FEMA May Define Unprepared

A look at the failings in the response to hurricane Katrina indicate a wide ranging list of failure in planning and astounding misjudgments.

This is beyond debating issues of evacuation, or chain of command, but simple issues of advance planning for a major disaster. While Katrina was a massive storm and did major damage, FEMA's mandate includes planning for events that do require the relocation of major population centers. It is clear that FEMA is no longer able to do this most basic aspect of it's job.

No one, it seems, figured out ahead of time who was going to pick up the dead.

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paying construction firms more than $2,000 for less than two hours of work installing blue tarp on damaged homes.

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FEMA called Petsmart Inc. on Sept. 9 and put in an order for a truck full of crates in which to house dogs and cats for the trip out of the crippled region, according to Petsmart spokeswoman Jennifer Pflugfelder. The truck was sent to New Orleans the next morning, but before it could arrive, FEMA called back to cancel the order. The truck turned around.

Two days later, FEMA called again and renewed the order. The next day, FEMA called to say it was not sure. Each time FEMA called, Pflugfelder said, it was a different official. And each time, the official gave no reason for the change. So it went until Sept. 16, when $28,370 worth of crates were finally delivered, a week after the initial order.

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There are 765 truckloads -- 30.6 million pounds -- of Katrina ice still in storage.

This is indicative of a total failure in DC. This was a storm and flood that damaged New Orleans. It could have been a 8.0 Earthquake in the LA Basin, or the Bay Area. It could have been a terrorist nuclear weapon in Philadelphia. It could have been a swarm of tornados and river flooding in St. Louis. It Could have been a liquefied natural gas tanker exploding in Boston harbor.

Any of these events could happen, and FEMA would be responsible for the response. To make matters worse, these events would occur with little or no warning. With Katrina they had 48 hours to get ready and 80% or more of the people had evacuated.

How many could evacuate prior to an Earthquake? It is clear that they can not currently do their job. Lets pray that new and effective leadership can repair a once effective agency.