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Louisiana didn’t ask for assistance before the hurricane? That’s a lie.

  2. For Immediate Release
    Office of the Press Secretary
    August 27, 2005

    Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana

    The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.

    The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.

    Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

    Representing FEMA, Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Department of Homeland Security, named William Lokey as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FEMA (202) 646-4600.

Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on the 29th.

And what has FEMA actually done?

  1. Three quick examples. We had Wal-mart deliver three trucks of water. Trailer trucks of water. Fema turned them back, said we didn't need them. This was a week go. We had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a coast guard vessel docked in my parish. The coast guard said come get the fuel right way. When we got there with our trucks, they got a word, FEMA says don't give you the fuel. Yesterday, yesterday, fema comes in and cuts all our emergency communications lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in. he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards said no one is getting near these lines.
  2. Refused to allow the Red Cross into New Orleans
  3. faked levee repairs for a photo-op (this may simply be Karl Rove, but see the WH press release on 27-August-2005).
  4. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco help from his state's National Guard on Sunday, the day before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Blanco accepted, but paperwork needed to get the troops en route didn't come from Washington until late Thursday.

When Florida got hit with hurricanes last fall, FEMA was moving in supplies and cutting checks within 48 hours of the hurricane making landfall.

(via Atrios, et al.)

—orc Sun Sep 4 09:42:30 2005

Comments

Yeah, aid was moving to the PC areas. It took me weeks to get a FEMA person to look at my roofless, waterlogged home. The person they sent was a redneck contractor driving an old camaro with a really lousy attitude. Guess she didn't like dealing with a middle aged white male living in a manufactured home at the end of a 1 mile dirt road. I received exactly $57 for generator fuel from FEMA and a hundred pounds of paperwork to "borrow money" from the corporate eletist financiers...

Chertoff and Brown should be fired, then forced to be on Larry King once a week for 52 weeks....

Waiting for the next blow in Florida....

zephyrfly

zephyrfly Mon Sep 5 14:19:19 2005

Comments are closed