"Max Mayfield called Nagin on Saturday and told him to evacuate the city."
No, he called on Friday night. The voluntary evacuation was called the next morning. I suppose they could have called it that night, but it wouldn't have made much difference. Again, a voluntary evacuation needs to be called before a mandatory one so the people south of NO can have some chance to get out. At least, that is the procedure outlined in the emergency plan and the reasoning applied to that sequence.
So yeah, they didn't act until after Max called. That is what the Hurricane Center does, lets the locals know that they are in danger of being hit directly. Max took this on his own because the hurricane was a long way out and the models were giving conflicting results, but his experience told him that NO was in danger. It was a judgement call that no one else could have made. His estimated landfall was off by about 30 miles, an astonishing close amount with a more than 60 hour lead time. Often the 24 hour prediction can be off by much more than that.
Besides, as I noted, obviously the calling of the evacuations were appropriately timed because everybody who wanted and was able to get out, did. And with enough margin that no one was stuck in traffic when Katrina lumbered ashore. At least that part of their hurricane plan worked. And the sequence was prompted by Max using his judgement and doing his job. Whatever Bush had to say on Sunday was irrelevant, the plan was already in motion. And we know that Blanco did what she had to do to ask for help, and in a timely fashion, because there already has been an investigation with findings. It is all a matter of public record. The ball was dropped at the higher levels.
house.gov
"Yet, you think the federal officials, who had not even the legal right to be involved at that point, should have done so?"
This is false for two reasons. One, I never claimed the feds should have been involved in any overt way before the hurricane hit. Two, they actually do have a legal right, just read the National Response Plan. FEMA is required to step in at any time they feel there is an emergency that effects national security, whether or not local, state or national officials have declared an actual emergency. Given the importance of the port of New Orleans, that applies. But, even if FEMA didn't feel it was the case, an emergency had already been declared. Regardless, I am not faulting them for not stepping in before the hurricane struck. My criticism is how they didn't react for several days after it struck. The hurricane hit Monday morning. The levees breached Monday morning. Nothing substantive happened until Friday. Anywhere. Including the areas that got hit by Katrina directly. There are areas that still haven't gotten aid, and it is going on three weeks.
I dunno David, you keep setting these straw guys up and knocking them right back down. |
