Mike D Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I just got home from work and can't believe how the situation has spiraled out of control. CNN reporting roving gangs, rapes, flood victims being beaten and shot at, little food or water, few cops anywhere? Who is at the helm managing this situation? Anyone??? This is really shocking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Not the criminals fault of course....pfft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 Criminals should definitely get whatever they have coming to them. I just feel really bad for all the people who are stuck there and just want to get out. I don't even know what I would do in that situation. Actually, that's not true, I would have never gone to the Superdome in the first place. In a crisis situation the last thing I want is to be is in a large crowd of people, too volatile and unpredicatable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light_of_Reason Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 The rapid spiral of loss of control could have been averted if we only had enough reserve troops to send in there to help maintain order. Unfortunately, we haven't nearly the number of men needed to both keep order and rescue survivors at this time. I did hear, however, that all the reservists from Louisiana were being pulled back from Iraq. Unfortunately, their arrival will likely be too little too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 The rapid spiral of loss of control could have been averted if we only had enough reserve troops to send in there to help maintain order. Unfortunately, we haven't nearly the number of men needed to both keep order and rescue survivors at this time. I did hear, however, that all the reservists from Louisiana were being pulled back from Iraq. Unfortunately, their arrival will likely be too little too late. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There is plenty of troops, just takes a bit to get them mobolized and in position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 Well just my opinion but I think alot of this could have been prevented if someone (whether that is the governor of LA, or FEMA or whoever) had started putting together a contingency plan on Sunday for the aftermath. Flooding was almost guaranteed at that point, whether the levy broke or not. It just seems like nobody really has a clue what to do here.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 They should have yes, but it's easy to look back and say...oh, we should have done this or that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totallyatpeace Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I just got home from work and can't believe how the situation has spiraled out of control. CNN reporting roving gangs, rapes, flood victims being beaten and shot at, little food or water, few cops anywhere? Who is at the helm managing this situation? Anyone??? This is really shocking! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Tonight I blew up at home and I've done nothing but sob while I watch the news. I can't believe that they can give a three day notice to the people to leave before the hurricane and yet they didn't use those three days to make sure water and food were ready on the edge of the city!!!! This is unbelievable!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 They did put stuff in place. The extent of damage took them by suprise. The extent of damage made it hard to then distribute the aid they had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirrti Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Tonight I blew up at home and I've done nothing but sob while I watch the news. I can't believe that they can give a three day notice to the people to leave before the hurricane and yet they didn't use those three days to make sure water and food were ready on the edge of the city!!!! This is unbelievable!! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> And the bad part about it is they had to have known there were many people who didn't have any money no cars to leave. Me and my grandmother just cannot believe that the people there have been allowed to live in those conditions even for one day so much as one week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 This is unbelievable!! I agree. I just hope they can get control of things soon before more people die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Who is at the helm managing this situation? Anyone??? Apparently, nobody. Although I heard that the few cops are going to be reinforced soon and that the National Guard will be coming in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 And the bad part about it is they had to have known there were many people who didn't have any money no cars to leave. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'll agree with you there. They should have been offering free transport out of the city for those that couldn't afford it otherwise or were incapable for various reasons. Still, there would have been a lot that choose to ride it out, or were unable to go for one reason or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totallyatpeace Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 They did put stuff in place. The extent of damage took them by suprise. The extent of damage made it hard to then distribute the aid they had. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I hear what you are saying, so maybe what we need to realize is that overall......we have never been prepared for something like this. But how do you explain the 82 buses lined up today and parked.....afraid to go and deliver aid. I just don't know. Vixentrox~ As a military person I'm hoping you can shed some light on this. Is it true or not that we don't have enough military available to help with this at home because of the amount of troops in Iraq? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 Still, there would have been a lot that choose to ride it out, or were unable to go for one reason or another. Those people I have mixed feelings about. Anyone who chooses to stay when a Cat 5 hurricane is coming is either insane, ignorant or just doesn't care that much about their own life to do whatever they can to protect it. What I don't like were the people who made that choice for children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 What I don't like were the people who made that choice for children. Agreed. They should've sent the kids out with another relative or neighbor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 There are TONS of people available in the states for general work. It takes time to mobilize them though, particularily if the unit had not been on alert. Additional, some units are way more suited than others. Also someunits are in down time after coming back from deployments. Thier equipment is in the depots getting fixed, people are on vacation. Military people DO take vacations like anyone else. Part of the problem is also the law. You cant just use active duty forces on whim. Sure, the Govener of a state can call up thier national guard, but Louisiana has a number of thier Guard deployed. Bad timing for them. There is a LOT of things active military forces are not allowed to do becuase of that...umm..Posse Comitus (?) Act. And yeah, those buses lined up...i understand they were afraid to go in becuase there wasn't enough security and they were being shot at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlinfmct87 Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Tonight I blew up at home and I've done nothing but sob while I watch the news. I can't believe that they can give a three day notice to the people to leave before the hurricane and yet they didn't use those three days to make sure water and food were ready on the edge of the city!!!! This is unbelievable!! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I know. I can't imagine staying... "Oh, yeah, catagory four storm, suuuuuure, no biggie." I'd just leave. What's more, I woudn't come back... what's left to come home to? A giant puddle? No thanks. Merlin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaded Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Tonight I blew up at home and I've done nothing but sob while I watch the news. I can't believe that they can give a three day notice to the people to leave before the hurricane and yet they didn't use those three days to make sure water and food were ready on the edge of the city!!!! This is unbelievable!! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I am more than a bit stunned about it too. What does it say about human nature? More than a little scary. It's hard to guage the extent of damage before the storm hits. You never can tell with something like this. Unfortunately it comes down to economics. It takes money ot keep people on standby and get resources in place. I'm not saying they did the right thing by not doing it, but nobody wants to foot the bill if the storm changed course, downgraded further or the damage wasn't as extensive. They've been hit by storms before, some bad, but never damage like this. Also hard to send in resources or use them when you are being shot at by *some* of those you are trying to help. Sure you can help, but if you get shot or hurt, you just added to the problem. How do you restore order? The police and national guard are there to protect people and help out. Sure they have some crowd control training, but nobody is going to be thrilled about going into a situation with fellow citizens that may end in a large scale shooting war. I sure as hell wouldn't be looking forward to that job. Sure they plan for it, but I dont think rioting has ever broken out on this scale before. Not a good situation and hindsight is always 20/20. I truly can't believe that this is going on. edit: not saying it's right to make these decisions based on economics, but that is how they are often made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 Ignoring an evacuation order transfers the responsibility to you. These people gambled with their lives (and seemingly their very young offsprings ), lost and are paying big time.... The people who gambled the lives of their children, if they had the means to leave and didn't, should be arrested for child abuse in my opinion. And I am totally serious. Why is it that in California a person can be arrested for smoking a cigarette in a park where children are present for endangering children (yep even if they are half a block away), but a parent chooses to put a child in the path of a category 5 hurricane (almost certain death), and nobody seems to bat an eye. What's the hell is the matter with people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Next time you get an order to evacuate.... leave !!!!.. no matter what the cost !! Ditto. Objects are not worth your life, even if they are sentimental and cannot be replaced. That's what homeowners/renters insurance is for. I survived a fire the other year that my suicidal roommate set. If I had gone back for anything, I would not be here today. They should have brought the national guard in before the hurricane !!! TO EVACUATE THE CITY...... sigh !!! Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaded Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 there are allot of poor people in new orleans that may not have had the means to evacuate. How do you know where to go if you dont have family nearby? Where do you go? How do you get there? Without TV do you really know how bad the storm could be? Do you really trust the authorities? Yes it's a tradgedy, but not everyone that refused to evacuate is at fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aexapo Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 They should have yes, but it's easy to look back and say...oh, we should have done this or that. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well, a general at the Pentegon acknowledged that they never even considered this sort of scenario when coming up with possible contengency plans -- my question: did they ever ask anyone in New Orleans what the risks were? I'm hearing that a lot of people from the area had "always heard" that such a storm could literally destroy the city -- especially if the levies broke (which they did, and so it is). Also, it has come out that a couple of reporters in NO last year did an in-depth analysis last year on the potential problem, and they forcasted all the problems we're seeing now -- but, it seems that it didn't impress emergency management officials -- federal, state, or local. I place a LOT of blame on the local government for long-term failure to plan for this. Living in the Galveston area, this seems a repeat of what happened around here 100 years ago. The local officials KNEW they needed to build up the city and build a seawall (Galveston pre-1900 was at sea-level and often flooded during tropical storms), but didn't until the "great storm" slammed into it like the fist of God. Galveston never recovered completely, and lost it's economic status as Texas shifted it's economic resources to Dallas and Houston (Galveston was the richest city in TX prior to that storm). This could literally kill New Orleans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 there are allot of poor people in new orleans that may not have had the means to evacuate. I guess if I lived in an area where hurricanes are a regular part of life and a regular threat, even if I was poor I would have some type of idea in the back of my mind of what to do if the worse should happen. When push comes to shove, nobody is going to take care of you except for you. Not the government, not god, nobody. I hate to say the fittest will be the ones to survive, but in a way, it's true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aexapo Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Next time you get an order to evacuate.... leave !!!!.. no matter what the cost !! Ignoring an evacuation order transfers the responsibility to you. These people gambled with their lives (and seemingly their very young offsprings ), lost and are paying big time.... You have to remember that a lot of people staying behind are potentially bandits and opportunists hoping to cash in on a unique situation. The criminal mind is definitely at work in these situations. I just can't believe this ... you're in a city 15 feet below the sea level... a category 4 hurricane is headed your way ..... and you stay put WTF They should have brought the national guard in before the hurricane !!! TO EVACUATE THE CITY...... sigh !!! (hindsight is 20/20 ) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If you're poor, and don't have a car -- you can't leave. The city bus only goes as far as the city limits. If they "walked out" they wouldn't have made it very far in 48 hours, and couldn't have walked very fast with eldery or children in tow. The vast majority of those stuck in N.O. were on the lower rungs of society -- there simply were no options for them. Those that COULD leave and didn't -- just plain stupid. No judgements from me on the Nat'l Guard situation -- they can only do what they're told, and they're doing something else right now . . . somewhere else. Will wait till the facts come in on that before I ask for heads to roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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