One of the most interesting things to me, and I don't just mean Haiti. It also applies when there is a disaster anywhere in the world except in the US. The President of the US can make a difference there, but can do absolutely nothing here unless the states request assistance. That was a huge difference in the Tsunami in Indonesia vs the Hurricane in New Orleans. And again it shows here in the Haitian Earthquake vs the flooding and forest fires we endured this past year.
Nice for states to have power over the feds, but when incompetence or the wrong party is in charge at the local and state level, it is a pain.
Local authorities can rarely handle things of that magnitude well.
Nice timeline on Katrina:
Friday 8/26: GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA
Saturday August 27:GOV. HALEY BARBOUR DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN MISSISSIPPI
Early Saturday morning, Katrina was upgraded to a Cat 3
Saturday morning August 27:GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: “I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.”
http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=976
Saturday, August 27:FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA: “Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.”
Sunday August 28: Katrina upgraded to a Cat 4 in the morning, Cat 5 in the evening
It went downhill after that. Late Sunday, August 28, weather forecasters, local officials, and the ACOE were told of water breaching the levees. Chertoff says he first knew of this on midday Tuesday.
9:30 am sunday, Mayor Nagin issued the mandatory evacuation notice. Pretty late himself, indeed.
On Monday and Tuesday, Bush and others had a full plate to deal with. It was cake for McCain's birthday and all that.
By Wednesday, it was apparent that between FEMA, HS, the White House, and all of Louisiana's government, everybody was inept. Most everyone proved that the country and the state were in chaos, and were ill-prepared for anything other than spending taxpayer money.
The Dems all blamed Bush, and his administration did in fact suck. Most Republicans blamed Louisianna for allowing New Orleans to exist, and then the Dems in charge at the state and local levels.
The new hope, Gov. Bobby Jindal was severely critical of the Bush administration for their response to Katrina. But he was unaware of any oil spills in that state from the storm.
