Quetzal
Contributor
Good to here.fmw625:
Katrina
- Thread starter Rick Murchison
- Start date
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Ishie
Guest
QUETZAL:
I was thinking that. Considering there appears to have been no real effort to get people who were not mobile to the shelters, I do feel bad for the people trapped in their homes. Heck, even if they were dumb enough to be able-bodied, had means to leave, but wanted to "protect the home front", while it was not a smart priority choice, I feel bad for them. But the response, and I don't know how much is city/state/federal level, nor at this point do I care, is absolutely unacceptable from beginning to end. There were not adequate ways to get people to the shelters, the shelters became totally uninhabitable within a short period of time, and order fell apart completely both inside and out of the shelters. Had the people stranded on rooftops had to be saved over the course of a few days where they were then transferred to adequately supplied, safe shelters, I would feel little sympathy for the able-bodied that had not heeded warnings and were in discomfort on rooftops. However, from the news reports, if a roof remained in tact and you were able to drag anything from downstairs, it seems to have offered a better option than the main shelter they were telling people to evac to!
I'm glad they're finally getting help, but it's way late. People in hospitals and shelters were/are dying, and I don't think it's because docs and nurses were too stubborn to get them out. Food didn't arrive until yesterday. The small population taking advantage of the situation as well as wreaking havoc on the survivors are likely the only ones doing well at all, thus the sufferers are the weak and elderly. On Sunday, they were saying this was a very real possibility, NOT just that the hurricane would be bad, but that the levees could break and the pumps could fail. I saw that on the National Weather Service, CNN, the Weather Channel, Fox News, and the local news. Not just the hurricane, but the levees. I know the weather forecasters can play chicken little, but with the potential for disaster specifically with this site, I would MUCH rather be looking back on this with some wastest tax dollars going to a stationed Nat'l Guard that wasn't needed than this. I wouldn't treat a dog like this.
Kayla
Contributor
My thoughts and prayers are with everyone down there dealing with this right now. A good friend of mine is an officer down there, he sent out his wife and kids, but stayed through the storm. He made it, but has been working non-stop sense.
I know I live a long ways away, but my house is open to anyone that might need it. Send me a message. I have a lot of things that I can donate as well, if anyone knows someone that needs clothing/ food/ things like that. If I dont hear from anyone on the board in the next couple of days, I'm going to send it that direction anyway.
Its at a time like this when we cant afford to argue. We all need to put aside our differences and focus on what really matters here... Saving lives. Its sad to see that even politics can get in the way of that.
I'm sending my thoughts and prayers that direction. Let me know if there is anything that I can do for any of you.
Kayla
I know I live a long ways away, but my house is open to anyone that might need it. Send me a message. I have a lot of things that I can donate as well, if anyone knows someone that needs clothing/ food/ things like that. If I dont hear from anyone on the board in the next couple of days, I'm going to send it that direction anyway.
Its at a time like this when we cant afford to argue. We all need to put aside our differences and focus on what really matters here... Saving lives. Its sad to see that even politics can get in the way of that.
I'm sending my thoughts and prayers that direction. Let me know if there is anything that I can do for any of you.
Kayla
Wildcard,
I saw the same thing on CNN. EMS gear stockpiles have NOT been requested by the affected states (governors). There was a reporter from MSNBC who said that after many years of covering hurricanes and specially the ones last year in FL he hadent seen such a weak response and they shouold consider bringing the person who runs the emergency responce team in FLORIDA to NOLA. Regardless, The President did say it was unacceptable and the Fed effort has been nothing short of overwhelming since then (which is probably when he noticed the local and state Govt wereincappable of handling a natural disaster).
I saw the same thing on CNN. EMS gear stockpiles have NOT been requested by the affected states (governors). There was a reporter from MSNBC who said that after many years of covering hurricanes and specially the ones last year in FL he hadent seen such a weak response and they shouold consider bringing the person who runs the emergency responce team in FLORIDA to NOLA. Regardless, The President did say it was unacceptable and the Fed effort has been nothing short of overwhelming since then (which is probably when he noticed the local and state Govt wereincappable of handling a natural disaster).
Kayla:
You are right Kayla, it is time to quit squabbling. It is easy to be angry about this right now, and natural to want to blame people and such. However it is a fact it is not any one person's fault nor any one agency's fault. It is a collective of numerous lack of forsight and planning and resources. Could it have been better? YES! Could they have actually included the poor and elderly in their initial planning? YES! But this is a moot point now. Perhaps they will learn from this now. However, what can we do now? Let us try putting our hearts and heads together and getting our thoughts into the right places to work on solving this problem now that it has occurred. Put our anger into helping the right places insure that this scale of disaster won't be this bad ever again.
Lisa
*Floater*
Contributor
WaterDawg:
The LA governor at least sent the president an official plea for aid last Sunday. In the letter she said the State and local governments were not equiped to handle this emergency and that federal aid would be necessary. Too bad it took almost a week to get there.
Here's a link to the pdf if you want to check it: http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster Relief Request.pdf
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I received this tonight in a PM and told the nice lady I would post it for her...
HawaiiLover:
Quetzal
Contributor
WE NEED MORE GUYS LIKE THIS!
Navy pilots' unauthorized rescues
Associated Press
PENSACOLA, Fla. Two Navy helicopter pilots were praised but then reminded of the importance of supply missions after delivering their cargo and then rescuing 110 hurricane victims in New Orleans instead of immediately returning to base, the military said today.
One of the pilots was temporarily assigned to a kennel, but that was not punishment, said Patrick Nichols, a civilian public affairs officer at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
"They were not reprimanded," Nichols said. "They were counseled."
Lt. Matt Udkow and Lt. David Shand returned to the base from their mission Aug. 30, a day after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Nichols said.
Udkow and Shand were met by Cmdr. Michael Holdener, who lauded them for the rescues but reminded them their orders were to fly water and other supplies to three destinations in Mississippi the Stennis Space Center, Pascagoula and Gulfport and then return to Pensacola, said Lt. Jim Hoeft, another Navy spokesman.
"The Hollywood role of this thing is search and rescue," Nichols said. "Logistics was just as important. They realize that."
The two air crews picked up a Coast Guard radio call that helicopters were needed for rescues in New Orleans, Hoeft said. They were out of radio range to Pensacola, so they decided to fly their helicopters to New Orleans and join the rescue effort without permission.
It took only minutes for the H-3 helicopters to fly to New Orleans, where Udkow's crew plucked people off rooftops. Shand hovered over the roof of an apartment building where more than a dozen people had been stranded. When he returned to get more, two crew members entered the building and found two blind residents and led them to the helicopter.
Udkow later received permission to continue with the rescue missions when he landed to refuel in New Orleans.
Both helicopters returned to Pensacola, about 200 miles east of New Orleans, by dark, as required by flight rules. Nichols said they did not miss any additional supply runs because of the rescues.
The pilots and Holdener weren't available for interviews today, Nichols said. He said Udkow was flying and Shand was resting between missions.
"We all want to be the guys who rescue people," Holdener told The New York Times. "But they were told we have other missions we have to do night now, and that is not the priority."
The air over New Orleans was so thick with helicopters a few days later that crews were having a hard time finding people who needed rescuing, but that was not the case when Udkow and Shand flew their rescue missions.
"I would be looking at a family of two on one roof and maybe a family of six on another roof, and I would have to make a decision who to rescue," Udkow told the Times. "It wasn't easy."
Nichols said Udkow was in no way being punished by being put in charge of a temporary kennel in Pensacola for pets of military personnel who had been evacuated from hurricane-stricken areas.
"It's a collateral duty," Nichols said. "These guys don't just fly. They do other stuff."
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3343812
Navy pilots' unauthorized rescues
Associated Press
PENSACOLA, Fla. Two Navy helicopter pilots were praised but then reminded of the importance of supply missions after delivering their cargo and then rescuing 110 hurricane victims in New Orleans instead of immediately returning to base, the military said today.
One of the pilots was temporarily assigned to a kennel, but that was not punishment, said Patrick Nichols, a civilian public affairs officer at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
"They were not reprimanded," Nichols said. "They were counseled."
Lt. Matt Udkow and Lt. David Shand returned to the base from their mission Aug. 30, a day after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Nichols said.
Udkow and Shand were met by Cmdr. Michael Holdener, who lauded them for the rescues but reminded them their orders were to fly water and other supplies to three destinations in Mississippi the Stennis Space Center, Pascagoula and Gulfport and then return to Pensacola, said Lt. Jim Hoeft, another Navy spokesman.
"The Hollywood role of this thing is search and rescue," Nichols said. "Logistics was just as important. They realize that."
The two air crews picked up a Coast Guard radio call that helicopters were needed for rescues in New Orleans, Hoeft said. They were out of radio range to Pensacola, so they decided to fly their helicopters to New Orleans and join the rescue effort without permission.
It took only minutes for the H-3 helicopters to fly to New Orleans, where Udkow's crew plucked people off rooftops. Shand hovered over the roof of an apartment building where more than a dozen people had been stranded. When he returned to get more, two crew members entered the building and found two blind residents and led them to the helicopter.
Udkow later received permission to continue with the rescue missions when he landed to refuel in New Orleans.
Both helicopters returned to Pensacola, about 200 miles east of New Orleans, by dark, as required by flight rules. Nichols said they did not miss any additional supply runs because of the rescues.
The pilots and Holdener weren't available for interviews today, Nichols said. He said Udkow was flying and Shand was resting between missions.
"We all want to be the guys who rescue people," Holdener told The New York Times. "But they were told we have other missions we have to do night now, and that is not the priority."
The air over New Orleans was so thick with helicopters a few days later that crews were having a hard time finding people who needed rescuing, but that was not the case when Udkow and Shand flew their rescue missions.
"I would be looking at a family of two on one roof and maybe a family of six on another roof, and I would have to make a decision who to rescue," Udkow told the Times. "It wasn't easy."
Nichols said Udkow was in no way being punished by being put in charge of a temporary kennel in Pensacola for pets of military personnel who had been evacuated from hurricane-stricken areas.
"It's a collateral duty," Nichols said. "These guys don't just fly. They do other stuff."
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3343812
Katdiver2005
Guest
Don, please tell Kelly Jo that her and her family are in my heart, thoughts and prayers.
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