katrina

katrina. the aftermath surprised me. not the physical devastation, but what happened after the fact. katrina was expected. they had at least 3 days to prepare. they declared mandatory evacuation but it was the get out of there yourself type of evacuation. there were no buses or trains set up to evacuate those who couldn't afford to leave otherwise. they did not ask for help from the neighbouring states to set up evacuation centers. all they had was the superdome.

leading up to katrina's landfall, the news was focused on the hurricane itself. levees were mentioned but the reality of them failing was kept at a minimum. I suppose no one wanted to be criticized for being panicky if the levees held. perhaps they were afraid of being labeled as chicken little. all they said were, if the levees were to break, there would be a flood. no one said, it is highly likely, or it is almost certain that the levees will fail during the storm or after it has passed. no one emphasized how rapidly the water would rise if the levees failed. they just reported that it was a possibility that the levees will fail. after the storm, before the levees failed, no one seemed to be monitoring them. knowing full well that there were many that did not evacuate, it should have been stressed that the levees would most likely fail from the excess water. rather the tv reports just focused on the destruction from the hurricane.

why was it that no one planned for the obvious? now they are saying that it was predicted that the levees would fail. then why were there no plans? no bags of sand brought to strategic places. no men put on standby to repair the levees. instead the engineers only started to plan after the levees broke. should we dump sand? should we sink barges? should be drop jersey barriers? listening to all that was infuriating. the engineers knew that the levees were only meant to sustain a category 3. katrina was predicted to be a category 5. why were plans not laid out before hand?

hmm... they are only supposed to withstand a category 3. therefore, category 5 would mean definite failure. so we should plan for major breaches.

does that not make sense? yes, it is unprecedented. so what? plans should have been laid out!

what about security? anarchy! everytime a hurricane hits, looting ensues. it is inevitable. they knew it was going to happen. especially since most people evacuated. they knew there would be insufficient national guards. why did louisiana not request extra guards from the neighbouring states before the hurricane. put them on standby. instead they asked for guards after the anarchy. did they not realize that all hell would break loose? we're talking about the city with the highest murder rate. what more did you expect? what was fema doing? why were they not put on standby? in fact, they should already be in the area before the hurricane. even the local police were unprepared. flooding was expected. why did they not loan those swamp boats before hand? why only start scrambling after the hurricane? it just felt like everyone just waited for the storm to pass and just reacted to the aftermath without planning ahead. innocent people shot and terrorized. just not something you'd expect in a developed country.

and then there is the convention center. no food. no water. they were forgotten!! harry connick jr reached them before food and water!! imagine! sure the head of fema looked stupid when he didn't know they were there. but was it his fault? wasn't it the city or state that told them to go there? therefore it is the fault of the city that they didn't inform fema about the convention center. isn't there some kind of command center? such chaos. with 3 days advance warning. absolutely ridiculous!

what about the crazy anarchists? what is their deal? if you want to loot, go ahead and loot the businesses. chances are, they're insured. why terrorize the poor people that are already suffering? why turn on helpless people? why shoot at hospitals? why loot hospitals? what happened to basic humanity? and the footage of people stealing golf clubs and fishing poles. what on earth for? who are you going to sell that to? such insanity!

and then there is kanye west. regardless of the validity of his statement, if any donations were lost because of his comments, it backfired! he is responsible for every dollar lost. yes, that was the best time to get his point across to the public. but he is kanye west! he could ask someone to interview him when not on a charity program. I'm sure with such controversial remarks, he would have gotten just as much publicity. probably not with the same amount of bang but don't mess with the donations man!

hopefully the US will be better prepared for events such as these in the near future.