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Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall

By Jeralyn, Section Huricanes Katrina and Rita
Posted on Mon Sep 05, 2005 at 12:27:34 PM EST
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NBC's Brian Williams blogs about the official warning on Sunday, August 28 from NOAA. [Via Atrios]

I remember it well, since TalkLeft and several other bloggers posted it that night. Here it is again:

Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks...perhaps longer. At least one half of well constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail...leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed.

The majority of industrial buildings will become non functional. Partial to complete wall and roof failure is expected. All wood framed low rising apartment buildings will be destroyed. Concrete block low rise apartments will sustain major damage...including some wall and roof failure. High rise office and apartment buildings will sway dangerously...a few to the point of total collapse. All windows will blow out.

Airborne debris will be widespread...and may include heavy items such as household appliances and even light vehicles. Sport utility vehicles and light trucks will be moved. The blown debris will create additional destruction. Persons...pets...and livestock exposed to the winds will face certain death if struck.

Power outages will last for weeks...as most power poles will be down and transformers destroyed. Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards. The vast majority of native trees will be snapped or uprooted. Only the heartiest will remain standing...but be totally defoliated. Few crops will remain. Livestock left exposed to the winds will be killed.

Also on Sunday, August 28, we noted that Experts Say Katrina May Turn New Orleans Into Atlantis

There is no doubt that Bush messed up big time on this one. The news reported it, bloggers blogged about it, the tv coverage was there. Only Bush, Cheney, Rice, Card and others were on vacations they didn't want to interrupt.

Update: Democratic Daily has similar thoughts.

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    Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#2)
    by roy on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:08 PM EST
    I think there's a certain amount of past crying of meterological "wolf" to keep in mind. That plus 20-20 hindsight would make any response seem extra inept. (I'm not defending Bush here -- I've had several "I can't believe I voted for this jack*ss" moments -- just suggesting a more precise demonization)

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#4)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:15 PM EST
    Well here's a thought excercise...imagine if Bin Laden's boys had blown up the levees instead of a hurricane doing the job. Bush would have a 90 percent approval rating right now no matter what his response was, as long as it included destroying Iran or some other "Moslem" country. Conclusion: he's only good at killing people, not saving them. And unfortunately for him, there ain't anyone to kill for this.

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#1)
    by Andreas on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:17 PM EST
    George W. Bush and his ilk know and knew what they are doing. The American people should put these mass murderers on trial for (at least) criminal negligence.

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#3)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:17 PM EST
    Okay, well, can we at least get a new president who understands risk analysis? Jesus... cost of deploying an aid operation in advance versus cost of, well, what we just saw happen... it boggles the mind. Presidents are supposed to be exceptional. I hope to god we never have another "common man" president because most of us are too stupid to be trusted.

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#5)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:17 PM EST
    roy-There is no crying Wolf when it comes to potential natural disasters. That is what emergency services are designed to do: act when a reasonable warning is on the radar. Bush showed Fla how nimble the federal gov could be during the 2004 hurricane/election season. Many believe that his quick response to three hurricanes thereis is what cinched his '04 victory in that swing state.

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#6)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:17 PM EST
    OT, but I'm really curious: Roy, why do you feel the need to cover the second "a" in "jackass"? Isn't the whole point of using the word "jackass" that you can't be accused of meaning "gluteus maximus"? And what kind of an insult is "gluteus maximus" anyway? I can understand "anal orifice" as an insult, because it produces excrement which is not very nice, but "gluteus maximus" by itself is hardly insulting. There are many beautiful glutei maximi out there. To return to the topic of conversation, I would certainly agree that Bush is an anal orifice.

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#7)
    by roy on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:17 PM EST
    Squeaky,
    There is no crying Wolf when it comes to potential natural disasters.
    I have no hurricane experience, but I grew up in Tornado Alley. The TV weather man would tell us to "seek shelter immediately" five or six times per year, and we never actually needed to. Predicting hurricanes is probably easier, but overreacting to a false or exagerated alarm is also more expensive in dollars and disruption to people's lives. (I'm trying real hard to make the hurricane discussions any more heated, so I have to add: Bush clearly screwed up at least after the catastrophic situation was apparent) Al,
    Roy, why do you feel the need to cover the second "a" in "jack*ss"?
    To help TL trick censorware.

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:18 PM EST
    Even that jerk Paul in LA posted, before the impact, that FEMA, according to the NO mayor, predicted 40-60,000 dead from a Class 5 strike. Watching the weather channel's coverage, ANYONE would know this was major, major. The boundary of that storm just about filled the northern Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida. The eye wall was pointed straight at the most vulnerable cities (NO and Mobile). Then he backpedaled, flip-flopper, saying it seemed the storm wasn't going to be so bad. Boy, when he's wrong, he's really wrong. But unlike Bush, Paul in LA didn't go GOLFING on Friday. He went out in the streets and protested the theft of our government, and the failure to... IMPEACH BUSH ...for a very long list of negligence, cronyism, graft, threats, deceptions, lies, war crimes, vote fraud, aid to terrorists (such as Posada Carriles, who blew up a civilian airliner), and genocide.

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#9)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:18 PM EST
    Well at least that statement turned out to be a little closer to the truth than the dire predictions of Saddam's WMD. Maybe NOAA should take over the Pentagon and the CIA.

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#10)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:18 PM EST
    roy-have you not read about this hurricane. Have you not read about FEMA's hurricane response in Fla. last year. Crying wolf is not applicable to this discussion and your weatherman analogy is irrelevant as well.

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#11)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:18 PM EST
    scar - Good grief. How many times must you be told? The President can not "deploy" NG until the state requests that he do so unless he is willing to declare an emergancy and take power. Now, one more time. On Friday night the Feds, say "Bush" if you please, offered to come in and take over. The Governor refused:
    Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday. The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law.
    Source So the Governor gets all concerned about martial law - she evidently thought NO was a City of Angels - and turns it down. I don't know what to call that except dumb. Very dumb. And no, Bush didn't sieze power and declare an emergancy. It was her job. Ernie - If a terrorist attack occurred, Bush would have had authority to act immediately, and would have done so. He could have claimed a state of emergancy on Friday, but did not because he would have had to, basically, sieze power from the Governor. Tell me Ernie, what would you have said had he done that? Heck, I don't think we even have to guess. Roy - I ask you to consider the above two comments. BTW - The FL situation is simple. Jeb didn't dither and put off. The Governor of LA, did. et al - This Link shows the landfall oerdictions from August 25 onward. Note that on 8/27 NO was clearly the target. Yet the Governor and Mayor, who only a few hours before had been offered Federal assistance and support, didn't make evacuation mandatory until midmorning on Sunday, 8/28. And even then, as she admits in the statement, only after Bush called and appealed for her to do so. Her, and His Honor's, actions were too little too late. But can you imagine how many would have died if Bush had not called and "appealed?" Guess making a President beg is more important than doing your job.

    Re: Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall (none / 0) (#12)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:18 PM EST
    PPJ-Why do you continue to regurgitate Rove's lies.
    As noted, the Washington Post got burned today by a "senior Bush official" who told them that Gov. Blanco of Louisiana had never declared a state of emergency in the site -- a claim the Post printed as fact. Yet the claim was demonstrably false and by late afternoon the Post had been compelled to print a correction.
    He must be your hero.
    Monday's Times , not surprisingly, confirms that the White House damage control operation is being run by Karl Rove and Dan Bartlett. Add it up.
    from josh marshall

    Warnings From Before the Storm Made Landfall | 12 comments (12 topical)