of Homeland Security in Louisiana asked the Red Cross not to go into the city because they want that message to be, 'You need to leave the city. This isn't going to be a sheltering spot.' " Still no caravans have arrived. In fact, they are at a photo op with Bush. Erin Broussard, president of the Jefferson Parrish goes on CNN and breaks down while reporting that FEMA prevented the delivery of three trailer trucks of water donated by Wal-Mart, forbade the Coast Guard from donating 1000 gallons of diesel fuel that happened to be on a Coast Guard vessel docked in Jefferson Parish, and cut all emergency communication lines out of the parish. The communication lines were repaired and put under armed guard. Mr. Broussard then broke into sobs as he described how the mother of the head of emergency management in the parish was trapped in a nursing home and phoned her son every day asking when help would come. The son tried to reassure her that help was coming but the woman died Friday evening (after President Bush's flyby) when she drowned to death.
Monday, Sept 6 - For four days, "Hundreds of firefighters who volunteered to help rescue victims have instead been playing cards, taking classes on the history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and lounging at an Atlanta airport hotel for days while they await orders." However, some of them receive their first assignment on this day - to stand beside the president for a photo op as he toured the devastated area. FEMA and the federal government requested that requested that no photographs of the dead be made by the media as bodies are recovered. (I believe this is based on a desire to limit unfavorable news coverage, just like with bodies returning from Iraq.) Senator Barbara Milkuski calls for Michael Brown's resignation.
The lethal ineptitude of Bush's buddy has led to thousands of deaths but Bush bears his part of the responsibility as well.
In 2001, Budget Director Mitch Daniels announced the Bush administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work. In May, Allbaugh (the head of FEMA before Brown) confirmed that FEMA would be downsized: "Many are concerned that federal disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement program...." he said. Also in 2001, FEMA designated a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the three "likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country."
In 2002, Allbaugh the left FEMA to after less than two years at the agency to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Brown, who, like Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management.
In 2003, FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded into the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is refocused on fighting acts of terrorism. Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and Response. FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery.
In 2004, FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: "You would think we would get maximum consideration....This is what the grant program called for. We were more than qualified for it." At the same time, the Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish emergency management chiefs Walter Maestri comments: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay."
We paid a price alright. (The poor did anyway...) While I agree that no one could predict that a hurricane the size of Katrina would hit this year, the slow federal response when it did happen was no accident. It was the result of four years of deliberate Republican policy and budget choices that favor ideology and partisan loyalty at the expense of operational competence. It was the result of four years of balking at using public dollars to serve the public good (though these folks do not hesitate to use government dollars to reward their already rich friends.)
Experts say that the first 72 hours after a natural disaster are the crucial window during which prompt action can save many lives. Look what these folks did in the first 72 hours. Bush couldn't even be bothered to interrupt his vacation...
Taken without permission from Instincts and Outbursts Blog
