Katrina - Billions of Dollars of Damage and No Plan

Katrina was reported to be cataclysmic. People were predicting the worse. Were the plans good enough? I'm struck by a number of things I have observed - from a distance.

People are waiting to be rescued in their homes, on roof tops, and in trees, but there does not seem to be a lot of help. I know the reporting is sketchy due to the logistics, but I have not seen or heard of any massive rescue efforts. Where are the navy, marines, air force, and army? Why are people being rescued by fishing boats? Why do the fish and wildlife folks seem to be in charge of rescue efforts? Bush promised federal assistance , did he mean from the fish and wildlife department? Why is the media not asking why there is not a massive deployment of the American military or from military other nations as there was in the response to the Asian tsunami? So far the US response to this billion dollar disaster is worse than Sri Lanka's several months ago. No plan whatsoever.

Of course, we all suspect why, but the media is being complacent in not bringing the lack of federal resources to light. Canadians will remember that despite our small military they were mobilized to help Toronto dig out of a snow storm. Americans should be very concerned about the rescue effort - to date.

The American Red Cross has mobilized, in the largest effort ever, according to reports. As has the Environmental Protection Agency (I don't think they are going to rescue anybody), the Coast Guard (that will help), The Agriculture Department and Food and Nutrition Service (among other things they will be handing out food stamps), and the Defense Department dispatched coordinators. Americans should expect more. Where is the aircraft carrier, the helicopters, the marines, the amphibious vehicles....

Couple of other things that strike me. Why was the power and gas not turned off in preparation for this billion dollar tragedy? Was there no plan? And finally, following the tsunami in Asia, photos and videos from citizens were making there way onto TV and flickr.com. Even after Emily, I could go to Flickr and see pics of the devastation in Mexico the very next day. As of today there are only pictures of the Katrina damage from Florida. I wonder if this is an indicator of the great number of people fighting for their lives and not being rescued. I hope it is because nobody in the deep south blogs or uses flickr, but I have got the sense that people are in grave situations and continue to be today.

I hope that there are some spare military resources, people, boats, etc. that are arriving on the scene today to start rescuing people. Then in a couple of weeks, while most will be focusing on death counts and insurance damage. Americans and their media should start asking some hard questions about where the plan was, where the rescue effort was, where were all the military personnel and resources to help feed, save, and comfort Americans when they needed help.

They may also want to ask why this happened in the first place. Is there wisdom in building a city in a fish bowl? Why does the federal government not support action on global warming? I would assume that if everybody knows there will be billions of dollars and hundreds of lives lost in a hurricane (remember the hurricane season is not over) why not spend several billion fixing the pumps and levees that did need to be improved. The money will somehow be there to rebuild after the disaster, but executing a plan to prevent it..... Billions of Dollars Without a Plan.

Comments

[Robert Paterson]

I have been on the raod for 3 days in the car and have not bene able to find any news worthy of the name that discussed Katrina.

All I have heard is that there was a big storm, losts of damage, lives lost and big costs.

Nothing about why NO was so exposed. Nothing about the failure to plan. Nothing about any plan now.

A huge vacuum - not just the CBC

[Aniya Gibbs]

This is a real shame people still are in this flood and no one can help to rescue them. Some one should have a rescue team or something like an army.There are millions of people out there stranded on roof tops,houses,and in trees. What if these people were your family members? Would you help them?You really need to at least donate a couple of dollars to support these people they have nothing.