Hurricane Katrina: After-Action Report - Where were the breakdowns
Now that it seems everyone who is going to be rescued from New Orleans has been and the clean-up operation has begun, it’s time for an after-action report on what is and what is not to blame. This is probably going to be my last and most complete post on the subject with the possible exception of the column I have prepared for the Daily Illini.
First, we’ll start by what three things that aren’t to blame and go into what went wrong.
Levee funding cut by Bush
STATUS: Non-issue
The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the levees and floodwalls in and around New Orleans. They were designed to protect against a weak category 3 hurricane. There were no plans to upgrade that protection to category 4 or 5. Originally the plan was to have category 5 protection; however, environmentalists sued the district and stopped it. It would have taken 25 years (if it worked) to get the upgrades in to make the levees and walls protect against a category 5. (Source: Riverside magazine by the Army Corps of Engineers).
There were funding cuts to upgrades they were trying to do, but those upgrades would have been irrelevant. 15 foot walls don’t contain 22 foot surges which is what they were facing. As a matter of fact, the portions of the wall that failed were the portions that have received the greatest effort with what the Corps did do. Those were recently upgraded walls. From the NYTimes:
Shea Penland, director of the Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of New Orleans, said that was particularly surprising because the break was “along a section that was just upgraded.”
Louisiana and New Orleans were aware of the situation which is why their disaster plans call for complete evacuation using, among other things, the buses in the Mayor Ray Nagin Memorial Motor Pool.
National Guard deployments in Iraq
STATUS: Non-issue
About 3,700 Louisiana National Guard troops were overseas when the hurricane struck. The objection goes those people could have been helpful in keeping order. It misses the fact that 8,000 troops were left behind at the disposal of the governor in addition to the guardsmen from neighboring states. Reports indicate that the Arkansas National Guard was able to respond before the Louisiana National Guard. There are over 30,000 troops on the ground now. Having troops wasn’t the problem; getting them there you could argue was. More on that later.
Racism
STATUS: Invented by race-baiters trying to be relevant again
The governor of Louisiana is a Democrat. The mayor is a black Democrat. They were responsible for the evacuation and their signatures, not Bush’s are on the plan. If you want to make the argument that Democrats are racist and want black people to die, that’s your prerogative. Some other myths on racism such as the cannibalism claim are debunked here.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco
STATUS: Frozen under pressure
After the crisis struck, Gov. Blanco remained indecisive and would not commit to decisions. One example is below which is a transcript on CNN of Mayor Nagin’s comments which indicate Gov. Blanco waited 24 hours to commit on which federal plan to initiate.
From CNN Transcripts: (HT: Wizbang)
NAGIN: The president looked at me. I think he was a little surprised. He said, “No, you guys stay here. We’re going to another section of the plane, and we’re going to make a decision.”
He called me in that office after that. And he said, “Mr. Mayor, I offered two options to the governor.” I said — and I don’t remember exactly what. There were two options. I was ready to move today. The governor said she needed 24 hours to make a decision.
S. O’BRIEN: You’re telling me the president told you the governor said she needed 24 hours to make a decision?
NAGIN: Yes.
S. O’BRIEN: Regarding what? Bringing troops in?
NAGIN: Whatever they had discussed. As far as what the — I was abdicating a clear chain of command, so that we could get resources flowing in the right places.
S. O’BRIEN: And the governor said no.
NAGIN: She said that she needed 24 hours to make a decision. It would have been great if we could of left Air Force One, walked outside, and told the world that we had this all worked out. It didn’t happen, and more people died.
That wasn’t the only time she froze. She took control of the emergency apparatus yet continued to refuse to act. Bush had to personally call and beg Blanco and Nagin during dinner to order a mandatory evacuation. They still waited until the morning. A state of emergency was ordered August 26th at 9:44pm, they waited until 28th at 10am to order the evacuation. A full 36 hours could have been added to the evacuation time which could have included the National Guard going door-to-door to drag people out of New Orleans. She simply sat around and failed her people. Blanco refused to give any authority to the federal government to act.
Mayor Ray Nagin
STATUS: Who me?
While Mayor Nagin thinks the CIA is going to off him in the near future, he should look no farther than the lots of buses he left in his parking lots that could have gotten people out.
The initial responsibility of evacuating people in New Orleans belongs to the Mayor which we have seen did little to nothing beforehand.
Conduct of an actual evacuation will be the responsibility of the Mayor of New Orleans in coordination with the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and the OEP Shelter Coordinator.
The buses sitting in parking lots and not evacuating people is the fault of Mayor Nagin and Mayor Nagin alone.
New Orleans Police Department
STATUS: Two-thirds of the police force is gone
That’s correct, over 2/3rds of the New Orleans police department just left and now they are trying to entice them back with taxpayer funded trips to Vegas. FEMA has no plan (but probably should) for such a catastrophic power vacuum which did little more than strengthen the anarchy. Why the police just left instead of do their jobs is unknown, but perhaps this may explain it.
Failure to use buses to evacuate people
STATUS: 500-2000 buses ruined in their parking lots
The evacuation called for using buses to get those without cars out, but they simply left the buses in the parking lots to get destroyed. They could have at least took the buses to high ground so they could have been used after the hurricane passed, much less get people out before the hurricane hit.
One trip of 500 buses at near full capacity is 30,000 people. They could have made at least 3 trips. Sure, people would have been left, but 90,000 people would be safe and dry now.
Pirates, Looters, and Mobs, oh my!
STATUS: Armed bandits shut down rescue operation necessitating militarizing the situation
There were FEMA and other rescue teams that got in fairly quickly, but snipers began shooting at rescue helicopters, pirates began boat-jacking rescuers, and all mayhem broke lose, complete with police looting and standing by while people did so. If people were going to raid food stores, the government should have taken it first and rationed it. Instead it created an environment of lawlessness in a culture that recognizes no moral norms. (More on that later).
Rescuers had to halt operations in general, and at locations like the Superdome, because they had no security to proceed with. This necessitated an unforeseen buildup of military force that could provide security which took more time.
That’s it for now. FEMA could have handled some things better, sure. But the responsibility in the first few days is local, not federal. The states have to authorize help, and Louisiana didn’t. Mississippi was hit by the same hurricane and there was no crisis there because people did what they were supposed to do. FEMA could have stepped up better, sure. But the point is they shouldn’t have had to deal with a complete collapse of the local authorities in the first place. They shouldn’t have had to deal with 100,000 people trapped in New Orleans.
(Thanks again to OTB)
Hurricane Katrina: After Action Report Wher…
Hurricane Katrina: After Action Report Wher…
Trackback by Zebrality.com | September 6, 2005
There is a difference between failing - and lying to the people you are supposed to protect. And that is what Ray Nagin did. The worst part is that the local media knew he was lying - and did nothing about it. See below:
http://lacowboy.blogspot.com/2005/09/hurricane-katrina-blogger-brendan-loy
Comment by Brady Westwater | September 6, 2005
Another Katrina After-Action Report
Not as forgiving as Rick Moran’s. Part-Time Pundit: Hurricane Katrina: After-Action Report - Where were the breakdowns…
Trackback by Just Some Poor Schmuck | September 6, 2005
Looks like you need to familiarize yourself with the DHS National Response Plan. It clearly states:
“ALL PRESIDENTIALLY DECLARED DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES UNDER THE STAFFORD ACT ARE CONSIDERED INCIDENTS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.” (NRP, 7)
And once a disaster or emergency is declared, the NRP rules delineate the “PROACTIVE” role and responsibility of the Federal Government, including the following:
“Standard procedures regarding requests for assistance may be expedited, or under extreme circumstances, suspended in the immediate aftermath of an event of catastrophic magnitude.” (NRP, 44)
So the big to-do about the governor and mayor not requesting anything? Meaningless.
Further, the NRP federal plan states:
“Federal departments and agencies are EXPECTED to provide:
* initial and/or ongoing response, when warranted, under their own authority and funding;
* alert, notification, pre-positioning and timely delivery of resources;
* proactive support for catastrophic or potentially catastrophic incidents using protocols for expedited delivery of resources.” (NRP, 6)
It also assigns the President a fiduciary role as leader:
“The President leads the Nation in responding efficiently and ensuring the necessary resources are applied quickly and effectively to all Incidents of National Significance.” (NHP, 15)
You can read the rest about troop deployment, etc. Note that it is signed by President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Porter Goss, among others.
Finally, regarding evacuation:
Per the Hurricane Pam emergency readiness exercise between FEMA and LA last summer, changes were made to their hurricane plan, including that of transportation:
“As a result of the Hurricane Pam Exercise, agencies are in the process of applying what they learned to their emergency response plans. Those changes include:
* assisting people without transportation – the American Red Cross is developing a program that would ask private citizens to collect people at area churches and transport them.”
http://www.lsu.edu/highlights/052/pam.html
However, an official at the Red Cross, and the Red Cross website FAQ clearly states that the Red Cross was not allowed in NO, even before the hurricane.
http://www.redcross.org/faq/0,1096,0_682_4524,00.html#4524
Kind of makes it hard to follow the evacuation plan, huh?
Also, Michael Brown is on record last Tuesday praising the Mayor of New Orleans for his excellent evacuation plan AND stating that FEMA is ready and prepared for just such a hurricane event for years.
Guess not.
While I understand there is plenty of blame to go around, it seems you have more than a few facts wrong.
Comment by Anne | September 6, 2005
I’ll be curiously awaiting whether you are fair enough to post my comments and allow them the option for debate.
In the meantime, I’ve forgotten one other piece of information:
On Sunday, a mayor from a small town in MS was asked what he thought of FEMA. “FEMA? What’s that?” he asked. When the anchor started to explain, the mayor stated that he was kidding. He knew who FEMA was, but hadn’t seen them.
If the problems are all attributable to the New Orleans mayor, why are some mayors in MS saying they still have not received food nor water from FEMA? It’s more than just one mayor, too.
This is far more important than petty partisanship. Next time we’ll have little or no warning (tornado or earthquake) or no warning (terror attack). If we don’t correct these problems and accept that there was failure at the federal level, it may be any of us out on the street. There won’t be evacuation plans to discuss, just another story of starving on the streets waiting for FEMA, state and local officials to get their acts together.
Comment by Anne | September 6, 2005
You apologists crack me up. Bush could shit on your face and you’d mention how you love corn.
Sure, the funding was cut because we needed tax cuts. Sure, most of the National Guard and most heavy equipment is being used for target practice halfway around the world. Sure, global warming models predict stronger storms if we don’t take action now. Sure, destroying wetlands makes cities more vulnerable…
But none of that matters. It’s the local mayor’s fault, but of course. Just like it’s the poor’s fault for being poor.
Hey, but at least you’ll get that Paris Hilton tax cut. Nothing like someone who cares about the poor to cut taxes of the richest Americans while the poorest are, literally, out on the street.
I can’t even imagine what it would take to wake you folks up. Well, actually I can, and our little adventure in Iraq is going to make it happen sooner, rather than later.
But at least now we’ll have some practice with a city being wiped off the map in a matter of moments.
Comment by wah | September 6, 2005
I like that Soledad O’Brien. She’s a hottie.
Comment by anon | September 6, 2005
What amuses me is the knee-jerk responses that don’t really read what I wrote.
FEMA probably should have had a contigency if the La. Gov. and NO Mayor basically fell down on the job. They didn’t end ended up making up stuff as they went.
It wasn’t Bush’s fault that the La. Governor and NO Mayor waited a full 36 hours after the disaster was declared and 12 hours after Bush HIMSELF called (to beg them to evacuate) to evacuate. It wasn’t Bush that left over 500 buses in parking lots. It wasn’t Bush who waited 24 hours to decide which federal plan to sign off on.
Sure, there is heavy equipment in Iraq from the La. National Guard. That equipment is commonly called “tanks”. They wouldn’t be useful here.
Comment by jcb | September 6, 2005
“Sure, there is heavy equipment in Iraq from the La. National Guard. That equipment is commonly called “tanks”. They wouldn’t be useful here.” -jcb
You’re entirely wrong.
http://abc26.trb.com/news/natguard08012005,0,4504131.story?coll=wgno-news-1
From the article, written AUG 1st.
“When members of the Louisiana National Guard left for Iraq in October, they took a lot equipment with them. Dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad, and in the event of a major natural disaster that, could be a problem.”
RESPONSE:
No, I’m not entirely wrong. They in fect did take tanks out there and tank supporting units. Sure, there are high-water vehicles, but not the kind that can help with, say, search and rescue. They may have generators, but that wouldn’t help with say, search and rescue. It could be useful NOW, if it weren’t for the fact nation-wide they’ve got that stuff coming in. It wouldn’t have helped a week ago.
Comment by Yawn | September 6, 2005
Dems are taking a header on this one real bad! Amazing how they never seem to learn a damn thing isn’t it?
Great post!
Comment by OTTMANN | September 6, 2005
“Sure, there are high-water vehicles, but not the kind that can help with, say, search and rescue.”
Do you not watch television? People have been rescued in dump trucks. Even if the vehicles in question couldn’t rescue one person (which you have the burden of proving), they might be useful for, I don’t know, deploying the national guard, food, water, and medicine. All of which WOULD have helped a week ago!
“No, I’m not entirely wrong.”
Your claim that the equipment in Iraq wouldn’t be useful in New Orleans is a COMPLETE lie.
RESPONSE:
You don’t know what a lie is do you?
You know what would have been more helpful for rescuing people? Buses. The kind that were flooded out in New Orleans parking lots. Sure they could have drove tanks up and let people jump on them. Fine. But there was no shortage of things to get people out. That was never a problem
Comment by Yawn | September 7, 2005
So in her letter on Saturday night asking the president to declare an emergency, what did she mean when she said
Did she forget to dot an i or something? I mean the letter was sent on kind of short notice and all (roughly 48-hours before landfall), but don’t you think someone at FEMA could have taken her seriously and perhaps started to put together a care package or something? Maybe?
RESPONSE:
It wasn’t FEMAs job to get bus drivers into New Orleans. It wasn’t FEMAs job to make sure 1000 of 1500 New Orleans cops didn’t leave their posts. It wasn’t FEMAs job to get Gov Blanco to sit for 24 hours deciding which federal plan to execute.
Comment by kchunk | September 7, 2005
Katrina
Like all Americans, I’ve been watching events unfold in New Orleans. A lot of it is emotional, however I’ve been struck by the difference in leadership styles between New Orleans’ mayor Nagin and New York’s mayor Giuliani after the terrorist
Trackback by Evolving Excellence | September 7, 2005
And what is FEMA’s job?
To stage photo ops for Bush!
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3004197
Frustrated: Fire crews to hand out fliers for FEMA
“But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew’s first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.”
Comment by JackNYC | September 7, 2005
It wasn’t FEMA’s job. It wasn’t FEMA’s job. It wasn’t FEMA’s job. You sound like a Teamster.
What is FEMA’s job while a Cat 5 hurricane swirls in the Gulf and a governor issues a plea for help?
RESPONSE:
Well, it isn’t FEMAs job to tell the city where their buses are and get them moving. It isn’t FEMAs job to forge the governor’s signature on federal plans. It isn’t FEMAs job to actually order the evacuation beforehand.
Rudy Guiliani didn’t whine to FEMA, he took care of business.
Comment by kchunk | September 7, 2005
Great post. The Left has been so eager to dump all the blame for this on Bush, they are willing to overlook everybody else (especially if the fault lies with a Democrat, as it is with the mayor of NO and the governor of LA.)
2008 is gonna get VERY interesting…
Comment by reverse_vampyr | September 7, 2005
I guess you missed it, so I’ll ask again.
What is FEMA’s job while a Cat 5 hurricane swirls in the Gulf and a governor issues a plea for help?
RESPONSE:
The premise of your question is all wrong. It’s not FEMAs job to order an evacuation. FEMA is not a first responder agency.
Comment by kchunk | September 8, 2005
Sunday night, Brown went on TV and told the nation he wasn’t going to allow buearucratic red tape to stand between his agency and people in need. That they were preparing to do whatever was necessary to help the people of New Orleans recover from the disaster. And that help was already on its way.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Broadcasting Friday night both from the convention center and a bridge over the Mississippi, Sheppard Smith and Geraldo Rivera told Hannity on his own program that help had yet to arrive for any of the still thousands waiting for it. That’s five days. And for a government which has been telling me since 2001 that they were going to do things cheaper and more efficiently, six days is too long. So I’ll ask a third time, what is FEMA’s responsibility while a CAT 5 hurricane swirls in the Gulf of Mexico? Should it take seven days from the first call for help for them to respond?
As for your Rudy took care of business crap. Rudy had electricity. Rudy had running water. Rudy had passable streets. And Rudy was mayor of the media capitol of the world. The only communication into or out of the darkened, flooded New Orleans was via sattellite phone. First responders did what they could in the hours after the storm, but the Governor warned on Saturday that it wouldn’t be enough. Hence the cry for help.
Had this entire situation gone down exactly the same way but with President Kerry at the helm, I wonder if you’d be as forgiving of the federal response.
RESPONSE:
The entire situation happened because the mayor and governor looked around instead of following their plan and getting their people out. You’re selling, but no one is buying.
Comment by kchunk | September 8, 2005
No one is buying? That’s not the way I read Zogby today.
FEMA seemed to do alright by Florida in an election year. Troops AND relief supplies on stand-by before landfall? What a concept. Maybe there’s a FEMA formula involving electoral votes and the governor’s political/familial affiliation.
RESPONSE:
I don’t care about half-baked polls before the facts are really out there. In fact, that poll is cooked on its face.
You guys refuse to blame Blanco and Nagin for CAUSING this crisis. FEMA might not have been so hot about handling it, but it shouldn’t have been CAUSED by the lcoals in the first place. FEMA seemed to do the right thing in Florida a few days before, and in Mississippi and Alabama where the situation was handled? Why was New Orleans different? Because the locals screwed up, that’s why.
Comment by kchunk | September 8, 2005