WP, A01: Charities and U.S. Military Are Mobilizing

[Rose Siding]

Charities and the federal government launched what aid agencies predicted could be the longest and costliest relief effort in U.S. history, as workers began arriving last night in states devastated by Katrina and the U.S. military organized an intensive response by already stretched National Guard and active duty forces.

The American Red Cross, working in concert with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, called its plan to house and feed tens of thousands of people its biggest response to a single natural disaster in the organization's 124-year history. With deep flooding across three states that may not recede for weeks in some areas, charities said thousands could remain homeless for more than a year and that the rebuilding would likely take even longer.

"This disaster response is going to exceed our response to last year's back-to-back four hurricanes" in Florida, said Red Cross spokeswoman Devorah Goldburg. That effort included serving 16.5 million meals and providing the equivalent of 430,000 nights of shelter. "We're anticipating that Katrina will exceed those numbers."
...
The Air Force, Navy and Army began mobilizing troops and equipment to augment National Guard units, including helicopters with night-search gear and amphibious watercraft with civilian teams for rescuing stranded citizens. The Navy and U.S. Merchant Marine readied five ships in Norfolk and Baltimore: the hospital ship USNS Comfort as well as helicopter-carrying vessels and ships that can carry landing craft, construction equipment, Humvees, forklifts, food, fuel and water purification equipment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/30/AR2005083000765_pf.html

[stevedeshazer]

1. Thank God for these people.

Where's W?

[ThoughtCriminal]

2. Hope they do a great job - but

They began yesterday?

Aug 31 -
"For the first time, the Pentagon yesterday created a joint domestic task force -- headed by a three-star general and based in Mississippi -- to coordinate emergency operations by Guard and active-duty forces across four states. Driving the U.S. military response was the realization of the "sheer magnitude" of the catastrophe once dawn broke, said Michael Kucharek, spokesman for U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs."

I'm not that I'm an expert on logistics, but shouldn't they have started organizing, planning and staging last Saturday?

[Frances]

3. Would the levee have held if the U.S. had gotten sand bags

on time?