Related Information to Katrina

Katrina - Page 3

KIWI HURRICANE SURVIVOR ENDURES DAYS OF TERROR, ABUSE

A young Leeston man trapped in a New Orleans hotel room for five days terrified by the armed looters outside and abused by fellow hurricane victims inside is now on his way home.
Ref. https://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,93498~3399774a10~,00.html

Katrina

Those of you who like to talk about end time prophecies will find this very familiar, but please do not start religious based discussion here:

Residents Guard Neighborhoods From Looters

AP - When night falls, Charlie Hackett climbs the steps to his boarded-up window, takes down the plywood, grabs his 12-gauge shotgun and waits. He is waiting for looters and troublemakers, for anyone thinking his neighborhood has been abandoned like so many others across the city. Two doors down, John Carolan is doing the same on his screened-in porch, pistol by his side. They are not about to give up their homes to the lawlessness that has engulfed New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Ref. https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...heir_ground_hk4

Katrina History & Civil Business Politics

Good thing these guys hadn't been disarmed already.

This is just an example of what has to happen whenever anarchy reigns. People must band together for protection of their lives, families, and property. The aftermath of Katrina is a great example of this idea.

Page 3 Katrina

I can not believe how tragically this whole event has unfolded. The devastation caused by the hurricane is one thing, but then to have an inadequate response and see thousands of poor people dying is heartbreaking.

I am extremely surprised that this could actually happen in the US, I thought the authorities might have prepared a little bit better than this given how vulnerable New Orleans is.

I don't think it is fair or proper to throw all the blame at Bush, but questions have to be asked about the levee system, and whether it is adequate, and the response which clearly wasn't. I heard on a radio report this system was in desperate need of repairs before the storm and federal money had been diverted to fund the recent war.

I also heard that FESA authorities completely forgot about the stranded refuges in the Convention centre for days after they told them to seek refuge there. How on earth can you forget?

One thing that has been terrible, and I think disgracefully pounced on by the media, is the extent of looting. If people need to break into someone's destroyed home or shop to find food to survive do they deserve to be shot? Shouldn't the main priority be to save lives, not destroy them? I understand that people acting violently towards others should not be tolerated but it seems that more effort was spent on keeping law and order than evacuating. I certainly hope that isn't the case.

I heard this heartbreaking radio report where a national guardsmen wouldn't help a refugee dying from an asthma attack because "he was there to keep law and order". There are so many terrible stories, I really feel for those poor people caught up in this.

I sincerely hope they can re-build New Orleans and not too many people will be displaced as a result of this horrible hurricane.

Katrina

Hurricane exposes issues of class, race

USATODAY.com - Although TV correspondents covering Hurricane Katrina avoid commenting on the obvious, their cameras hold back nothing. The people who couldn't or wouldn't leave New Orleans are overwhelmingly poor and black. As are the looters.
Ref. https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...suesofclassrace

Katrina

First of all, it wasn't the levees that failed, but a couple of canal walls, or sea walls, that are only 2 feet thick and rated for a level 3 hurricane. These were built decades ago, and have needed upgrading for years. An engineer who oversees the levees and canalways in New Orleans was interviewed this weekend, and was asked why there hasn't been anything done to upgrade the system for so long. His answer was, essentially, "No money." I believe this was on "60 Minutes" on Sunday evening. I'll check it out and post a link in a bit.

Secondly, these levees have needed repairs for many, many years. Clinton was advised of the threat to New Orleans during his presidency and also did nothing. This has absolutely nothing to do with funding the current war. That radio report makes it sound as if the president was just discussing upgrading the levee system, like, last week, and decided not to do it because of the war. That's ridiculous. Even if it had been discussed that recently, the repairs and upgrades that need to be done will take decades to perform -- not just a matter of months or a couple of years.

This is a common theme with government in general, which is: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Did you actually watch any of the footage of these people looting? They weren't taking food; they were stealing TVs and DVD players, prescription medications, jewelry, and other high-end, inedible items. The police and other authorities were NOT shooting at people who were looting, they were shooting at criminals who were beating and raping and killling survivors of the flood, criminals who were shooting at Med-evac helicopters, paramedics, and other emergency response and rescue personnel. What kind of soul-less person shoots at hospital personnel in the middle of a flood?

Offtopic but, I think your radio station needs to check their facts before reporting them.

Update: Here is the link to the 60 Minutes story from Sunday evening, and the snippet from the engineer (midway down page 2):

https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/05/...179_page2.shtml

Edited: FarSeer on 7th Sep, 2005 - 2:25am

Katrina - Page 3

Visual Katrina

Here is one guy's interpretation of everything using video. Have a look:

https://www.auraka.org/katrina.php

Also check the Washington posts for pictures of each stage of the tragedy:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...s.htm?startat=1

Katrina Politics Business Civil & History - Page 3

This would indicate a failure of the system. Whether it is the actual levees or walls that gave way, the bottom line is it needed repairing.

Funding diversion for the military has increased significantly because of the recent wars. It's happened in every country that took part including my own, Australia. This has nothing to do with the current administration, Clinton was waging an ongoing war on Iraq while he was in power, no doubt diverting funds as well.

The federal Government has to work out exactly how much it wants to spend on infrastructure, health, military etc. I'm not at all suggesting that the Bush Government would have spent extra money to fix New Orleans if Iraq never happened, because I am sure there are many other infrastructure problems that need addressing. But what needs to be asked is whether taxes are best invested in war or fixing your own backyard.

The report said this had been known for years, as you suggested.

I did see plenty of footage and heard a lot of eyewitness accounts. Sure they should punish those who are violent, intimidating and commit horrific crimes like rape. But if they are stealing prescription drugs then what is the problem? Maybe they have no access to prescription drugs. If they are stealing other material possessions then they are clearly desperate and not worth wasting resources on which could be better spent helping people.

My radio station is interviewing American experts and people who are actually there. Who else are they going to talk to? And it is far more reputable when it comes to fact checking than any of the mainstream US media outlets I am aware of.