Theos-Talk Archives (September 2005 Message tt00141)

Bob Williams of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation wrote today in a 
Wall Street Journal op-ed piece:

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The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not 
belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state 
officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial 
first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by 
local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the 
state governor and his/her emergency operations center. 

The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a 
national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously 
established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and 
Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of 
the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written 
plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. 
The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in 
the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been 
implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved...

Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to 
the Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no 
provisions for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result 
people died, and there was even rape committed, in these facilities. 
Mayor Nagin failed in his responsibility to provide public safety 
and to manage the orderly evacuation of the citizens of New Orleans. 
Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement is for the 
city's emergency center to be linked to the state emergency 
operations center. This was not done. 

The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a 
state emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush 
declared an emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the 
only action needed for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to 
request the specific type of assistance she needed. She failed to 
send a timely request for specific aid. 

In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and 
California in past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of 
the situation and ensure that the state emergency operation facility 
was in constant contact with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that 
thousands of people died because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to 
implement the state plan, which mentions the possible need to 
evacuate up to one million people. The plan clearly gives the 
governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending in state 
resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal 
assistance.
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