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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: abstract who wrote (62435)	9/3/2005 1:26:12 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 65232

From Random Jottings: And it's important to remember (well, it wouldn't be if certain people crazed with partisan venom weren't slinging stupid accusations non-stop) that the responsibility for planning for a predictable disaster is local. Not federal. It is the job of San Francisco to plan for earthquakes (and we do); to have the necessary communications and organization to coordinate emergency response. Including asking for and coordinating state and federal help when needed. New Orleans has been facing the possibility of flooding for at least 40 years, with the Mississippi flowing right through town, well above the height of many buildings. ... The thing is, it is extremely difficult for outsiders to accomplish much when they are groping around unfamiliar territory. They can spend days just finding out what's needed, and establishing communications. Well said. (via JunkYardBlog) randomjottings.net junkyardblog.net

To: abstract who wrote (62435)	9/3/2005 1:36:49 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

New Orleans Responsibility By Mark in Mexico City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan ANNEX I: HURRICANES Part 1: TRAINING II. CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS Under the direction of the Mayor, the Office of Emergency Preparedness will coordinate activities in accordance with the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan to assure the coordination of training programs for all planning, support, and response agencies. Departments, authorities, agencies, municipalities, and all private response organizations bear the responsibility of ensuring their personnel are sufficiently trained. III. EVACUATION ORDER A. Authority As established by the City of New Orleans Charter, the government has jurisdiction and responsibility in disaster response. City government shall coordinate its efforts through the Office of Emergency Preparedness The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane. B. Issuance of Evacuation Orders The person responsible for recognition of hurricane related preparation needs and for the issuance of an evacuation order is the Mayor of the City of New Orleans. Concerning preparation needs and the issuance of an evacuation order, The Office of Emergency Preparedness should keep the Mayor advised. V. TASKS A. Mayor * Initiate the evacuation. * Retain overall control of all evacuation procedures via EOC operations. * Authorize return to evacuated areas. B. Office of Emergency Preparedness * Activate EOC and notify all support agencies to this plan. * Coordinate with State OEP on elements of evacuation. * Assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging areas. * Assist ESF-8, Health and Medical, in the evacuation of persons with special needs, nursing home, and hospital patients in accordance with established procedures. * Coordinate the release of all public information through ESF-14, Public Information. * Use EAS, television, cable and other public broadcast means as needed and in accordance with established procedure. * Request additional law enforcement/traffic control (State Police, La. National Guard) from State OEP. C. New Orleans Police Department * Ensure orderly traffic flow. * Assist in removing disabled vehicles from roadways as needed. * Direct the management of transportation of seriously injured persons to hospitals as needed. * Direct evacuees to proper shelters and/or staging areas once they have departed the threatened area. * Release all public information through the ESF-14, Public Information. D. Regional Transit Authority * Supply transportation as needed in accordance with the current Standard Operating Procedures. * Place special vehicles on alert to be utilized if needed. * Position supervisors and dispatch evacuation buses. * If warranted by scope of evacuation, implement additional service. E. Louisiana National Guard * Provide assistance as needed in accordance with current State guidelines. F. Animal Care and Control * Coordinate animal rescue operations with the New Orleans SPCA. G. Public Works * Make emergency road repairs as needed. H. Office of Communications * Release all public information relating to the evacuation. GET RUDY. GET RUDY NOW. markinmexico.blogspot.com cityofno.com

To: abstract who wrote (62435)	9/3/2005 2:05:18 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 65232

As for the response post-Katrina, on Monday everyone was breathing a sigh of relief that New Orleans was spared. Rescue efforts were being geared to the Mississippi and Alabama coasts where the population densities were higher than the marsh lands south east of New Orleans. It wasn't until the levies failed late Monday night and early Tuesday morning that there was a need for more extensive planning in New Orleans. After that it was the failure of the Mayor to quickly order a total evacuation, and the Governor's failure for not over-stepping him and ordering it herself that caused a crisis to turn into a catastrophe... http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=21668372

To: abstract who wrote (62435)	9/3/2005 2:09:48 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 65232

A bit of perspective Power Line James Robbins at NRO debunks the notion that New Orleans suffered because of the deployment of National Guard units in Iraq. Robbins notes that, according to the chief of the National Guard Bureau, 75 percent of the Army and Air National Guard are available nationwide and the federal government has agreed since the conflict in Iraq started not to mobilize more than 50 percent of Guard assets in any given state, in order to leave sufficient resources for governors to respond to emergencies. There's no evidence that, with 750,000 guardsmen in the U.S., and two-thirds of the Louisiana Guard available, the deployment in Iraq is causing suffering in New Orleans or elsewhere along the Gulf Coast. In any case, the notion that, in a time of war, we should set keep higher percentages of our Guard on the sidelines just in case there's a natural disaster of unprecedented proportions seems difficult to defend. Moreover, in Robbins' view the actual response of the Guard has been "commendable." He notes that National Guard troops were mobilized immediately and 7,500 troops were on the ground within 24 hours. And, in response to allegations by carping from the New York Times of a "man-made disaster," he points out the following: The DOD response is well ahead of the 1992 Hurricane Andrew timetable. Back then, the support request took nine days to crawl through the bureaucracy. The reaction this time was less than three days officially, and DOD had been pre-staging assets in anticipation of the aid request from the moment Katrina hit. DOD cannot act independently of course; the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the lead agency. Requests for assistance have to be routed from local officials through FEMA to U.S. Northern Command and then to the necessary components. In practice, this means state officials have to assess damage and determine relief requirements; FEMA has to come up with a plan for integrating the military into the overall effort; DOD has to begin to pack and move the appropriate materiel, and deploy sufficient forces. This has all largely been or is being accomplished. Robbins concludes that, although a disaster of this magnitude is bound to be politicized, "it is hard to understand what more should, or realistically could have been done up to this point." powerlineblog.com nationalreview.com ngb.army.mil nytimes.com@wiNJ