Let's compare apples to apples: You decide, did the Bush administration bungle Katrina horribly?

Question

Old news, but relavent news. Here is your first apple:

New Orleans population: near 0.5 million people.
Katrina wind speed: 140 mph at landfall
Deaths due to Katrina: 1000+

Here is your second apple:

Population of southern coastal region of China in affected areas: in excess of 1.5 million people
Typhoon Saomai windspeeds: about 135 mph at landfall.
Reported deaths thus far: 2

Look, I'm not being unpatriotic, and this has nothing to do with supporting a president, or slamming a political party. I want to know how equivalent storms can wreak so much human destruction in one place, yet not another. Well, I know that China was a heck of a lot more organized in evacuating some 1.5 million people, where our government couldn't be bothered with evacuating half a million people effectively.

So, politics aside, did the government (yes, the government is responsible for protecting the citizens) bungle Katrina?

Answer 1

If you had tossed in the mayor who refused to allow the buses to be used and the fact that he did not order the evacuation of the city and blamed it on the President. Or if you had added the governor who refused to order the mayor to evacuate the city then yes it is the federal governments fault The information was given to the local and state government people who did not follow through with it. All three did not do the best job in protecting the people.

Answer 2

It's not apples to apples. China is a communist country. They say the "People's Republic". But it's in name only. America was not founded on the principle of the government protecting the citizens from natural disasters. The American government is there to protect the laws and enforce them. America's citizens are suppose to look out for each other and not wait on the government (local, state, federal - otherwise) to do something when things like Katrina happen. This sounds harsh but it's true. The real fault falls on the people living in that area. They need to be held accountable for the decision to stay. And don't talk to me about them not being able to afford to leave. Where there is a will there is a way. It's called human ingenuity.

Answer 3

The local government is in charge. Blame them. The governor herself had no idea what is going on. The US Government can NOT take over unless a State of Emergency is declared - which did not happen until after the levees broke. The hurricane wasn't the big problem - the flooding due to the levees breaking was the real killer.

You do not get to blame Bush's administration for this. FEMA wasn't at it's most effective. The President doesn't get to preside over every single aspect of what goes on in every corner of American at every moment. We live in a republic and it is up to the local governments to take charge. The local government failed it's citizens. The mayor wasn't making the evacuations mandatory and neither was the governor. You can directly compare them with Houston and Texas. Both governments were fully prepared and that's why they were able to take in so many people.

The head of FEMA was deplorable after the fact. His actions and emails should have landed him in jail for negligence. That was his job he was bungling and people's lives were at stake.

Bringing this up now is really missing the point. Putting blame on what failed rather than on the people who really made a difference is a sad point of view. I'm sure China concentrated on what WORKS rather than what doesn't.

Answer 4

What does Katrina have to do with the Bush Administration. You do understand that it is up to the local and state governments to evacuate and provide support up to and after the event. The city of New Orleans mayor failed his city miserably as well as every other politician in Louisiana. Not a thing got done until the President got tired of seeing the local and state boobs failing miserably.

Answer 5

Katrina was worse than anything anyone ever expected. Many people that were affected were below the poverty level and couldn't help themselves and waited for someone else to take care of them. Mayor and Governor both failed to do their jobs. FEMA was overwhelmed. Teh Red Cross wasn't allowed in, although they would have been at risk too, and probably would have just added to the problem until order was restored.

Answer 6

In about 200 years, when the Federation of Planets is our government, we’ll have the technology to save people from hurricanes.

Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Captain Picard can personally beam down and organize the refugee parties, while Scotty and Commander Riker beam the refugees to safety.

Deanna Troy can counsel them to make sure they feel good about themselves, and Bones McCoy can give them all the medical treatment they need.

Until then, though, we’ll have to stumble by on manpower and trucks and relief supplies.

And really, comparing the US to China, giving three facts, is baseless and deceptive.

Answer 7

Oh for cryin' out loud...this was a year ago!
And it's not like the hurricane was a big surprise! The residents of New Orleans had plenty of advance warning that a major hurricane was headed in their direction.
Let this subject rest, and stop blaming W every time something goes wrong in the world.
Does anyone ever think that maybe God is in control and not the President? After all, it was predicted ONLY about 2000 years ago that storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. would increase in frequency and intensity.

Answer 8

This wasn't Bush's fault. I spent two month in New Orleans adjusting for several insurance companies. I saw it first hand. Mayor Nagin and the state governor dropped the ball big time. You had to be there to really understand how messed up that administration is. That's why I couldn't understand how that idiot got reelected.

Answer 9

yes, and they are screwing things up for them still, debris is still being removed, abandoned vehicles still scatter the city, the water pipes are so crappy that a lot of water is wasted leaking into the ground. The city also has a august 29th deadline for home gutting, if it is not done or a letter is not written to the office of safety and permits..they can seize the home, which I guess it has been almost a year so that might be reasonable.

Answer 10

1) Was the affected area 18 feet below sea-level?

2) It is "reported" that there are two deaths. You are aware that China recently admitted that they had Bird Flu deaths TWO YEARS before admitting it?

3) Did the affected areas have any "Chocolate Cities"?