Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Premonition
Well, it might not be a premonition so much as a warning, but I came across this link whilst surfing today. Seems that National Geographic had run a feature article in October 2004 that talked of the dangers and likelihood of New Orleans getting flooded by a hurricane. It predicted water as deep as 8 metres in places, and a death toll of about 50,000. Will Katrina reach this figure? We'll have to wait and see...
National Geographic Article
I am still dumbfounded at the appalling response from the US government to this disaster, especially given that they had several days warning and information like the article, above. I am also stunned at how fragile civilisation is - it took maybe a day for New Orleans to descend into the worst sort of anarchy.
Could Australia deal with a similar disaster any better? I don't know.
National Geographic Article
I am still dumbfounded at the appalling response from the US government to this disaster, especially given that they had several days warning and information like the article, above. I am also stunned at how fragile civilisation is - it took maybe a day for New Orleans to descend into the worst sort of anarchy.
Could Australia deal with a similar disaster any better? I don't know.
# posted by Cthu1hu @ 9:35 pm 
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Those first five paragraphs are downright eerie.
Bush has announced an inquiry into why it took so long for the relief effort to start. Do you think that anyone will have the guts to say that it's partly because he was on holidays (again)?
Bush has announced an inquiry into why it took so long for the relief effort to start. Do you think that anyone will have the guts to say that it's partly because he was on holidays (again)?
Nah, they will blame state officials. You'll see.
Here in Oz, our Emergency Management system is pretty good. They have clear lines of command and control, and an excellent system for tapping resources to come in quickly when needed.
If it happened in Oz we would for example provide means to evacuate people if we had warning of the disaster - such as buses for people too poor to take one. Unlike in NO.
Here in Oz, our Emergency Management system is pretty good. They have clear lines of command and control, and an excellent system for tapping resources to come in quickly when needed.
If it happened in Oz we would for example provide means to evacuate people if we had warning of the disaster - such as buses for people too poor to take one. Unlike in NO.
Blaming state officials might be right.
It *is*, after all, the responsibility of the city and state officials, in the first instance. They can call for help from the feds - and they have - but they were late doing do and their preparation before the storm seems to have been wanting.
The city buses to evacuate those without transport, for example, were to be mobilised as part of the city's disaster plan. They weren't.
Of course, I'm sure lots of people will blame the federal US government. Well - they'll blame the president. It's a reflex action.
It *is*, after all, the responsibility of the city and state officials, in the first instance. They can call for help from the feds - and they have - but they were late doing do and their preparation before the storm seems to have been wanting.
The city buses to evacuate those without transport, for example, were to be mobilised as part of the city's disaster plan. They weren't.
Of course, I'm sure lots of people will blame the federal US government. Well - they'll blame the president. It's a reflex action.
Sure. But you know full well "the buck stopping here" is an oversimplification. Having responsibility to lead the country doesn't make him a fair target for blame for every mistake made by any official under him.
If a Sydney city councilman is corrupt, should we blame the Prime Minister? If one of our cops shoots an unarmed man, blame the PM? If a defence employee downloads porn, blame the PM? But the buck stops with him, right?
It's easy to blame Bush. It's popular. And it's fair enough, when he's the person at fault.
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If a Sydney city councilman is corrupt, should we blame the Prime Minister? If one of our cops shoots an unarmed man, blame the PM? If a defence employee downloads porn, blame the PM? But the buck stops with him, right?
It's easy to blame Bush. It's popular. And it's fair enough, when he's the person at fault.
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