It's woefully deficient. FEMA's plan is for evacuation assistance. The road redirections for interstates, stationing food depots, getting fuel delivery in place, etc. All of that DID exist, and worked (though somewhat badly, honestly).
Specific evacuation plans for cities are the responsibility of the state's DHS division (for Louisiana, the LEMA group), and they claimed to have a plan. Alas, the plan was never propogated, so when it relied on bus drivers that had already left town (because they didn't know to stay), it was destined for failure.
The fault for New Orleans's evacuation woes lies at Mayor Nagin's and Govenor Blanco's feet, first. After that we can get up to the federal level. The primary fault fell on Governor Blanco for failing to do a pre-emptive declaration of disaster (standard operation in every other state) so that the Federal government would be authorized to start staging relief efforts.
As much as the anti-Federalists moan, it is amazing just how much authority still resides in the office of the Governor for each state. Act without their request and you commit major political gaffes. Can't you imagine the "Bush ran roughshod over the FEMALE governor! Sexist!" message that would have been trotted out immediately after, just as the "Bush doesn't care about black people" one that was after moving into New Orleans when Nagin delayed?
Now, having said that -- FEMA is a farce, and it got that way not because of Bush, but because of the Republican Congress that gutted the budget and made it a child of DHS. Daft, I tells ya!
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 08:34 pm (UTC)I read the lower article, if it is the same one.
It's woefully deficient. FEMA's plan is for evacuation assistance. The road redirections for interstates, stationing food depots, getting fuel delivery in place, etc. All of that DID exist, and worked (though somewhat badly, honestly).
Specific evacuation plans for cities are the responsibility of the state's DHS division (for Louisiana, the LEMA group), and they claimed to have a plan. Alas, the plan was never propogated, so when it relied on bus drivers that had already left town (because they didn't know to stay), it was destined for failure.
The fault for New Orleans's evacuation woes lies at Mayor Nagin's and Govenor Blanco's feet, first. After that we can get up to the federal level. The primary fault fell on Governor Blanco for failing to do a pre-emptive declaration of disaster (standard operation in every other state) so that the Federal government would be authorized to start staging relief efforts.
As much as the anti-Federalists moan, it is amazing just how much authority still resides in the office of the Governor for each state. Act without their request and you commit major political gaffes. Can't you imagine the "Bush ran roughshod over the FEMALE governor! Sexist!" message that would have been trotted out immediately after, just as the "Bush doesn't care about black people" one that was after moving into New Orleans when Nagin delayed?
Now, having said that -- FEMA is a farce, and it got that way not because of Bush, but because of the Republican Congress that gutted the budget and made it a child of DHS. Daft, I tells ya!