Navy pilot says `a lot of people' still trapped

[leftchick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/chitribts/20050902/ts_chicagotrib/navypilotsaysalotofpeoplestilltrapped

As they flew over the rooftops of New Orleans, plucking people from buildings and cars, the U.S. Navy helicopter crews from the base here began to notice the other people, the ones who hadn't managed to punch holes through the roofs of their homes or wade into the streets.


"The problem is there are a lot of people still stuck in their house who don't have the ability to get out of their house," said Lt. Bryce Kammeyer, a pilot of a Navy Sea King helicopter who since Tuesday has been ferrying relief supplies and extracting survivors.

The Navy helicopter missions, increasing by the day, are just one piece of an aerial and land assault on the shorelines, towns, ports and cities that have been devastated and cut off by Hurricane Katrina.

The Pentagon shifted resources and equipment to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama in earnest Thursday, three days after the storm, as it became clear that state and federal disaster plans had underestimated what it would take to rescue residents, deliver humanitarian relief and restore order

[riverwalker]

1. DAY 5

and still no house to house searches. Shit.
There are children, babies, elderly, handicapped in those houses. The helpless trapped and abandoned.

[leftchick]

2. what a horrible way to die

:cry:

[1932]

9. ...knowing that your government didn't care about you.

Yes.

[JPZenger]

3. We Don't See the People in the Rafters

One refugee said that we see the people on top of their roofs from helicopters. What we don't see in the media is the many people who have climbed into the rafters and attics of their homes to get away from floodwaters, and who haven't been able to break through the roofs.
-----
Part of the problem is that New Orleans has been sinking over the years, because it was built on a swamp that is compacting over time. Also, the coast around New Orleans has been disappearing - reducing the city's protection from storms. Large wetland areas between the City and Gulf have disappeared over the last 80 years.

New Orleans is about 70% Black. There was massive White flight from the City in the last couple decades. As a result, the Whites live in better drained areas outside of the City. Most of the minorities lived in the lowest lying parts of the City. The county that includes New Orleans has the 7th highest poverty rate in the country.

----
I talked to a mid-level officer in the National Guard last night. He is waiting for the phone call to go, but hasn't received any word. He was extremely angry about the response. He said that the President should have immediately federalized all the National Guard units in the surrounding states. He said there is no excuse for not having enough food and water on the ground - with the military's heavy duty Chinook helicopters and the C-5A military transports - which are some of the largest planes in the world.

----
I got very angry listening to an interview yesterday afternoon on NPR with Homeland Secretary Chertoff. Chertoff was giving happyspeak about everything going fine. He said there were 2,400 National Guard in New Orleans (which is also about the same number of Louisiana National Guard that are in Iraq). He said that there was sufficient security on the ground in New Orleans. The NPR anchorman then laid into him.

NPR had just helped break the story about the thousands of people at the Convention Center who had NO food, no water, no medical care and no security. A 10 year old girl had been raped. People had been told to go there. Chertoff said he wouldn't respond to "rumors." The anchorman said, this isn't a rumor - two of our reporters were just there, and they are still on the phone line. He said these are reporters who not only covered previous hurricanes, but have covered wars.

www.npr.org

---
Meanwhile, yesterday, Rush Limbaugh blamed the problems on political corruption in New Orleans politics. In response to claims that wetlands destruction and global warming worsened the crisis, Limbaugh said "We couldn't destroy the environment if we wanted too." Meanwhile, Michael Savage yesterday was wondering where the people of New Orleans are going to get their illegal drugs.

[Javaman]

4. This guy makes a good point...

all the spin coming out now is, why didn't the local gov't ask for the help before hand, but this guy points out, that moron*, could have Federalized the NG, nothing stopped him from doing that. A catagory 5 hurricane is heading for a major US city that sits, on average, 25 feet below sea level and jackass* and his minions don't see the threat or the need to get NG in there before hand??????

32 thousand troops stood ready in 92 prior to Andrew making land fall, why is NO any different???? Because we have an asshole crybaby* for a leader.

He revolts me.

[rocktivity]

5. DING DING DING! Javaman, you're our grand prize winner!

A Category 5 hurricane is heading for a major US city that sits, on average, 25 feet below sea level and jackass* and his minions don't see the threat or the need to get NG in there beforehand???
Not only that, but Bush pulled the funding for the restoration of the levees, rendering them capable of withstanding only a Category 3 hurricane. So they DAMN well should have seen the threat and laid out a contingency plan YEARS beforehand!

GET THOSE PEOPLE OUT OF THERE!!!!!

:mad:
rocknation

[JPZenger]

6. Exercise Assumed 20% of Population Stayed in N.Orleans

George W. said no one could have predicted that the leevees would break. Bullshit. Earlier this year, FEMA conducted an exercise called Hurricane Pam. It assumed that New Orleans would be under water because of either a leevee break or a storm surge that went over the leevee. The exercise assumed that 20% of the City's population would not get out before the storm hit. During the exercise, they expressed concerns about the integrity of the leevees.

At the time, FEMA talked about creating a "buddy" system through churches for people with cars to evacuate people without cars. There should have been an effort to evacuate people by trains, which are located on some of the higher ground in New Orleans. I don't believe there was any effort to use public transit buses.

Census numbers showed that 112,000 households in New Orleans did not have their own car.

More info on the local newspaper website: www.nola.com

Meanwhile, how does the Administration respond? With an elimination of some air pollution protections, Bush attending a fundraiser in San Diego, and Scott McClellan saying "This is not a time for fingerpointing." Scotty, its a time for the National Guard!

The flooding of New Orleans has been recognized for years as one of the 3 worst natural disasters that could hit the U.S. It just as easily could have been a terrorist attack. The terrorists could have blown a hole in the leevee during high tide, and it would have been worse, because 100% of the City's population would have been inside with no warning. We should have been prepared for this crisis as a terrorism incident.

[rocktivity]

19. Fine. But it also should have been part of the "exercise"

to establish how people who needed to get to the Superdome would get there, how they would be transported from the Super Dome, where they would be sent, how they would be supplied, and how they could be sustained during the time it would take to restore the city (if it ever could be).

Last weekend, they should have been able to whip out a list of places where the Super Bowl people would be transported, a list of the transporters that would get them there, and a list of agencies that would tend to their personal and financial needs. This scrambling around and making arrangements on the fly a week after the fact is what caused all the deaths!

:mad:
rocknation

[Eloriel]

10. Local Govt DID ask for help beforehand. These are RW lies. n/t

[barb162]

20. That's a great point about the troops standing by BEFORE

Andrew. Why that wasn't done here is beyond me. Frightening lack of planning!

[indepat]

7. Just think what might have happened if D-Day had had comparable

planning.

[JPZenger]

8. New Orleans Hospitals Barely Coping

Audio file from today's NPR broadcast. New Orleans Hospitals Barely Coping.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4829434

[JustSayNO 2 Sheeples]

11. Visualize airdropping bush in to the convention center!

[Olney Blue]

23. Yes, with a big "Mission Accomplished" sign!

[Gregorian]

12. OMG. INEXCUSABLE!

This is another reason why Bush should be tried at the Hague. This is all on his head, and our Senators. They voted to pilfer our troops and equipment on a country that was not an imminent threat. In fact, NO THREAT at all.

Bush should be hung along with Cheney, rove, Rumsfeld, et. al.

[JPZenger]

13. GOP Knows Poor Blacks don't vote

The GOP knows that poor african-americans don't vote. And they definitely don't make political contributions. Why should the GOP care? If they were middle class white people drowning and dying for lack of medical care, of course it would be different.

[Mithras61]

15. Re: poor african-americans don't vote...

Especially if Diebold or ES&S have any say in the matter.

As to the question of "middle-class white people" I'd like some clarification about what constitutes "middle-class."

According to David Cay Johnston (Perfectly Legal), anyone who makes less than $500K/year is on the Congressional hit list (financially speaking) to the enormous benefit of the "super wealthy" (the approx. 35,000 weathiest individuals/families that jointly contro arouns 80% of everything), and this has been going on for about 30 years now.

If you're talking about the "political donor" class, you have to cough up enough to may the politicos notice, so a donation of somewhere between $5000 and $25000 (depending on who is the recipient and what you need taken care of) will get that attention for you, but that means you have to have a "spare" $5K minimum, so realistically you're probably talking about the $500K point or higher...

Anyhoo, the thing is, you're right when you're claimimng that is isn't a matter of political urgency, because they aren't getting any incentive (cash money, that is) to do anything, and they "voters" don't have any say in the matter at this point in time anyway...

[Dora]

16. I think that's about to change. n/t

[VegasWolf]

14. Day 5- Do you know where your government is? nt

[FloridaPat]

17. A private citizen got a bunch of people with boats together and

went in. It wasn't today (Friday). He got 8 people out and another of his friend got 6 out. They had to break the roofs to get people out. When they got back to shore with the people they rescued they were told they had to stop and leave because it was too dangerous. This almost looks like planned murder.

http://current.tv/blog/items/401941.htm

[necso]

18. They need to go

building by building with (lots of) boats (equipped with tools, water, medical supplies, etc) checking for people. (It's a flood and you use boats in a flood -- Noah (supposedly) did.)

There are probably also people who are no longer able to call for help, so maybe some buildings (those where people could still be alive) needed to be checked by entering or at least looking in.

Of course, at this point there are probably any number of dead people. And probably some of these died because (lots of -- or at least more) boats were not used from early on.

Can the real estate speculators be far behind?

[earth mom]

21. OMG! I am flipping out over this! I don't think I can take much more!

On wednesday they turned back a bunch of people with boats who could have saved these people!

THIS IS GENOCIDE! MAKE NO MISTAKE!!!

:cry:

[Skwmom]

22. The Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard should

have been sent in as SOON as this situation was identified.

[emald]

24. This (lack) of response

must be intentional. there can be no other explanation for the ineptitude, no one, no organization, is this bad. Indeed, it appears, that the bush administration is punishing NO for being democratic black and poor. I hope the last third of this god forsaken country wake up and realize what a devil occupies the white house. Greed man, it's all about stacking up the cash. saving poor people costs money.