Post-Katrina news you won't see on television
One of the biggest crises that occurred during Hurricane Katrina was the flooding of Jefferson Parish. Pump operators were evacuated, a fact that has many residents irate, but they were evacuated in order to protect their lives. Where the parish failed, however, was by evacuating them a hundred miles away, where they could not return quickly. No one is quite sure how that decision was reached, but we all agree it was a senseless one, and parish president Aaron Broussard is receiving a lot of criticism for it.
Making matters much worse was the sudden loss of communication among parish officials and field workers, and that mystery has been solved: FEMA disconnected the radio equipment and replaced it with their own cables.
In other post-Katrina news, New Orleans is dry. 224 billion gallons of water have been pumped out.
The initial estimate of the number of evacuated citizens who will make Baton Rouge their permanent home has changed from 50,000 to 100,000.
Making matters much worse was the sudden loss of communication among parish officials and field workers, and that mystery has been solved: FEMA disconnected the radio equipment and replaced it with their own cables.
In other post-Katrina news, New Orleans is dry. 224 billion gallons of water have been pumped out.
The initial estimate of the number of evacuated citizens who will make Baton Rouge their permanent home has changed from 50,000 to 100,000.
posted by Diane at 10:57 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Everyday, new and depressing things are reported. Recently, I read where prisoners were left in neck high water for days, that senior citizens drown because people didn't evacuate them, that children were left on the street, that dogs and cats were rounded up and shot, and just when I think I can sleep, something else pops up. Is there no end to the craziness of our government? And then there is that stupid picture of that stupid looking president with a hard hat on and a board and hammer, like he really is going to stay for the building of that house. Give me a break.
By
zelda1, at
5:57 AM
The nursing home thing appears to have been a judgment call rather than callousness. Prior evacuations had resulted in deaths because of the stress of moving. It would seem to me that the nursing home owners and management knew these people had a chance of drowning, but they were afraid because of what had happened in other storms.
The prisoners, by the way, did remarkably well, considering that no one came to get them for days. The reports that they rioted are out-and-out lies. They saved each other's lives and the lives of the guards. They were left behind, as were the patients at Charity Hospital.
The government is totally uncaring and shockingly incompetent, but in the case of prisoners and poor people, a lot of Americans don't care, either. And if the animals weren't pets, Americans don't care about that.
By
Diane, at
9:55 AM
Having become very familiar with nursing homes the last couple of years, I agree it would have been a nightmare to evacuate, and there are always lives lost when that happens.
Of course, there should have been evacuations as soon as it was clear the flooding was occurring. I shudder to think what those people went through.
By
Anonymous, at
3:47 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home