FEMA Official Says Boss Ignored Warnings

[Eugene]

FEMA Official Says Boss Ignored Warnings


Thursday October 20, 2005 4:46 PM

AP Photo LAWH101

By HOPE YEN

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Emergency Management Agency officials did
not respond to repeated warnings about deteriorating conditions in
New Orleans and the dire need for help as Hurricane Katrina struck,
the first FEMA official to arrive in the city conceded Thursday.

Marty Bahamonde, a FEMA regional director, told a Senate panel
investigating the government's response to the disaster that he gave
regular updates to people in contact with then-FEMA Director Michael
Brown as early as Aug. 28, one day before Katrina made landfall.

In most cases, he was met with silence or a polite thank you from
Brown, who said he would check with the White House. "I think there
was a systematic failure at all levels of government to understand
the magnitude of the situation," Bahamonde said.

The testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee
contradicted Brown, who has said he wasn't fully aware of the dire
conditions until days later and that local officials were most
responsible for the sluggish response.

<snip>

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5357597,00.html

[reality based]

1. Brown said he "would check with the White House" n/t

[wordpix]

8. officials also let Bahamonde know he shouldn't disturb Brownie

because Brownie was at some nice restaurant at dinner and couldn't deal with the issue until later.

[Lisa]

15. it gets even better ... (link to exact quote -- a must-see!)

On CNN, they showed clips of the e-mails. The higher-ups told Bahamonde that the restaurants were so crowded that Brown would "only have 20-30 minutes for dinner", which wasn't enough ...

Bahamonde retorted that he himself had consumed an MRE on the run, and had used the limited toilet facilities in the Superdome "along with 30,000 close personal friends", or words to that effect.


On edit -- someone else has posted the exact wording.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5114179

[indepat]

45. Houston, is there a problem here with the WH not being responsive

to an impending catastrophic storm/terrorist attack?

[Mithras61]

2. Maybe he thought it was 'background noise'... N/T

[Cha]

7. That's all they think anything

is..it's all background noise to rubbing their hands together over power and oil.

Katrina broadsided them.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Blame Game in full swing; Chartoff pins it on Brownie too.

[texpatriot2004]

18. Chertoff DID NOTHING for 36 HOURS. Chertoff is a criminal too.

Chertoff is worse becuase he clearly had the authority and CHOSE to do nothing in the 1st three critical days...that's evil and criminal.

Guess he really needed that info from the Avian Flu conference he was at while he ignored the victims of Katrina.

[Mithras61]

19. I have been told...

that Chertoff was waiting for Blanco to file a declaration of a state of emergency. I know she filed one before the hurricane hit, but I've been told that the request had to be made after the storm made landfall before DHS/FEMA could act on it. I don't KNOW that this is so, but I have a certain level of trust in the source, so there may be something to it.

On the other hand, if that's what he needed, and things were as they were, why didn't he contact Blanco and say "I can't move until you refile the declaration, so you better be on it now!" but I guess it's easier to pretend there was nothing that he could do and that it was all on the state & local officials...

[texpatriot2004]

20. HE FAILED TO DO HIS JOB and HE DID IT ON PURPOSE.

I don't care what the frigging procedure is, it's urgent, it's life and death, you can pick up the phone, your cell phone no less, make the calls you need to make to get the info you need to get...it wasn't done. Chertoff did nothing and that's criminal.

[Mithras61]

22. As I said...

Chertoff probably found it easier to pretend he couldn't do anything. I wasn't defending Chertoff, I was asking for information/confirmation of the "official" process.

You & I both know that the "official" process is how things are done routinely, but in emergencies, that all gets set aside and the problem is handled right now, after which the paperwork gets tidied up. Chertoff & Brown obviously either had orders to not respond, didn't care, or were so completely oblivious to the needs of the Gulf Coast that they took no action even when action was demanded.

[texpatriot2004]

23. My apologies for shouting. It's not you. It's these sick criminals

that are still arrogant and employed. That infuriates me.

[DoYouEverWonder]

35. Blanco did exactly that

the Saturday BEFORE the storm.

Bush declared a National Emergency Sunday afternoon.

The Federal Government had everything they needed, but the withheld assistance on purpose instead.

[Cha]

4. Stupid fuckers..negligent

homicide..I would get me the best lawyer when the water has settled!

[mzteris]

5. criminial negligence charges, anyone? n/t

[DemoTex]

11. In a just and sane world .. yes.

In Bu$hland .. probably not.

[Debi]

6. Brown needed time to eat and a little nap before making any decision n/t

[napi21]

9. I got the impression from Brownie that he didn't think he had

the authority to make any decisions! This testimony confirms that!

My question is, what Brownie TOLD he had to check with the higherups before he could do anything? If so, who did he have to check with...AT THE WH???

Is the same restriction put on Chertoff?

[Angry Girl]

10. Criminal charges need to be brought on the WH

Well, aside from the charges brought on for outing Plame. And the lying about the war. And the torture. And the fake news. And the ... oh, never mind. Just throw the entire lot in jail for life.

[Brooklyn Michael]

12. No they didn't.....

They did EXACTLY what they said they'd do.....

Disaster -> Response -> Recovery -> Mitigation -> Risk Reduction -> Prevention -> Preparedness...which leads right back to DISASTER!



(and yes, this graphic IS from FEMA's own website)

[superconnected]

26. hehehhe.

[Shakespeare]

13. I love the part about his needing more time to eat dinner in Baton Rouge.

Let them eat gumbo?

What an incompetent boob.

[Beaverhausen]

14. I saw that on MSNBC(?) last night. Unfuckingbelievable

Obviously most everyone at FEMA was totally clueless as to not only what their mission actually was, but what the situation was. This was a full day and a half after the hurricane hit for god's sake.

[Lisa]

16. I especially loved Bahamonde's calling Brown out re: the meal

If an MRE or a sandwich is good enough for the field workers, having a boss who needs to be coddled is not only bad for morale (and the image of the agency) -- but it ties up time/resources that could be better used for other things.

Bahamonde is the kind of person who should lead FEMA, not Brownie!

[rodeodance]

17. why did he say Brown said he would chk with the WH?

....n most cases, he was met with silence or a polite thank you from
Brown, who said he would check with the White House.

[mcscajun]

32. Because no one can make a Move without prior approval from

...the micro-managing MBA (p)Resident.

:grr:

[DoYouEverWonder]

43. I guess Brownie never bothered to read

the National Response Plan. It is quite clear that he had all the authority he needed. Brownie, Bush and Chernoff deliberately withheld assistance for as long as possible. They wanted chaos and death. That is the level of evil and corruption in these bastards.

[cookiebird]

21. Decisions, Decisions....

What we have here is a failure of competent planning and decision-making. It's very clear that the "managers" in charge had no practical training and professional standards to guide their response. What I'm "sniffing" in the political air is that the Katrina Response was centralized to the WH, at least in the minds of these pathetic managers.

[NVMojo]

24. Text from FEMA officials' emails:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Excerpts from e-mails among Federal Emergency Management officials during Hurricane Katrina: (Note: All times CDT)

---

-Marty Bahamonde, regional director for New England to David Passey, regional director for the Gulf Coast, Aug. 28, 4:46 p.m.

"Issues developing at the Superdome. 2000 already in and more standing in line. ...The medical staff at the dome says they will run out of oxygen in about 2 hours and are looking for alternative oxygen."

-Bahamonde to Deborah Wing, FEMA response specialist, Aug 28, 5:28 p.m.

"Everyone is soaked. This is going to get ugly real fast."

-Passey to group, Aug 28, 7:16 p.m.

"The current population at the Superdome in New Orleans is 25,000. That's a large crowd during a normal event. Among the shelter population are 400 special needs evacuees and 45-50 sick individuals who require hospitalization. The on-hand oxygen supply will likely run out in the next few hours. According to the ESF8 folks, the local health officials have struggled to put meaningful resource requests together."

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-exec/2005/oct/20/102005745.html

[superconnected]

25. I think Brown deservers Jail time for this. His gross incompentence caused

people to die. Didn't he take any oaths to serve the US with the FEMA position. What happens if a fire chief refuses to respond to a fire. Or intentionally waits till the worst is over - knowing people need help.

[leesa]

27. They knew the magnitude. They wanted NOLA to drown.

[indepat]

28. Let's keep our eyes on the ball folks: this is a microcosm of this entire

administration's operation and makes one wonder if the intelligence warnings of 8-6-01 were given any better attention and prompted any better response.

[DiverDave]

29. An email to Ms. Worthy

Brown's press secretary wrote colleagues to complain that the FEMA director needed more time to eat dinner at a Baton Rouge restaurant that evening. "He needs much more that (sic) 20 or 30 minutes," wrote Brown aide Sharon Worthy.

"We now have traffic to encounter to go to and from a location of his choise (sic), followed by wait service from the restaurant staff, eating, etc. Thank you."



Did you say this?

I will be contacting my representative's in Washington and informing them that if they don't FIRE YOUR SORRY BEHIND, I will do everything in my power to get them new jobs, come the next election.

DESPICABLE, and VILE, is what you are.

I remain, in utter contempt,

Dave Britten

New Castle, DE.
[e-mail]

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[superconnected]

31. His secretary spelled "choice", "choise". That IS deplorable.

And of course the murder of all those people.

I'm not kidding. Secretaries should not be that bad at spelling.

[dxstone]

33. Brown and Chertoff are NOT incompetents...

They're FEMA-Nazis!

See my thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5116904

NO ONE is this incompetent... no one who can feed and clothe themselves, anyway...
They are evil murdering racist fucks, plain and simple.
d

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

34. God Lord

Another let them eat cake moment.

:mad: :argh: :grr: :banghead:

[WCGreen]

36. Brownie told a lie to the Senate committee....

He should go to jail...

Make an example of him...

[Sleepless In NY]

37. Wish this was on the homepage...it really needs to be seen

It's on MSNBC now..."FEMA official: Agency didn’t heed warnings
Regional director tells Senate panel that early information was ignored"
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9765601/

Please rate it! So unbelievably cold..it's horrific..people dying while some jerk is off eating dinner and waiting to go on tv. What kind of monster would do such a thing?

I know everyone is caught up with the impending indictments...but this really deserves attention..it shouldn't be forgotten, like the victims of Katrina were.

It's so upsetting & I'm so angry..wish there was something to do about it. This should not be ignored.

[truthisfreedom]

39. i voted. everyone should.

[Judi Lynn]

38. FEMA: Official says pleas for aid were ignored

Oct. 20, 2005, 10:03PM

FEMA
Official says pleas for aid were ignored
First staffer on the scene testifies he reported levee breaks just hours after the storm hit
By JULIA MALONE
Cox News Service

WASHINGTON - The only Federal Emergency Management Agency official sent to New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina told a Senate panel Thursday that top officials brushed off his desperate warnings about broken levees and deteriorating conditions for evacuees at the Superdome.

Marty Bahamonde, a veteran FEMA employee and public affairs official, gave the Senate Homeland Security Committee a first-person account of the early discovery of the breached levees and rapidly rising water as he fired off urgent e-mails asking for food, water and medical aid to little effect.

"I think there was a systematic failure at all levels of government," Bahamonde testified.

Many of his recollections contradicted key points in testimony given by fired FEMA director Michael Brown, who resigned Sept. 12.

In perhaps the starkest example, Bahamonde said he learned that the levees had been breached just hours after the storm hit on Aug. 29.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3406589
(Free registration required)

[Lasher]

40. Chertoff Says FEMA's Lack of Planning to Blame

I'm afraid this very important development is being overlooked by many who are preoccupied with other news:

***

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency's lack of planning, not the failures of state and local officials, was to blame for much of what went wrong with the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told member of Congress today.

The assessment by the most senior administration official to answer legislators' questions since the hurricane struck in late August contrasted sharply with testimony offered earlier by former FEMA Director Michael Brown. Brown had blamed the "dysfunction" of Louisiana state and local officials for the problems that hobbled the relief effort.

"From my own experience, I don't endorse those views," Chertoff said.

He told lawmakers that he found the governors and mayors of the region to be responsive as the crisis unfolded.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-101905katrina_lat,0,7273729.story?coll=la-story-footer&track=morenews

***

So there you have it. Right wingers have claimed loud and long that the failures should be be blamed on Louisiana state and local officials, who just happen to be Democrats. Please note, Misissippi was not subjected to this same criticism. Their governor is a Republican.

But according to Dubya's Homeland Security Secretary, that dog don't hunt.

[alcibiades_mystery]

41. George Bush doesn't care about black people

nuff said.

[Lochloosa]

42. I believe that Chertoff and Brown were under oath....

am I wrong about this?

[Nothing Without Hope]

44. LAT, NYT, WaPo and NBC News VIDEO on this story in this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5121157
thread title: LAT: "Insider Condemns FEMA Response" -- Stunning revelations of LIES

Don't miss the video - it's DEVASTATING. Of the three articles in the top US newspapers, the LAT one covers the most ground. The breaking of the levees is a key point, and that's clearly laid out in the WaPo article too.

[newspeak]

46. hmmmm, where did I hear that before?

oh yeah....9/11. Did not heed warnings---there favorite excuse!!!!