<\body> Stories in America: White House Got Early Warning on Katrina

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

White House Got Early Warning on Katrina

Have they no shame? And conservatives wonder why liberals are so angry:
In the 48 hours before Hurricane Katrina hit, the White House received detailed warnings about the storm's likely impact, including eerily prescient predictions of breached levees, massive flooding, and major losses of life and property, documents show.

A 41-page assessment by the Department of Homeland Security's National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC), was delivered by e-mail to the White House's "situation room," the nerve center where crises are handled, at 1:47 a.m. on Aug. 29, the day the storm hit, according to an e-mail cover sheet accompanying the document.

The NISAC paper warned that a storm of Katrina's size would "likely lead to severe flooding and/or levee breaching" and specifically noted the potential for levee failures along Lake Pontchartrain. It predicted economic losses in the tens of billions of dollars, including damage to public utilities and industry that would take years to fully repair. Initial response and rescue operations would be hampered by disruption of telecommunications networks and the loss of power to fire, police and emergency workers, it said.

In a second document, also obtained by The Washington Post, a computer slide presentation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, prepared for a 9 a.m. meeting on Aug. 27, two days before Katrina made landfall, compared Katrina's likely impact to that of "Hurricane Pam," a fictional Category 3 storm used in a series of FEMA disaster-preparedness exercises simulating the effects of a major hurricane striking New Orleans. But Katrina, the report warned, could be worse.

The hurricane's Category 4 storm surge "could greatly overtop levees and protective systems" and destroy nearly 90 percent of city structures, the FEMA report said. It further predicted "incredible search and rescue needs (60,000-plus)" and the displacement of more than a million residents.

The NISAC analysis accurately predicted the collapse of floodwalls along New Orleans's Lake Pontchartrain shoreline, an event that the report described as "the greatest concern." The breach of two canal floodwalls near the lake was the key failure that left much of central New Orleans underwater and accounted for the bulk of Louisiana's 1,100 Katrina-related deaths.

The documents shed new light on the extent on the administration's foreknowledge about Katrina's potential for unleashing epic destruction on New Orleans and other Gulf Coast cities and towns. President Bush, in a televised interview three days after Katrina hit, suggested that the scale of the flooding in New Orleans was unexpected. "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. They did anticipate a serious storm," Bush said in a Sept. 1 interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."
The White House declined to comment on the report.

3 Comments:

At 1/24/2006 11:03 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

THINGS YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE TO BE A REPUBLICAN TODAY:

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy
made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad
guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade
with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

Oil companies deserve obscene windfall profits, which must be paid for
by motorists and homeowners.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but
multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind
without regulation.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary
Clinton.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in
speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health
care to all Americans is socialism.

Bush and Cheney, who dodged service during the Viet Nam war, are
national heroes, but Kerry and Murtha, both decorated combat veterans,
are cowards.

HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at
heart.

Global warming, stem-cell research and tobacco's link to cancer are junk
science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

Lowering taxes for the wealthy is more important than assistance programs
for the needy.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable
offense. A president lying to enlist support for an unnecessary war in
which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution,
which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a
conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers
for your recovery.

You support states' rights, which means Bush's Attorney General can tell
states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960's is of vital national interest, but
what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

 
At 1/27/2006 10:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand them."

- Lenny Bruce

 
At 1/27/2006 10:50 PM, Blogger storiesinamerica said...

"Democrats never agree on anything, that's why they're Democrats. If they agreed with each other, they would be Republicans."
~Will Rogers

 

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