World stunned as US struggles with Katrina

There was no way to save those people from a Cat 4 hurricane but tell them to leave. It's nuts to think otherwise.

They had the "warn them as soon as possible, because everyone knows a major city can't evacuate its' inhabitants within 24 hours" attitude.

More than half those people chose not to go.

Only old and infirmed people should have stayed--and even then, how is the city supposed to even FIND them in 24 hours, much less find and evacuate? Some things aren't possible.

In any given situation attitude makes all the difference in the world. I realize that thousands probably have died because of this disaster. And that cuts anyone to the heart.

But, what good has all of the political bashing, finger pointing, and name calling done? It is dividing the country. It's like Hurricane Katrina did what Osama Bin Laden didn't.

I want to see some of the good things. The heroic rescues by people, the children saved, etc. New Orleans has always been a city that is in the public eye because of the crime rate and the NOPD. Now, NO is being shown as a city that has rapists, looters, snipers, and rioters in the middle of a natural disaster. All that is being focused on is the bad side. And, what those people are doing in NO is no one's fault but their own. I am talking about the looters, rapists, etc. They are the ones displaying that behavior. That has nothing to do with the Mayor, Governor, or the President. Those are the ones that are making it so difficult for the others to be rescued. Would you really want to go down there and try to help someone knowing you might be shot or raped?

Here's newspaper comment from around the world:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4211320.stm

Here's newspaper comment from around the world:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4211320.stm

I only post Maureen Dowd because Lash made me do it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/03/opinion/03dowd.html?incamp=article_popular

Falluja Floods the Superdome
By FRANK RICH
Published: September 4, 2005

The failures of 9/11 come home to roost.

...

As always, the president's first priority, the one that sped him from Crawford toward California, was saving himself: he had to combat the flood of record-low poll numbers that was as uncontrollable as the surging of Lake Pontchartrain. It was time, therefore, for another disingenuous pep talk, in which he would exploit the cataclysm that defined his first term, 9/11, even at the price of failing to recognize the emerging fiasco likely to engulf Term 2.

...

The president's declaration that "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees" has instantly achieved the notoriety of Condoleezza Rice's "I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center." The administration's complete obliviousness to the possibilities for energy failures, food and water deprivation, and civil disorder in a major city under siege needs only the Donald Rumsfeld punch line of "Stuff happens" for a coup de grâce.

[continued at]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/opinion/04rich.html

They had the "warn them as soon as possible, because everyone knows a major city can't evacuate its' inhabitants within 24 hours" attitude.

More than half those people chose not to go.

Only old and infirmed people should have stayed--and even then, how is the city supposed to even FIND them in 24 hours, much less find and evacuate? Some things aren't possible.

Why were they bussed the whole way when Bush was able to ride Air Force One in to an airport not too far from NO?

Then there was the treatment of the visitors getting to cut into the front of the line at some point, when there were still thousands who'd been waiting at the designated relief center for days, told to wait just a little while longer while these visitors and their luggage were bussed on out ahead of them... The treatment of the citizens was outrageous!!!

You think the looting and other nefarious activities are all the fault of the criminals of New Orleans? I don't think so, MA. The situation drove them to such extremes. They had no food, no potable water, no medical supplies, no assistance.

Did you take a survey, lash? I guess the young and not infirmed without a car and/or money for gas, restaurant food and lodging should have simply walked to safety?

No one has even met to analyze what went wrong and how to fix it. So, I'll stop harping when I see that mistakes have been corrected so they don't happen again.

Monday, Aug. 29:

- Katrina, a Category 4 hurricane with 145 mph winds, makes landfall near Buras, La., at 6:10 a.m. CDT (7:10 a.m. EDT).

- President Bush makes emergency disaster declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi, freeing up federal funds.

- Katrina rips two holes in the Superdome's roof. Some 10,000 storm refugees are inside.
- At least eight Gulf Coast refineries shut down or reduce operations.

- Airports close in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Biloxi, Mobile and Pensacola. Hundreds of flights are canceled or diverted.

Tuesday, Aug. 30:

- The hurricane death toll in Mississippi rises to more than 100.

- Two levees break in New Orleans and water pours in, covering 80 percent of the city and rising to 20 feet deep in some areas. Many people climb onto roofs to escape.

In any event the responsiblity became federal as soon as New Orleans was declared a state of emergency; which was before the levee broke and New Orleans flooded.