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se my previous post. heh, the difference a little {time\planning} will make eh? We could also talk about the PLAN to rehabilitate NO.
We could, but I don't think we have to. Because last night on CNN Headline News I saw Nagin asserting the fact that he is
Mayor Nagin and the head of the Federal relief effort (I still don't remember his name) is overstepping his authority.
Of course, now that there is a new tropical system in the Gulf Nagin sensibly says to get out.
I think FEMA/DHS should change the wording of their mission statement. The Congress may expect them to lead but it looks to me like they weren't empowered to, especially since the local gov't of New Orleans has primary responsibility for the city itself.
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True, but you can have state or federal restrictions on minimum provisions in certain high-risk areas.
Okay. I hadn't heard about Federal but will take your word for it.
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They should have been in manned evacuation centers before the storm hit in sufficient numbers to provide the medical, food, security and shelter requirements. Proper planning gives you the breakdown on people numbers and talents and when each goes where. Evaluation of the planning process tells you whether it is a {feasible\reasonable} plan.
"Before the storm hit" as in, on the 27th?
That would mean you would really need to start moving on the 25th or 26th wouldn't it?
I would point out that by the 28th they were in the evacuation centers in enough numbers to provide "food, shelter, security" requirements. The conditions did not deteriorate until later.
By the way, are you going to send this many personnel into New Orleans every time there's a 20% chance of it being hit by a category 3 hurricane? Without following the usual procedure of the governor asking for it? (Remember, the armed forces have proven to be an essential part of the equation.)
Are you going to create a proportional mobilization for the whole coast under hurricane warnings for a storm 48 hours away?
(I'm guessing 48 hours because we don't know what a reasonable mobilization time is).
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If you've done your homework, and planned for the centers to be there for "the big one" knowing there will be many duds in between, and knowing that the actual full resources will only be used on "the big one"
The problem with that is that it takes precious time to move in "actual full resources" from somewhere else. That's really the point of the discussion. There's plenty of room for soul-searching and improvement over at FEMA these days, but sooner or later you have to realize that resources and mobility are finite, and that this disaster was an order of magnitude greater than what they have had to face in a long time. Or what you would reasonably have expected on the 27th.
You can't practicably send in the kind of resources you need to answer a disaster like this every time a major hurricane is in the Gulf days before landfall.
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