Have you guys seen this from Bob Harris? What in the hell?

[Guaranteed]

http://www.bobharris.com/content/view/637/1/



The RED areas on the map above are the parishes that are mentioned for federal relief in the August 27th emergency declaration, signed by Bush, that we've seen floating around DU.

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

That's right. The areas that were most at risk from the hurricane weren't even MENTIONED in the August 27th declaration.

Take a look at Harris' site. He has a seemingly unsuccessful explanation posted. He says it could have been a clerical error, one way or another, or that it could have been that those counties were already covered by the declaration in June from another Tropical Storm. He seems to be leaning toward a clerical error.

Myself, I have NO clue as to what in the hell this means.

Was this why FEMA didn't go in? They weren't AUTHORIZED, due to some fuck-up by the Bush administration?

[slor]

1. Maybe they expected...

their distorted version of god to completely destroy and wash away the unmentioned parts, so they could forever be rid of those sinful "underprivileged" folks.

[bribri16]

34. "hilighted in red" but not necessarily "red-voting" parishes. AND

Harris is not certain of his information's accuracy and neither should we be.

[MH1]

66. self-delete

some info below fills in the gaps.

[librechik]

2. trust the Bushies to crawl through a lawyeristic loophole like that!

I suppose they thought that would get them out of responsibility for the disaster. Or something.

WTF?

[Skidmore]

3. I don't see that as a lawyeristic loophole at all, but evidence

of maliciousness. This underscores that it was murder.

[Nothing Without Hope]

39. No - we only have the text of the online version of the WH press release

about the contents of the letter sent by Bush to Blanco.

Before we conclude that the omission was deliberate, we need to rule out clerical error in the online copy. What was in the actual emailed or faxed press release? (Hard to believe none of the reporters noticed, but possible.) And what was in the actual letter sent to Gov Blanco?

Need to chase down the trivial possibilities and rule them out before moving on to the big, substantive one.

[ellenfl]

71. that was my thought . . . lihop. eom

[tech3149]

4. political expediency

Without New Orleans Louisiana is a red state. Look at where most of the evacuees were sent, they won't have an effect on the voter balance.

[izzie]

5. I have figured it all out. It was 8 meter maids that caused all this.

Could this map and site be right? It is crazy. Why would the WH check off the North counties when the storm was coming from the South? With an IQ of 3 you could figure out this is crazy. I must have mis-read it all and am not understand what you are talking about.:dunce:

[NYC]

8. Eight meter maids could have handled it better.

The parishes I copied are from the White House site. They are listed in alphabetical order. Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, Bernard are not in there.

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

Could there be a separate memo? This makes no sense at all.

[Birthmark]

11. I can find nothing through the month of August

...until 29Aug that deals with Orleans Parish.

[NYC]

12. What day was August 29th?

Was that Monday?

[Birthmark]

13. Yup. Monday.

[NYC]

6. List of parishes:

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

I don't understand this at all. Can someone compare it to the aid requested? I can't imagine that the governor requested aid for these parishes only. Why wouldn't the parishes closest to the delta be the most important?

[annabanana]

7. Were the missing Parishes not listed to allow B*SH

to strong arm Gov. to turn over all authority to Feds?

[NYC]

10. Who knows? How could they get away with this?

Why is the press not all over this? I can't believe this is true, but I got it from White House.gov, not the .org parody site or the .com porn site.

This astounds me. Was Louisiana aware of this from the start? There must be a separate order for the endangered parishes? I just can't believe this, but I can't believe most of what they do.

[chicagiana]

31. Remember that Brownie could have fixed this ...

Brownie could have fixed this with a telephone call to the President. I'm sure none of us are fooled. But they will trumpet this and make this seem to the zombies that this was an example of how the government is so "ineffective" and needs to be privatized.

A little thought demonstrates how prepostorous the whole notion is. Just like a little thought shows you how preposterous it is that we couldn't shoot down three relatively slow moving air liners using f-15s that travel at 1500mph.

The President made himself "intentionally unavailable" during the hurricane and subsequent days so they could show he was "out of the loop". That dumbass Brownie is not a fall guy, he's a patsy. They have been systematically eroding this nations defenses for quite some time. They didn't KNOW this was going to happen in New Orleans, but they knew it would SOMEWHERE eventually. And they knew that they would give initial support to Brownie (as if Brownie SAID he was doing his job) and then turn on the man as part of an investigative process.

[HereSince1628]

47. Looks to me like a cut and paste job missing the most affected Parishes

Look at Blanco's letter, the most affected parishes are separated from those also affected by evacuation...

I hope that thousands of deaths weren't caused by a mistake using a fucking word-processing short-cut that wasn't caught, but that's sort of what it looks like to me.

[NYC]

56. That would be amazing, not to mention unforgivable.

I hope someone investigates this.

[KitSileya]

58. But wouldn't that have excised

an alphabetical part of the list? Say, all parishes starting with G thru M, or something. The parishes missing from the list are speread thru the alphabet. If they were copying and pasting, they'd take an alphabetical list and copy, and paste.

[Birthmark]

9. I'll be watching this closely

Right now, I have no idea what's going on with that declaration.

[ladylibertee]

14. Words cannot express so.........

x( :mad: :puke: :wtf: :argh: :spank: :nuke:

[Ganja Ninja]

15. Wonder if the GOP will be investigating this?

Something tells me no.

(nominated)

[MikeNY]

16. Underestimated the power of the storm?

The lack of response is a seperate disaster in-and-of itself, but I am willing to be that even before the storm hit they had thought rural areas might be more at risk, with the urban areas being evacuated and housing more accessible infrastructure. I could be wrong... just a sign of more stupidity on the part of these people on the federal level..

[Nothing Without Hope]

20. No way. Look at my post below - Gov Blanco specifically asked for

emergency status including the missing parishes. In any case, everybody knows the storm surge is the most dangerous part, and that's the coast. New Orleans, with its below-sealevel status, surrounded by water on three sides - it was extremely vulnerable. Also, the power of a hurricane drops after landfall, so again the coast is most vulnerable.

We need to find out what was in the actual text of the letter sent by Bush to Blanco, as opposed to the press release citing that letter.

[MikeNY]

21. Definately agree now n/t

[Nothing Without Hope]

17. Here are excerpts from three relevant documents - 2 from Blanco and one

from Bush:

1. 8/27: Governor Blanco asks President to Declare an Emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina. The Press Release with the text of the letter:

http://gov.louisiana.gov/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=976
August 27, 2005


The President
The White House
Washington, D. C.

Through:
Regional Director
FEMA Region VI
800 North Loop 288
Denton, Texas 76209

Dear Mr. President:

Under the provisions of Section 501 (a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5206 (Stafford Act), and implemented by 44 CFR § 206.35, I request that you declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period beginning August 26, 2005, and continuing. The affected areas are all the southeastern parishes including the New Orleans Metropolitan area and the mid state Interstate I-49 corridor and northern parishes along the I-20 corridor that are accepting the thousands of citizens evacuating from the areas expecting to be flooded as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

(snip)

2. 8/27: Bush responds, declares emergency, backdated to 8/26 as Blanco requested. The WH press release:

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

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 27, 2005

Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

Representing FEMA, Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Department of Homeland Security, named William Lokey as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FEMA [phone].

3. 8/28: Gov. Blanco sends another letter to the DHS and the President with additional clarification:
http://www.gratisnet.com/KatrinaHelp.pdf
The southeastern parishes such as Orleans and Washington are included.

Oh. My. God. The Southeastern parishes were specified in BOTH Blanco requests, but they are NOT included in the Bush press release about declaring the state of emergence.

This is potentially SERIOUS. I can't believe such a profound clerical error would have been made. For one thing, the parishes are usually listed alphabetically, and the missing parishes would have been scattered throughout. Why didn't the press ask something so obvious? It's a short press release. What was in the actual document, as opposed to the press release?

I went to Governor Blanco's web site (see the first letter's URL) and looked, but could find no mention of some of the parishes being omitted in Bush's letter. What is going on here? We need to find out. Email the PRESS!!!

[Pacifist Patriot]

23. Have you sent this to Keith? And I can't believe I'm suggesting...

this, but Jack Cafferty's behavior over the last week would seem to indicate he'd be very very interested in this tidbit.

[Nothing Without Hope]

25. Yes, I just sent it to Keith. We should send it to others too.

But I'm going to bed now and won't be doing it myself. :boring:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

41. I am going to try to get it to Keith too. nt

[John Doe II]

59. Nothing wWthout Hope

thanks a lot for presenting this here!

:toast:

[Birthmark]

61. kick

[omshanti]

68. IMPORTANT: FEMA press release from 8/27 also leaves out parishes.

Read for yourself. SHOCKING! Can we say criminal!!

http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18447

[Lochloosa]

18. Kick

[passy]

19. I wonder which way the blue and green parishes voted last November?

[Beowulf]

22. I think we already know the answer to this question

nm

[HereSince1628]

48. I looked that up, the coast outside the Metro area is pretty red

[Nothing Without Hope]

24. I've emailed Keith Olbermann about this. If nothing turns up to explain

what is going on here, I'll also email some other media people.

Did the press get a different version of the 8/27 WH press release than is posted online at the WH site? Did Blanco? Has anyone seen a copy of what she actually received from Bush, as opposed to the WH press release about it? That could be an important document in its own right, since it may not be identical in multiple ways.

Guess we'll have to stay tuned.

[Nothing Without Hope]

26. I think we need to find out where the discrepancy is, but surely Gov.

Blanco would have noticed if the most vulnerable parishes, including New Orleans, were omitted from Bush's declaration of emergency. I suspect there is an error in the WH press release - maybe it's different from what was sent to Blanco. I haven't seen a copy of the actual letter she received from Bush.

Bizarre, though, and we need to find out what is happening here.

[chicagiana]

27. This is why Presidents have to cut short their vacation ...

The President is the ONLY person in the government who can effectively cut red tape. He needs to be "on the ball" in an emergency with a pair of scissors and some effective beauracrats making phone calls and making sure that people are authorized to do the things that have to happen.

And if the President breaks a few rules in the process, than the President takes responsibility in front of Congress and the people. If he does the right thing those bodies will be forgiving.

The President is the ONLY person who can really make this happen (or in this case, maybe Dick Cheney). He has to be available, he has to set the priorities, he has drive the process. Otherwise, there is always some rule of protocol that will stand in the way.

With a few phone calls, Bush could summoned all the aid necessary. But Bush was seemingly uninterested.

[wishlist]

30. CNN just reported Bush is sending in Cheney to get through the red tape

Today, Thursday over a week and a half after the hurricane hit, we will supposedly see Cheney in action to fix everything.

[Nothing Without Hope]

38. Guess his highest priorities, closing the deal on his posh mansion and

finishing his vacation (and whatever clandestine activities) are comfortably done. Besides, with civilians sneaking food and water in, fewer of those pesky poor people are dying now.

[chicagiana]

57. Something tells me Cheney was already "on the job" ...

But in this case "on the job" meant MAKING SURE that all that aid was turned around. And it certainly meant making sure those levee breaks WERE NOT sealed before they got out of control.

[Birthmark]

28. Odd scenario, but it holds together.

I doubt it's true since it's speculation to about the eighth power, but it's helluvan interesting story.

Suppose those parishes were left out *intentionally* to precipitate a crisis. Think about it. Bush's poll numbers are in the tank. Last time this happened, 9/11 bailed his sorry ass out. This time, Rove thinks that this hurricane is a gift from god. "We'll leave out the parishes most likely to be affected. The Governor (a Dem) won't have the resources to deal with the aftermath. We'll Federalize the rescue (which they attempted to do, no?) and ride to the rescue. BANG! Instant high poll numbers!" Only they got more hurricane than they bargained for. They hadn't counted on 10,000 dead, only a few dozen...all for the cause, don't ya know. That would explain the curious, almost childish, "No one could have forseen the levees failing." nonsense that they've spouted. They weren't expecting the levees to fail, so no one could have expected it from their POV.

Like I said, it's wild speculation, but it's almost irresistible given the way they've done business in the past.

I seriously wonder if I've made up a true story?

[moodforaday]

63. Why did Bush wait so long then?

Your scenario makes perfect sense and is consistent with the admin behavior we've seen since 9/11, until you ask why Bush took so long to arrive at the scene. For three whole days the picture of him strumming the guitar was making the rounds, and he was doing nothing to "assume leadership". He was seen slicing a cake with McCain in Arizona, though; Rice was shopping for shoes in NYC and watching Spamalot, Cheney was buying estate in Maryland, Rummy was watching baseball.

I mean, if they had things planned the way you suggest, wouldn't those plans include an immediate jump into the fray, for the cameras? I was thinking at the time, and still am to a degree, that someone wanted them to appear detached and not caring and incompetent, but why? Why did their advisors allow them to keep vacationing while people were dying in New Orleans? Big puzzle to me. Could it possibly be some sort of PR sabotage? I don't really think so (this would have required major conspiratorial dissent within the ranks very high up), but I can't see any rational explanation. Bush and Co were doing the WRONG photo-ops for so long it seemed surreal. It doesn't seem to fit with the hypothetical plan you suggest.

[Birthmark]

64. Under the scenario

He would have waited so he could blame the Governor. This requires time.

(NOTE: I AM NOT CLAIMING THAT ANY OF THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED! I'm just thinking aloud.)

[moodforaday]

65. I know, and I can see how he would want

the local government to take damage, but he was taking damage himself all the time. This is what I find most puzzling - not about your scenario in particular, but about the facts as we know them.

The normal thing would be to do start faking concern and feigning leadership for the cameras immediately. But he didn't, for two or three days, and it cost him a lot. PR people should not have allowed this. These are the same people who came up with axis of evil and "mission accomplished" - they know what they do and they can stage leathally effective PR events. Why didn't they, this time? They've been doing it for the last few days, ever since Bush's fly-over, but they started very late. And, you know, these people are NOT incompetent. I can't figure out this one.

[Usrename]

29. It's not incompetance, it's an act of war

The demographics are what they are - they speak for themselves

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

32. It "feels" deliberate to me. Excuse me while I put my tinfoil hat on. nt

[Dora]

49. Trust your intuition: I have that feeling too. n/t

[Dora]

50. self-delete, dammit.

[Birthmark]

33. Kick. I want to make sure this is followed up.

[crispini]

35. I think it's incompetence; here's why.

St. Tammany, Washington and Tangipahoa are in green, i.e. not on the list. I am pretty confident in saying that these are predominantly white, Republican parishes. I have not substantiated my guess, but a little work with the US Census website and other research would do so. The basis for my guess is that St. Tammany is just across the causeway from New Orleans and is primarily a suburb of white folks, many of whom work in the city. Washington and Tangipahoa are both very, very rural, i.e. probably Republican voting.

If the list of the missing parishes is supposedly targeted to Black or Democratic parishes or both, I'm fairly confident that the presence of those three torpedoes the theory. However, I am guessing, basing this on personal experience in the area and not research.

Anyone up for a little research project? I have to hop off line now.

[Nothing Without Hope]

36. Hi Crispini! No, I can't do the research now either. I think the first

question has to be what was in the actual letter sent by Bush to Blanco. That bizarre partial list of parishes was in an online WH Press release. Presumably reporters were emailed or faxed with a *real* press release that might be different.

I think the most likely explanation is a mistake in the online release. Easiest way to check is to find out what the *real* press release is, or even better, to find out what Gov. Blanco received.

I did email Keith about it. It may turn out to be a minor bit of incompetence when posting the online copy of the release, but it needs to be chased down.

[Spazito]

44. Here is the exact wording from Blanco's letter to Bush

"Under the provisions of Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. ss 5121-5206(Stafford Act), and implemented by 44 CFR s 206.36, I request that you declare an expedited major disaster for the state of Louisiana as Hurricane Katrina, a Catagory V Hurricane approaches our coast south of New Orleans; beginning on August 28th, 2005 and continuing. The affected areas include all the southeastern parishes INCLUDING THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THE BRUNT OF THE STORM (capitals are mine) and the mid state and northern parishes accepting the thousands of citizens forced to evacuate from the impacted areas directly affected by the Hurricane.

Parishes expected to receive major damage based on the original track of Hurricane Katrina are: Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Barnard, St. Charles, St. James, St Johns, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, and Washington."

(Any spelling errors are mine)

To read her entire letter (4 pages)go to the link to the Governor's web site, scroll down to:

Louisiana Request for Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance

then click on link provided.

http://gov.louisiana.gov/


Edited to add that the entire letter is 4 pages.

[Nothing Without Hope]

60. yes - I've posted both her letters (8/27 and 8/28) here. The question is

EXACTLY what is in Bush's REPLY to her on 8/27? The only copy I have seen is the online version of the WH Press release, also linked to in this upthread post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4692732#4693271

Blanco clearly and repeatedly named the "missing" parishes. Until we know the exact wording of the actual letter sent to her by Bush, we don't know if the online WH press release describing his reply is complete and accurate. We need to find out before making major claims.

[DemReadingDU]

37. Read update from Bob Harris

A few coastal parishes were included in a previous WH statement, but not all.

The update is included here...
http://www.bobharris.com/content/view/637/1

[DemReadingDU]

40. and here is statement concerning coastal parishes

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050829-2.html

from the comments here
http://www.chris-floyd.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=1

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

45. It seems mostly for Cindy's damage. Please Read.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050823-3.html

Statement on Federal Assistance for Louisiana

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the area struck by Tropical Storm Cindy on July 5-6, 2005.

Federal funding is available to State and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Tropical Storm Cindy in the parishes of Jefferson, Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Charles.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures in the parishes of Jefferson, Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Charles.

Representing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Department of Homeland Security, named Sandra Coachman as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.

The Agency said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the State and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FEMA [phone].

# # #

[yodermon]

42. Here's their way out:

from the whitehouse press release:

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.

All the Parishes NOT specifically listed were IMPLICITLY listed bcz they were those "in the path of Hurricane Katrina".

Weak, I know, but it's the only explanation I can muster
(actually, Walt Starr mustered it for me yesterday, see http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4677039#4678028 )

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

43. Thank you for posting this. This is of utmost importance. This

appears a deliberate act on the part of Bush not to come to the rescue of NOLA. Unfortunately, it must might technically get him off the legal hook.

[NYC]

46. A later thread on this same subject:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4694468

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

51. Please keep kicked! nt

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

52. Please keep kicked! nt

[annabanana]

53. kick . . . n/t

[Land Shark]

54. Here are links to maps of Louisiana politics and race

New Orleans is deep blue and a handful of parishes scattered up and down the state are light blue, with the rest including the Gulf Coast appearing red.

<http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/LA/P/00/map.html>

Exit polls indicated that Kerry got the majority to a solid majority in any income group under $30,000 per year (without huge FREE evacuations, the poor would be the ones left behind, along with those in nursing homes, etc)

<http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/LA/P/00/epolls.0.html>

The southern parishes along the Gulf Coast are majority white (at least some of them)

It doesn't seem that there is any possible order of "cut and paste" that would result in the clean geographical separation seen on the above map (original post). What function would allow one to highlight a map and thereby to paste the names of the parishes into a word processor? This is the only way I could see it happening, but that doesn't seem likely: highlighting a LA map from top to bottom, only one screen of information is highlighted, thus pasting only the northern portion of LA into word processing.

But there were also emergency declarations for Mississippi? any similar errors made there?

[crispini]

62. As I suspected,

Washington, St. Tammany, and Tangipahoa are red.

[BrklynLiberal]

55. kick

[spooked911]

67. kick

[Birthmark]

69. kick

[Tesibria]

70. There IS an explanation

see
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=154645&mesg_id=154650

In short - it's a "statutory" thing.

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety,

This gives FEMA the authority to help authorities in the areas subject to the direct hit (including, BTW, preventative measures) -- i.e., all the counties not mentioned.

or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.

This gives FEMA the authority to help authorities in the secondary areas not likely to be hit (but likely to have evacuees, etc.)