FEMA was there PRIOR to Hurricane Katrina

[Horse with no Name]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0830/p01s02-ussc.html

HOUSTON – Even before hurricane Katrina made landfall Monday, a massive relief brigade - one that officials hoped would be an equal match for a huge Category 4 storm - was being deployed to help residents along Louisiana's low-lying coast.

Among them: The Red Cross called upon some 5,000 volunteers, including some who drove in from Washington State. Members of Fark.com, an online discussion board, offered to host fellow forum participants who were fleeing Katrina. And FEMA, the federal disaster-response agency, moved its search-and-rescue teams - as well as stockpiles of ice, water, and food - as close as safety would permit.
...President Bush on Saturday went ahead and declared an emergency in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to mobilize ahead of the storm.

If they were on the ground---they assumed responsibility. It was definitely out of the hands of the locals. End of discussion.

[Horse with no Name]

1. kick

:)

[DrZeeLit]

2. Bush declared the emergency on Sat, BEFORE the storm? Whoa....

that does take it out of the hands of the locals.

ChristianScience Monitor is usually a balanced source.

Why isn't this on the front page?

[Horse with no Name]

4. I don't know

I feel ignored.
But I ran across it looking for something else.
This is important and nobody is paying attention.

[mom cat]

7. I remember that George declared the emergency before the storm.

Then what took so long for people to get the OK to get to work?

[Lindacooks]

13. I remember hearing that too.

[Land Shark]

6. not on the front page, but it is on the white house.gov page

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html

(August 27, White House declares state of emergency in Louisiana.. that was Saturday and the hurricane hit Sunday/Monday)

Get your own copy of this White House URL before it disappears.

[BlueStateGirl]

14. Gov. Blanco asked him to in her letter.

[soup]

21. Link to Gov. Blanco's letter to bush dated August 27, 2005

http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=976

[Spazito]

3. Excellent!

Thanks for posting this.

Edited to add: Nominated

[greenbriar]

5. wow

interesting

[Horse with no Name]

8. kick.

[mom cat]

9. More spin..."look at all we did" ducking the big questions and putting on

the happy face. This is probably not the last of the "put the happy face on FEMA" articles that we will see.

[Horse with no Name]

10. You're missing the big picture here

It says FEMA was there--in control--in command--prior to the hurricane because BUSH signed the papers.
The rest if crap.
That is the important stuff.

[mom cat]

11. Yes the rest is crap, but read it like the average citizen. I see the

point that you are making...FEMA was there all along, had permission, etc. I can truly see how this matters and can celebrate.
What I do not celebrate is that the Christian Science Monitor has dine such a spin job and is intentionally confusing the readers by citing the efforts of average citizens with the "response" of FEMA. This sounds like it is right from the desk of Rove. I am going to work on a LTTE to them in the morning when my head is clearer.
Edit..sp.

[DrZeeLit]

20. VOTE. This doc needs to be front and center to rebutt their spin.

I don't hear any MSM or even others, referencing this document.
It should be easy for anyone to have a copy.

Should be on DU Front page!

[dogday]

22. Fema had the authority to get the people out of

NO, did they not? If they had authority and were on the ground, then they could of made some kind of move to help get the people out of NO before the storm...

[madfloridian]

12. Find the link to the Red Cross site that says they were not allowed in.

Something is not right about this article. Red Cross said they were not allowed in because of FEMA...the link was here.

[HR_Pufnstuf]

15. FEMA-sponsored training course.

Louisiana Catastrophic Hurricane Planning Workshop
Brad Tiffee, IEM, Inc. Sean R. Fontenot, LOHSEP

From July 16–23, 2004, over 300 participants from Federal, State, local, and volunteer agencies participated in the Louisiana Catastrophic Hurricane Planning Workshop at the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness(LOHSEP) in Baton Rouge.

The purpose of the workshop was to develop functional plans for response to and recovery from a catastrophic hurricane striking southeast Louisiana, including the City of New Orleans. Driven by a predetermined scenario, entitled Hurricane Pam, the participants developed 15 functional plans over the course of the week, including: pre-landfall activities; unwatering of levee-enclosed areas; hazardous materials; billeting of response personnel; distribution of power, water, and ice; transport from water to shelter; volunteer and donations management; external affairs; access control and re-entry; debris; schools; searchand rescue; sheltering; temporary housing; and temporary medical care. The scenario involved a slow-moving Category 3 storm making landfall near Grand Isle in the early morning. In the scenario, the storm, sustaining winds of 120 mph at landfall,spawned tornados, destroyed over 75% of the structures in its path, and left the majority of New Orleans under 15–20 feet of water. The workshop was sponsored by FEMA and LOHSEP , with a weather scenario designed by the National WeatherService and damage and consequences developed by IEM, Inc. of Baton Rouge. IEM, Inc. also facilitated the workshop sessions.

From November 29–December 3, over 90 participants met in New Orleans to continue planning for three topics: sheltering, temporary housing, and temporary medical care. These three topics were chosen by the workshop’s Unified Command as areas that needed continued group planning. The outcome of these workshops is a series of functional plans that may be implemented immediately. Along with these plans, resource shortfalls were identified early, saving valuable time in the event an actual response is warranted. It is because of the dedication of every workshop participant that Louisiana is much better prepared for a catastrophic hurricane.


http://www.lepa.org/Newsletter/Spring_2005.pdf (page 3)


---

Since the above workshop clearly indicates a flooding scenario, even with a lesser Cat 3, GWB's comment on Good Morning America is not true. FEMA teaches a course with the same exact scenario that happened.

[LiberalUprising]

16. KICK

[guruoo]

18. 2004 NOLA Cat 4 simulation

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/surge/new_orleans.shtml

[guruoo]

17. AP: FEMA Chief Sent Help Only When Storm Ended

FEMA Chief Sent Help Only When Storm Ended

By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago

The government's disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane
Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to
dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security workers to support rescuers in the region — and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal
documents.

Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff
roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said
that among duties of these employees was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims.

Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged Tuesday the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged.
More >>>
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050907/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/katrina_disaster_response

[mogster]

19. So, what if they were there to create rumours of looting

Have you people studied how the CIA does their work in other countries, to stir up trouble before a coup?

In a situation where everything is chaos, it is easy to shape the situation/information flow by creating rumours - or inciting the actual events - that will 'produce' the desired result.

I'm not saying this happened, of course.

But there are so many strange things about the NOLA disaster.

Thoughts?