Everyone Got Early Warning on Katrina (Go Figure)
GULF COAST HURRICANES
COMMENTARY
I always have to qualify my observations on the hurricane topic as I refer back to actually having lived through Katrina on the Gulf Coast. Everyone has an opinion on Hurricane Katrina. I submit that unless you were there, your opinions are diminished by default.
In any case, the early warning non-story in today's Washington Post is so much last year's news. I am embarrassed for the Post for running it, and I am embarrassed for the folks discussing it like it is some sort of new issue.
My thoughts are that Homeland Security had better have advised the White House on Hurricane Katrina. Even the National Weather Service gave a heads up detailing life and property loss estimates. However, I am quite sure Homeland Security (and the White House) could not have done anything to stop the storm.
That said, I will also make the observation that any so-called "emergency" communication should NEVER be delivered by e-mail. Hell, the world could end while you are waiting for someone to open their mailbox. Sheesh.
In the end, if everyone knew Katrina was the "big one," the question should be why didn't local and state governments take it upon themselves to act faster? As I recall, folks in New Orleans waited around till the last minute before the local authorities told them to move ... when the storm passed they thought they had dodged "the big" one -- that was, till the levees broke.
NEWSLINES
"Two to three days before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, it became clear that it would be the 'Big One' everyone has been talking about for years," [Sen. Joe] Lieberman said.
The reports echo warnings given around the same time by Max Mayfield, head of the National Hurricane Center, who began sounding the alarm when forecasters first placed Katrina on a collision with the Gulf Coast on the evening of Aug. 26.
NEWSBYTE
White House Got Early Warning on Katrina
(washingtonpost.com) -- In the 48 hours before Hurricane Katrina hit, the White House received detailed warnings about the storm's likely impact, including eerily prescient predictions of breached levees, massive flooding, and major losses of life and property, documents show.
A 41-page assessment by the Department of Homeland Security's National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC), was delivered by e-mail to the White House's "situation room," the nerve center where crises are handled, at 1:47 a.m. on Aug. 29, the day the storm hit, according to an e-mail cover sheet accompanying the document. Read full story.
NOTE: Mouseover pictures for captions.
NOTE: All rights are reserved by image owners; site image content is linked only.
Tags: Gulf Coast, Hurricane, Wilma, tropical storm, Katrina, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life
MAINTAIN THE TENSION: VISIT OUR ADVERTISERS
Hurricane Katrina at Amazon.com
Time: Hurricane Katrina : The Storm That Changed America
Hurricane Katrina: Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers
Hurricane Katrina: Stories of Rescue, Recovery and Rebuilding in the Eye of the Storm
Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina And the Color of Disaster
On Risk And Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina
COMMENTARY I always have to qualify my observations on the hurricane topic as I refer back to actually having lived through Katrina on the Gulf Coast. Everyone has an opinion on Hurricane Katrina. I submit that unless you were there, your opinions are diminished by default.
In any case, the early warning non-story in today's Washington Post is so much last year's news. I am embarrassed for the Post for running it, and I am embarrassed for the folks discussing it like it is some sort of new issue.
My thoughts are that Homeland Security had better have advised the White House on Hurricane Katrina. Even the National Weather Service gave a heads up detailing life and property loss estimates. However, I am quite sure Homeland Security (and the White House) could not have done anything to stop the storm.
That said, I will also make the observation that any so-called "emergency" communication should NEVER be delivered by e-mail. Hell, the world could end while you are waiting for someone to open their mailbox. Sheesh.
In the end, if everyone knew Katrina was the "big one," the question should be why didn't local and state governments take it upon themselves to act faster? As I recall, folks in New Orleans waited around till the last minute before the local authorities told them to move ... when the storm passed they thought they had dodged "the big" one -- that was, till the levees broke.
NEWSLINES
"Two to three days before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, it became clear that it would be the 'Big One' everyone has been talking about for years," [Sen. Joe] Lieberman said.
The reports echo warnings given around the same time by Max Mayfield, head of the National Hurricane Center, who began sounding the alarm when forecasters first placed Katrina on a collision with the Gulf Coast on the evening of Aug. 26.
NEWSBYTE
White House Got Early Warning on Katrina
(washingtonpost.com) -- In the 48 hours before Hurricane Katrina hit, the White House received detailed warnings about the storm's likely impact, including eerily prescient predictions of breached levees, massive flooding, and major losses of life and property, documents show.
A 41-page assessment by the Department of Homeland Security's National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC), was delivered by e-mail to the White House's "situation room," the nerve center where crises are handled, at 1:47 a.m. on Aug. 29, the day the storm hit, according to an e-mail cover sheet accompanying the document. Read full story.
NOTE: Mouseover pictures for captions.
NOTE: All rights are reserved by image owners; site image content is linked only.
Tags: Gulf Coast, Hurricane, Wilma, tropical storm, Katrina, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life
MAINTAIN THE TENSION: VISIT OUR ADVERTISERS
Hurricane Katrina at Amazon.com
Time: Hurricane Katrina : The Storm That Changed America
Hurricane Katrina: Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers
Hurricane Katrina: Stories of Rescue, Recovery and Rebuilding in the Eye of the Storm
Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina And the Color of Disaster
On Risk And Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina
posted by Steven Moyer at 1:14 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home