FacebookTwitter
Hatrack River Forum   
my profile login | search | faq | forum home

  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» Hatrack River Forum » Active Forums » Books, Films, Food and Culture » Can't say we didn't see it coming

   
Author Topic: Can't say we didn't see it coming
Telperion the Silver
Member
Member # 6074

 - posted      Profile for Telperion the Silver   Email Telperion the Silver         Edit/Delete Post 
Well... here's a link that shows again that we knew Nola was in danger...
Posts: 4953 | Registered: Jan 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Morbo
Member
Member # 5309

 - posted      Profile for Morbo   Email Morbo         Edit/Delete Post 
Tel, I'll go you one better: the anarchy and death of the people left behind was predicted--and ignored.
quote:
Poor, sick, aged left in the lurch
No plan ever made to help New Orleans' most vulnerable
Leonard Witt - For the Journal-Constitution
Thursday, September 1, 2005

Each time you hear a federal, state or city official explain what he or she is doing to help New Orleans, consider the opening paragraphs of a July 24 story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

"City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give the poorest of New Orleans' poor a historically blunt message: In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own."

The story continues:

"In scripted appearances being recorded now, officials such as Mayor Ray Nagin, local Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins and City Council President Oliver Thomas drive home the word that the city does not have the resources to move out of harm's way an estimated 134,000 people without transportation."

The officials made those statements fully knowing that those 134,000 people were very likely to end up in dire circumstances or even die.

Atlanta Journal-Const. editorial There was no evacuation plan for the poor and carless. To blame people with no money or cars for not leaving the city on short notice is absurd, yet many are doing so.

quote:
With hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people dead, and with relief slow in coming, the city descended Thursday into what the New Orleans newspaper, the Times-Picayune, called "mayhem and madness." The city's mayor, Ray Nagin, issued "a desperate SOS" for help.
Such chaos, hurricane experts said in interviews Thursday, was both predictable and preventable.

"We pretty much knew this would happen somewhere along the line," Gregory W. Stone, director of the Coastal Studies Institute at Louisiana State University, said Thursday. He is among the scientists who have issued dire warnings for years.

"A lot of that has not been taken seriously" by the federal government, Stone said. "That's a regrettable thing to say."

another AJC article

[ September 02, 2005, 08:13 AM: Message edited by: Morbo ]

Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Farmgirl
Member
Member # 5567

 - posted      Profile for Farmgirl   Email Farmgirl         Edit/Delete Post 
I understand that hindsight is 20/20 and that many people predicted this.

My question is -- how do you possibly prepare for everything bad that might happen?

I mean -- if it had been a asteroid hit instead of a hurricane hit, there would be people screaming that we "knew" this was going to happen and didn't have our defense system ready.

If it had been a huge earthquake, there would be people screaming because we should have had better plans.

I could go on with one natural disaster after another, over and over, yet the fact remains -- how do you maintain "preparedness" for every possible thing that could happen, at all times?

I think we expect too much.

I think 100 or 200 years ago, people just said "these things happen" and accept that, instead of pointing fingers and blaming and saying with hindsight all the things that "should" have been done.

There are no easy answers.

Farmgirl

Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Olivet
Member
Member # 1104

 - posted      Profile for Olivet   Email Olivet         Edit/Delete Post 
You can't prepare for everything, but you can prepare for what is likely. People who know about such things have been saying this scenario is likely, for years.

What it boils down to is that it's very easy to say, "Sorry, you're on your own" to the poorest citizens. I mean, they don't contribute to to people's campaigns, do they? The awful truth is, it's not a priority, to some officials, to take care of the less fortunate. NO has been rumored as a fairly corrupt local gov't for a long time.

The busses were evacuating the wealthier areas first (at least according to blog). It's callous and disappointing, but not surprising.

Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Belle
Member
Member # 2314

 - posted      Profile for Belle   Email Belle         Edit/Delete Post 
It's my understanding, from the interviews given by Michael Brown, director of FEMA, that FEMA actually modeled a Cat 5 hitting New Orleans within the last year. They planned for it, and discussed what they would do.

In one interview he said they did predict levee breaching but not the amount of levee failure we've seen. They did anticipate using the superdome as a shelter but not that after the entire city flooded, it would have to be evacuated so quickly.

IN other words, even though they based their predictions on a case even worse than this one - a Cat 5 making a direct hit instead of a Cat 4 that didn't make a direct hit - they still could not have predicted all that happened.

Also, he was in Baton Rouge on Sunday with a FEMA team ready to go in as soon as the area cleared.

Now, I agree with Pres. Bush that the effort has been unacceptable so far. Of course, when we hear the stories coming out of NO right now it's unacceptable - but I don't think laying the blame on people by saying "You should have known this would happen" is productive. For one thing, yes they did know, yes they did what they could to prepare, but even with all the preparation and predictions they couldn't predict the exact cirucmstances, that's impossible. For another, what could have been done differently in advance? Besides building the levees even higher and stronger - but keep in mind that that is dependent on what can be afforded and what can practically be done.

Getting help in faster? Probably. And afterwards, I hope all the agencies involved will sit down and say "Okay, what did we do wrong and how can we prepare so we're better next time?" And I have confidence they will do exactly that.

The people involved in this line of work don't like to see the suffering. Their inability to get help to people fast is not because they are maliciously deciding to drag their feet, I'm certain they want DESPERATELY to help people, but there are things preventing that. For one, there are only so many planes that can land at once with supplies. For another, roads are still blocked - bridges are destroyed there just aren't that many ways into New Orleans to move the supplies. I do feel like they're doing all they can, maybe because my husband is one of those volunteers going without sleep and adequate food and water themselves so they can help others that need them. But I also know that were I one of those people I would be angry and upset and wondering why help isn't getting to me faster. It's really just a terrible situation on all sides. Rescuers want to help, and people want help but we're having trouble getting them together.

Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Belle
Member
Member # 2314

 - posted      Profile for Belle   Email Belle         Edit/Delete Post 
Okay, now I've got to say this, I'm at the point where it is upsetting me enough to make me angry and to bring me to tears.

They are talking about vehicles going into NO and saying that there are trucks, fire vehicles, boats, etc. going in to help the victims.

Then the reporter said "This is the response people have been waiting for, help is finally arriving."

What, the people that have been on scene since Monday weren't help? They act as if no one did anything for days, they just sat around until they finally "Maybe we should send someone after all."

Rescue and relief agencies were mobilizing even before the hurricane hit. They asked my husband to volunteer for a relief team on Sunday - before the hurricane made landfall.

FEMA was in Baton Rouge Sunday, waiting to move in immediately.

I know that more help is needed than was predicted and I know that it seems like it's taken a long time to get there, but it took my husband's group more than 12 hours to go a distance that should have taken them five, and they had to pack in their own food and water and shelter, because nothing was available for them there.

I'm sorry, I'm just in tears right now. People are suffering and dying, and there are rescuers putting their own lives at risk to do what they can to help them, and the media acts as if none of that has been taking place at all. As if the people that have been there, weren't doing anything. As if the rescuers and volunteers were just so callous and uncaring they didn't even lift a finger to help until people began screaming "Where is the help?" Because, let me tell you, if that was the case, if people really waited to mobilize help until days after the hurricane, it STILL wouldn't be there.

Watch the video do you see all the bridges destroyed? Have you seen the airports? They have gotten there as fast as they could, and some people have already been on scene since the beginning.

Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Teshi
Member
Member # 5024

 - posted      Profile for Teshi   Email Teshi         Edit/Delete Post 
It's not enough. It's shoddy. It's haphazard. What ever the reason, whether it could be predicted or not, it's bad and chaos has ensued. Sure, there were some people there on Monday, and they are the ones doing it right. People rode out that storm in NO, perhaps they should have moved people in before the storm with water and food so getting in and out wasn't such an issue. They should have all been there since the beginning.

I know the rescuers themselves want to help, and I understand your frustration with the media, Belle, but the infrastructure of the city and the inability of what is supposedly the best and richest army in the world that is presently working in a situation that is not unlike the one in NO to deal with this is inexcusable. They must have hundreds of helicopters and trucks. They must They must be able to convince thousands of bus drivers to bus in, even if it takes a series of armed convoys.

Empty buses coming into the city? Fill them up with water, unload them at one end and load them up with people. That will save a journey and help ease the load on those waiting.

But this is okay. America does not always have to be great. It's a disaster and chaos is going to happen. But don't focus on the heroes; there are always going to be heroes you are never going to thank, people who did things you're never going to see even if the media was playing patriotic music as it filmed rescues. Focus on solving the problems that exist now. There are problems, and they can be solved by a country with as many resources as America if they are used correctly.

Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Dagonee
Member
Member # 5818

 - posted      Profile for Dagonee           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
People rode out that storm in NO, perhaps they should have moved people in before the storm with water and food so getting in and out wasn't such an issue. They should have all been there since the beginning.
They should have all moved into a city in the path of a Cat5 hurricane? They should have moved the emergency supplies into a city in the path of a Cat5 hurricane? All you're doing there is risking your stockpile of supplies and your rescuers' lives?

quote:
I know the rescuers themselves want to help, and I understand your frustration with the media, Belle, but the infrastructure of the city and the inability of what is supposedly the best and richest army in the world that is presently working in a situation that is not unlike the one in NO to deal with this is inexcusable. They must have hundreds of helicopters and trucks. They must They must be able to convince thousands of bus drivers to bus in, even if it takes a series of armed convoys.
I'm really interested to know where you got this information from? Exactly what resources aren't being utilized right now?

quote:
Focus on solving the problems that exist now. There are problems, and they can be solved by a country with as many resources as America if they are used correctly.
How, exactly, does pointing out what could have been done better over the last 4 days amount to focusing on solving the problems that exist now?

There are, without a doubt, a couple thousand little things that could have been done better in preparing for this storm and mounting relief operations. I'm all in favor of people examining efforts and identifying what could be done better next time.

But that's not what's happening here. The media has found their "context" for this story and is creating the impression that pretty much nothing has been done to help yet. And that's just not true. A lot has been done. A lot more will be done. I understand the people stuck in NOLA being frustrated with the rescue efforts and complaining. But I have little patience for reporters inserting editorializing comments into news reports that are based on the faulty impressions they created.

It's totally possible to admit things could have been done better - starting with an evacuation order 1 day earlier - but still get pissed off at a media that is leaving out important facts when they make inflammatory comments.

Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by Olivet:
You can't prepare for everything, but you can prepare for what is likely.

Of note, FEMA had already ranked the flooding of New Orleans from a hurricane to be one of the top three catastrophic disasters most likely to hit the US. This was back in early 2001.

The other two mostly likely catastrophic events listed were a "massive earthquake in San Francisco, and, almost prophetically, a terrorist attack on New York City."

Yikes. If we had San Francisco get hit by an earthquake anytime soon ... *shudder

Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
[Note: The Houston Chronicle story linked above is one reprinted from Dec. 2001. I think it's been referenced elsewhere at Hatrack, but I couldn't dig that thread back up.]
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Dagonee
Member
Member # 5818

 - posted      Profile for Dagonee           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
In the face of an approaching storm, scientists say, the city's less-than-adequate evacuation routes would strand 250,000 people or more, and probably kill one of 10 left behind as the city drowned under 20 feet of water. Thousands of refugees could land in Houston.
From CT's link.

Can we now stop blaming those left behind in the city for staying? I know some chose not to evacuate voluntarily, but it was well-known not everyone could get out. The "refused to evacuate" stuff in the media is annoying me as much as the "finally help has arrived" stuff.

Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
sndrake
Member
Member # 4941

 - posted      Profile for sndrake   Email sndrake         Edit/Delete Post 
I just wanted to say I'm not sure at all what category the hurricane was FEMA used in its model.

I've seen it referred to as categories 3,4 & 5 in various articles. Another article just described it as a storm with 120 MPH winds and 20 inches of rain - which would make it Category 3.

Some articles say the simulation didn't foresee the breaching of the levees. Others say it did.

Be nice to know who to trust in terms of information.

Me, I'm not making any bets. But I'd really like to know sometime which figures are the real ones.

Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
I think TPTB (at least, those in the science community) had a pretty good idea of what could happen, and I think it pretty clearly spotlighted that current evacuation possibilities could not be stretched to make do for everybody. [Frown] This is chilling.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
DarkKnight
Member
Member # 7536

 - posted      Profile for DarkKnight   Email DarkKnight         Edit/Delete Post 
Plus virtually all communications were out including satellite phones. It's much harder to organize and get help where it is need when you cannot communicate quickly.
Posts: 1918 | Registered: Mar 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
The Pixiest
Member
Member # 1863

 - posted      Profile for The Pixiest   Email The Pixiest         Edit/Delete Post 
::looks to the left at the San Andreas Fault::

::looks to the right at the Hayward Fault::

Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
Pix, do you have an evacuation plan? (This is only partly tongue-in-cheek). Noemon and I had survival packs when we were kids, and I've had a "trip bag" ready to go in the closet for some time.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Dagonee
Member
Member # 5818

 - posted      Profile for Dagonee           Edit/Delete Post 
Here's my problem making a trip bag: I have medication I have to take daily. I can't refill the prescription until 3 days before it runs out.

Does anyone have ideas on how to handle this? I'd like to have at least a month's supply in any kind of evacuation bag. I could easily rotate the medicine through the bag so it's only ever a month old.

I don't mind paying myself for the extra medicing, but I don't know how to get ahead without somehow lying to the pharmacist. Unless they'd give me two refills at once and let me pay for the second myself?

Does anyone know about this?

Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
Okay, just so you can all get a good laugh at my rising paranoia. It's pretty vast in scope.

I'm currently concerned that:

1) There will be a large California earthquake before we get our FEMA feet under us again, and -- prepared by video of destruction in New Orleans -- the rioting/looting mayhem will begin immediately.

2) People are going to be "deep-sea diving" for valuables in the flooded New Orleans, a'la the Titanic. I foresee fly-by-night salvage operations set up to fleece grieving former homeowners.

3) Given that Bush hasn't been in the most popular position lately and that the general tone in the country is pretty unhappy right now, I'm scared he's going to get offed in some "grassy knoll" thing (frankly, especially if he goes to an unstable area like New Orleans). Then Cheney would step in, and then I'm pretty sure Cheney would be sitting pretty by the time 2008 rolls around.

Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
Dag, I don't know what to do short-term. As for long-term, you could ask your physician for an extra script to cover you while you travel, and then just rotate the extra pills through to maintain a fresh pack in storage.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
littlemissattitude
Member
Member # 4514

 - posted      Profile for littlemissattitude   Email littlemissattitude         Edit/Delete Post 
I am fully convinced that it those left stranded were predominantly white and well-to-do, the effort to get them out of NO would have been much more aggressive.

Further, telling those who don't have the resources to get in a car and drive out of town when an evacuation order comes that they are "on their own" is the exact same thing as saying, "You're not worth bothering with." That hurricane did not just appear on their doorstep; as early as Friday evening some models, as reported on my local weathercasts out here in California, were showing the likelihood that Katrina would come ashore somewhere around NO. There might not have been time to get everyone without means out of the city before the storm hit on Monday morning, but if a plan had been in place a lot more of them could have been evacuated than were.

All this is completely disrespectful to the less-well-off people of NO, and by extension to the poor people of the entire United States.

Posts: 2454 | Registered: Jan 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Farmgirl
Member
Member # 5567

 - posted      Profile for Farmgirl   Email Farmgirl         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
FEMA Head: Lawlessness Not Anticipated

FEMA Head Says Administration Did Not Anticipate Outbreak of Lawlessness, Defends Response

WASHINGTON Sep 2, 2005 — The head of the federal disaster relief agency said Friday it's "heartbreaking and very, very frustrating" to witness the virtual anarchy in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans and defended the Bush administration's response.

Interviewed on several network morning news shows, Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, blamed emergency assistance delivery problems on "the total lack of communications, the inability to hear and have good intelligence on the ground about what was actually occurring there."

Brown appeared the morning after the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, charged that administration officials "don't have a clue" about what's going on in the devastated city that long has been among the nation's premier tourist attractions.

"People are getting the help they need," Brown asserted on NBC's "Today" show. "This is an ongoing disaster. This disaster didn't just end when Katrina left."

But Brown also acknowledged that little in the government's preparedness plan took into account the likelihood of lawlessness in such dire straits.

"Before the hurricane struck I came down here personally and rode the storm out in Baton Rouge," he said. "We had all of our rescue teams, the medical teams, pre-deployed, ready to go. … The lawlessness, the crime that is occurring, did surprise us."

Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America," the FEMA director said he "never thought I'd see" the lawlessness that has overtaken the city and interrupted emergency relief efforts. "It's heartbreaking and very, very frustrating to me from a broad operational perspective," he said.

"What we have right now is a situation where, with my having access to the military, bringing in the National Guard troops, securing the area, we'll be able to continue the relief efforts that we have been doing over the last several days," Brown added. "We'll be able to ramp those up and continue the evacuation."

Asked about the difficulty in getting sufficient supplies of food, water and medicine for the victims who need it, Brown conceded on NBC: "That's a frustrating issue for me … You know, I could sit here and read off all the stats (of supplies furnished) … We've provided food to people … It's just a massive process … to take care of every single one of those individuals."

So -- the great minds had figured out what could happen scientifically -- what the water would affect, how much area it could cover, etc.

But they didn't figure in the human reaction to this.

Somehow this doesn't surprise me, and I'm not saying that with negativity. I'm just saying people that are trained to look at computer modeling and facts and physics can easily overlook the emotional, human element of a scenario. I know I probably would if it was my own study. My mind doesn't think about anyone reacting differently than I think I would react. That is probably normal for most people.


Farmgirl

Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
fugu13
Member
Member # 2859

 - posted      Profile for fugu13   Email fugu13         Edit/Delete Post 
One of the things Informatics will hopefully lead to is an increased understanding of human reactions given 'technical' problems.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
The Pixiest
Member
Member # 1863

 - posted      Profile for The Pixiest   Email The Pixiest         Edit/Delete Post 
Claudia: I keep the most important thing always in stock. Gallons of Water. I try to keep extra canned food but we always end up eating it.

I have flashlights and a battery radio. Unfortunately now I can't think of where they are.

I also have a "Burgle Bag" by the bedroom window, but that's mostly for home invasion or fire when I have to escape the house in the middle of the night with next to nothing on. (clothes, ID, Credit Card, a little cash. Car Key.) That' reminds me, I need to check it. I think all of it's out of date.. including the now too-small clothing *whimper*.

Pix

Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Dagonee
Member
Member # 5818

 - posted      Profile for Dagonee           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
That hurricane did not just appear on their doorstep; as early as Friday evening some models, as reported on my local weathercasts out here in California, were showing the likelihood that Katrina would come ashore somewhere around NO.
(I can't find a link for this - I heard it on the TV while I was working on a paper in the office. So I could be wrong on specific numbers. The principle is sound, though.)

The only problem with using the Friday models as criteria for when to evacuate is that NOLA would have had to be evacuated something like 15 times in the last 20 years. I'm skeptical that people would have started leaving if 15 evacuations with no disaster had already been ordered.

Deciding when to evacuate a million people is very difficult. There are real costs involved, including deaths and injuries. There's also the problem that every evacuation when the hurrican doesn't hit or cause significant damage makes the next evacuation more difficult.

Again, even if the numbers are wrong, officials must still somehow balance the problems with evacuating too early against evacuating too late.

Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
I do think it's a very human reaction, but one that is difficult for most of us to foresee. (I definitely agree with you on that, Farmgirl. [Smile] ) I bet, though, that if you'd asked community leaders of more poverty-stricken areas, they would have been able to give a more accurate guess as to how it would play out.

I was at a meeting of the Madison Anti-Drug Coalition last night, and this very topic was a big part of the discussion. It's amazing what you can learn from people in the middle of a situation, who can understand it from within. [Frown]

Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
sndrake
Member
Member # 4941

 - posted      Profile for sndrake   Email sndrake         Edit/Delete Post 
CT,

I'll give you one more thing to add to your list:

*Long-term health effects to those managing to survive in flooded areas, where the stuff flooding streets and buildings is being referred to as a "toxic soup" by many. In fact, I wonder if it will even be feasible to reopen certain parts of the city due to toxic contamination.

littlemissattitude,

I remember how commentators blasted the John Edwards' campaign theme about the "two Americas." I have to wonder how everyone feels about that now. Because the reality of the "Two Americas" is playing out right now on our TV screens and the whole world is watching. Those struggling, suffering and dying in NO right now are predominantly of the people who were too poor, old and or sick to be able to leave. And most of them are black.

Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by The Pixiest:
Claudia: I keep the most important thing always in stock. Gallons of Water. I try to keep extra canned food but we always end up eating it.

I have flashlights and a battery radio. Unfortunately now I can't think of where they are.

I also have a "Burgle Bag" by the bedroom window, but that's mostly for home invasion or fire when I have to escape the house in the middle of the night with next to nothing on. (clothes, ID, Credit Card, a little cash. Car Key.) That' reminds me, I need to check it. I think all of it's out of date.. including the now too-small clothing *whimper*.

Pix

Yay! You are ahead of the game. I hope you find the flashlights and battery radio. [Kiss]

I've just finished reading Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, and the parallels are shaking.

Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
The Pixiest
Member
Member # 1863

 - posted      Profile for The Pixiest   Email The Pixiest         Edit/Delete Post 
Oh I LOVE Octavia Butler! The Parable of the Sower.. well, I can't say it's one of her best because they're ALL one of her best!

But that book in particular makes me think about how I would react in an "end of the world" type scenario.

It also makes me want to try yummy Acorn Bread =)

Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
CT,

I'll give you one more thing to add to your list:

*Long-term health effects to those managing to survive in flooded areas, where the stuff flooding streets and buildings is being referred to as a "toxic soup" by many. In fact, I wonder if it will even be feasible to reopen certain parts of the city due to toxic contamination.

Thanks, sndrake. There goes the last few hours of sleep. *rueful look

I've been trying to imagine what it must have been like to be mobility-challenged and having to try to survive through this. Good God.
quote:
I remember how commentators blasted the John Edwards' campaign theme about the "two Americas." I have to wonder how everyone feels about that now. Because the reality of the "Two Americas" is playing out right now on our TV screens and the whole world is watching.
Yes. Yes, yes, and yes.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
(Stock up on acorns, too, Pix! [Smile] )
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
littlemissattitude
Member
Member # 4514

 - posted      Profile for littlemissattitude   Email littlemissattitude         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by sndrake:
I remember how commentators blasted the John Edwards' campaign theme about the "two Americas." I have to wonder how everyone feels about that now. Because the reality of the "Two Americas" is playing out right now on our TV screens and the whole world is watching. Those struggling, suffering and dying in NO right now are predominantly of the people who were too poor, old and or sick to be able to leave. And most of them are black.

I voted for John Edwards in the primary election largely on the basis that he seemed to be the only one running who realized that there really, truly are Two Americas, and that something must be done to reduce the disparity. And that has to start by the well-to-do America admitting that less-well-to-do Americans are not disposable.
Posts: 2454 | Registered: Jan 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Teshi
Member
Member # 5024

 - posted      Profile for Teshi   Email Teshi         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
They should have all moved into a city in the path of a Cat5 hurricane? They should have moved the emergency supplies into a city in the path of a Cat5 hurricane? All you're doing there is risking your stockpile of supplies and your rescuers' lives?
Yes. They told people to go to the superdome and the convention centre, but was there any sort of strong enough presence there? No. And yet someone thought it was safe enough to put tens of thousands of people, but not enough for sufficient rescue personnel?

If it was safe enough to leave thousands behind, it was safe enough to move hundred in.

Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
sndrake
Member
Member # 4941

 - posted      Profile for sndrake   Email sndrake         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
I've been trying to imagine what it must have been like to be mobility-challenged and having to try to survive through this. Good God.

Some didn't.

Below is an email that was posted to an email list by a colleague on Tuesday, August 30. I've blanked out the names.

quote:
Here's a brief note from my friend who serves with the <agency deleted>(see below).

Sadly, I spent much of the day yesterday trying to assist <name omitted>'s family member who is a quad living in east New Orleans. Her name is <name omitted>.

Despite her very best efforts, she was unable to get anyone to come to pick her up and take her to the Superdome, despite trying as soon as the
evacuation was announced, and calling repeatedly. Unfortunately, by the time she came to my attention yesterday morning, all emergency personnel were "locked down" and were not responding to any emergencies (<name omitted> even
pushed her Lifecall button and told them she was having chest pains). Her personal assistance services provider stayed with her for most of the day, and we stayed on the phone as much as we could. Her PA tried to carry her to the 3rd floor but as they both described to me (from different locations)she couldn't carry her due to the strength of the "rushing water" as she described it. I had a call later from her PA, understandably panicked, saying she stayed as long as she could but finally had to go to the third floor. She told me she couldn't check on her because she didn't know how to swim. I told her to keep calling 911, and I kept trying to make calls to anyone I could. I have been unable to reach either of them since yesterday afternoon.

Please join me in praying that she is still alive, and that there aren't any others who had a similar experience.

At least the DMAT team is in place for those who made it to the Superdome.

There has been no further word from the disabled person or her personal assistant.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
That's pretty much what I imagined, Stephen.

Good God, indeed.

Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
sndrake
Member
Member # 4941

 - posted      Profile for sndrake   Email sndrake         Edit/Delete Post 
Good God or not,

it's people I want answers from.

::Very much in a "blaming" frame of mind::

Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
MPTY, certainly.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Farmgirl
Member
Member # 5567

 - posted      Profile for Farmgirl   Email Farmgirl         Edit/Delete Post 
sndrake--

there are several similar stories being sent into the New Orleans newspaper (which is still running an internet version at www.nola.com) -- people calling out to family, who is posting their location on that site.

FG

Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Jacare Sorridente
Member
Member # 1906

 - posted      Profile for Jacare Sorridente   Email Jacare Sorridente         Edit/Delete Post 
Dag- as far as the prescription thing, have you looked into getting your prescriptions through the mail? I know that most folks who do so get a 3 month supply at a time.
Posts: 4548 | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
The Rabbit
Member
Member # 671

 - posted      Profile for The Rabbit   Email The Rabbit         Edit/Delete Post 
There are things that no one can anticipate.

Then there are things which 20/20 hindsights suggests that a wise person could have anticipated.

Then there are the things which we have been warned about by experts over, and over and over until even fools should have anticipated them.

This hurricane and the breaching of the levees was definitely case 3 and anyone who claims its not either has there head stuck in the sand or is lying through their teeth.

Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
The Rabbit
Member
Member # 671

 - posted      Profile for The Rabbit   Email The Rabbit         Edit/Delete Post 
Dagonee,

Unless the drugs you are taking are a controlled substance (ie Kodine, Morphine, Ritalin ....), the restriction on when you can refill it comes from the insurance company and not the law. If you are willing to pay up front for a month of pills, you should be able to keep some on hand. I've had to do this with medications when I've been traveling.

Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
DarkKnight
Member
Member # 7536

 - posted      Profile for DarkKnight   Email DarkKnight         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
And that has to start by the well-to-do America admitting that less-well-to-do Americans are not disposable
Wow, that is really some attitude....
So if I have more than someone else that means I think they are disposable? I had no idea that being well-to-do makes you so fundamentally evil. Maybe we should forcibly take all of the wealth from people like Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, John Edwards, Bill Gates, Madonna, Sean Penn, Britney Spears, Diddy, Michael Moore, Jose Canseco, Jim Carrey, Stephen King, Stephen Girad, C.J. Walker and instantly transform them into kind, caring people instead of the ruthless evil people that they are now. I mean all of them are well-to-do so obviously they think that the poor are disposable. So what if Bill Gates has given away tens of billions of dollars in charitable contributions. He is still well-to-do and therefore he thinks those less fortunate are to be simply disposed of.
Yea, I know, I'm just dripping with sarcasm here, but a stereotype is a stereotype, and this is one of the ones that really bug me.
I apologize for the attack LMA...

Posts: 1918 | Registered: Mar 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
maui babe
Member
Member # 1894

 - posted      Profile for maui babe   Email maui babe         Edit/Delete Post 
I work in emergency planning for Maui County, and in all of our brainstorming and planning, we ALWAYS assume that in the event of any disaster - manmade or natural - that we will be on our own with only the resources at hand for at least 72-96 hours. I can't imagine that the city planners and leaders in New Orleans didn't know that as well. It's frustrating to hear the anger directed at the feds and the Red Cross, etc. I understand it from the general public, but to hear it from the mayor and other community leaders who HAD to know that it takes at least 3 days to fully respond is aggravating.

I don't have a lot more to say... my heart goes out to all the people who have lost loved ones and property in the storm and its aftermath, but the anger towards the feds is misplaced. Like Belle said, help has been on its way since before the storm came ashore. Our division chief in Honolulu left here at 5:30 Sunday night as part of an advance team for the Hawaii Disaster Medical Assistance Team. We've been discussing who's going to take in his two small children when his wife leaves next week if he's not back yet. The rest of the team left Tuesday morning. They are staging in Texas and will be setting up clinics and assisting community hospitals.

Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Jim-Me
Member
Member # 6426

 - posted      Profile for Jim-Me   Email Jim-Me         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by sndrake:
Good God or not,

it's people I want answers from.

::Very much in a "blaming" frame of mind::

Sndrake... I just want to take the time to applaud you for recognizing it and keeping your head, especially with the kind of information you are receiving so closely.
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
   

   Close Topic   Feature Topic   Move Topic   Delete Topic next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:


Contact Us | Hatrack River Home Page

Copyright © 2008 Hatrack River Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classic™ 6.7.2