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| New Orleans had many warnings |
| Saturday, September 03, 2005 |
Just a year ago, Hurricane Ivan caused disaster plan review
A year ago, New Orleans reviewed its hurricane disaster plans after Hurricane Ivan gave the city a major scare forcing the evacuation of nearly 1 million people from the area.
What happened last September bears striking similarities to the problems encountered before Hurricane Katrina struck. The only difference was Ivan missed the city.
There were hours-long traffic jams. Those who had money fled, while the poor stayed. The warnings were the same: Forecasters predicted that a direct hit on the city would send torrents of water over the city's levees, creating a 20-foot-deep cesspool of human and industrial waste.
"They say evacuate, but they don't say how I'm supposed to do that," Latonya Hill, 57, told the Associated Press at the time. "If I can't walk it or get there on the bus, I don't go. I don't got a car. My daughter don't either."
With Ivan, city officials first said they would provide no shelter, then, just hours before the storm was set to hit land, they agreed that the state-owned Louisiana Superdome would open to those with special medical needs.
"Our main focus is to get the people out of the city," she said.
But again, in 2004, no city or school buses were used to take people to safety.
Callers to talk radio complained about the late decision to open up the dome, but the mayor said he would do nothing different.
And, indeed, he didn't do much different last weekend before Katrina struck.
Even the problems that occurred at the Superdome this week had a precedent � during a threat by Hurricane Georges in 1998. An estimated 14,000 poured into the stadium, but theft and vandalism were rampant.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Nagin both acknowledged after the Ivan near miss they needed a better evacuation plan......
So then where was it and why wasn't it implemented? If it was not updated, why not? Im telling you folks, these two so called leaders were the weak link in the chain and that chain BROKE ! They should resign their positions once things are stabliized. THEY are responsible for the chaos in New Orleans not FEMA or President Bush !
J.R. |
posted by Jay Are @ 9:44:00 AM   |
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| 1 Comments: |
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So then where was it and why wasn't it implemented? If it was not updated, why not? Im telling you folks, these two so called leaders were the weak link in the chain and that chain BROKE ! They should resign their positions once things are stabliized. THEY are responsible for the chaos in New Orleans not FEMA or President Bush !
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Ignatius Piazza in Santa Cruz Sentinel
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So then where was it and why wasn't it implemented? If it was not updated, why not? Im telling you folks, these two so called leaders were the weak link in the chain and that chain BROKE ! They should resign their positions once things are stabliized. THEY are responsible for the chaos in New Orleans not FEMA or President Bush !