Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion General Science Discussion Forum Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and
thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth
could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I
once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them
right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national
disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane
Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty.
Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That
night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was
Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation
and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to
and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana,
you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize
you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do,
put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically
reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the
third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix
those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway
because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING
DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how
you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New
Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't
stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief.
Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it
against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even
those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf
of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore
them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a
hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched
from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New
Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out
of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport.
Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me
laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send
them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens
of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country,
stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they
get to DC on September 21st.

Release Date: July 23, 2004
Release number: R6-04-093



BATON ROUGE, La. -- Hurricane Pam brought sustained winds of 120 mph, up to 20 inches of rain in parts of southeast Louisiana and storm surge that topped levees in the New Orleans area. More than one million residents evacuated and Hurricane Pam destroyed 500,000-600,000 buildings. Emergency officials from 50 parish, state, federal and volunteer organizations faced this scenario during a five-day exercise held this week at the State Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge.

The exercise used realistic weather and damage information developed by the National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the LSU Hurricane Center and other state and federal agencies to help officials develop joint response plans for a catastrophic hurricane in Louisiana.

"We made great progress this week in our preparedness efforts," said Ron Castleman, FEMA Regional Director. "Disaster response teams developed action plans in critical areas such as search and rescue, medical care, sheltering, temporary housing, school restoration and debris management. These plans are essential for quick response to a hurricane but will also help in other emergencies."

"Hurricane planning in Louisiana will continue," said Colonel Michael L. Brown, Deputy Director for Emergency Preparedness, Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. "Over the next 60 days, we will polish the action plans developed during the Hurricane Pam exercise. We have also determined where to focus our efforts in the future."

A partial summary of action plans follows:

Debris

The debris team estimates that a storm like Hurricane Pam would result in 30 million cubic yards of debris and 237,000 cubic yards of household hazardous waste
The team identified existing landfills that have available storage space and locations of hazardous waste disposal sites. The debris plan also outlines priorities for debris removal.
Sheltering

The interagency shelter group identified the need for about 1,000 shelters for a catastrophic disaster. The shelter team identified 784 shelters and has developed plans for locating the remaining shelters.
In a storm like Hurricane Pam, shelters will likely remain open for 100 days. The group identified the resources necessary to support 1000 shelters for 100 days. They planned for staff augmentation and how to include shelterees in shelter management.
State resources are adequate to operate shelters for the first 3-5 days. The group planned how federal and other resources will replenish supplies at shelters.
Search and Rescue

The search and rescue group developed a transportation plan for getting stranded residents out of harm's way.
Planners identified lead and support agencies for search and rescue and established a command structure that will include four areas with up to 800 searchers.
Medical

The medical care group reviewed and enhanced existing plans. The group determined how to implement existing immunization plans rapidly for tetanus, influenza and other diseases likely to be present after a major hurricane.
The group determined how to re-supply hospitals around the state that would face heavy patient loads.
The medical action plan includes patient movement details and identifies probable locations, such as state university campuses, where individuals would receive care and then be transported to hospitals, special needs shelters or regular shelters as necessary.
Schools

The school group determined that 13,000-15,000 teachers and administrators would be needed to support affected schools. The group acknowledged the role of local school boards and developed strategies for use by local school officials.
Staffing strategies include the use of displaced teachers, retired teachers, emergency certified teachers and others eligible for emergency certification. Displaced paraprofessionals would also be recruited to fill essential school positions.
The group discussed facility options for increasing student population at undamaged schools and prioritizing repairs to buildings with less damage to assist in normalizing operations
The school plan also calls for placement or development of temporary schools near temporary housing communities built for hurricane victims.
The Hurricane Pam scenario focused on 13 parishes in southeast Louisiana-Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, St. Tammany Tangipahoa, Terrebonne. Representatives from outside the primary parishes participated since hurricane evacuation and sheltering involve communities throughout the state and into Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.

Originally posted by DA Morgan:

I'm not saying don't rebuild the industrial parts. But put the people somewhere else and build a decent public transportation system, for example the Japanese bullet trains, to get them to work.

Originally posted by Pasti:

New Orleans has been a major "commercial node" for the US, both because of the oil facilities and for its docking capabilities. Which makes it a rather strategic place when it comes to defend a country (US that is).