Where is the National Guard???

[wetwilly]

IMHO it seems that it taking way too long for the National Guard or whomever should be on the ground in NOLA and the gulfcoast to get there. I know the Coast Guard is doing 1000s of rescues but as of late last night (1am et) CNN was reporting that they were nowhere to be found.

It looks like the levy and pump system was not up to snuff or maintained over the years and even with several days of warning between the 1st and 2nd landfall that the feds were napping???

I know it is hard to get inland (even into the port city) and that there must be some Natl Guardsman there somewhere but it looks like it has taken too long or not well planned. Maybe I am wrong on this and I would appreciate anyone that is in the "know" to set me straight. It seems that people get very desperate after 24-36 hours without help in situations like this. Then the desperation leads to looting, lawlessness, or worse etc.

 

[lollygal]

It was reported this morning on the news that a guy shot and killed his sister over a BAG OF ICE!!

 

[wetwilly]

It was reported this morning on the news that a guy shot and killed his sister over a BAG OF ICE!!

I heard that on the radio. Getting very desperate down there obviously. Now I heard that they were busing alot of people from NOLA to the Houston Astrodome and that Houston and TX public schools were open immediately to any school age children in need of a school.

But again, where are the Federal troops/personnel that can help try and restore safety? Where is the $@&!# National Guard?

I know we have alot overseas in Iraq and the middle east but we need them home or some deployed asap IMO. Maybe there is a reason that they are not there in force??? Anyone know?

 

[OhioBeachBum]

IMHO it seems that it taking way too long for the National Guard or whomever should be on the ground in NOLA and the gulfcoast to get there.

You'll recall that a fat load of that infrastructure is off in a stinking desert aiding those with remarkably short-term memories.

It looks like the levy and pump system was not up to snuff or maintained over the years and even with several days of warning between the 1st and 2nd landfall that the feds were napping???

Industrial size pumps employed (however powered) aren't designed to run under water. Straw that toppled the cart was dikes "cost-effectively" designed for a cat 3 storm, in an area where a more substantial storm was inevitable (not if, when), and with a blind eye cast toward the ramifications of a dike breach.

 

[SlowMovin]

There's a guy running a blog from the 10th Floor of an office building on Poydras (downtown business district near Canal St). He has a diesel generator and a handful of people with him but little else. His descriptions are of complete lawlessness, most of the police are looting or deserting. He describes it as something akin to "Planet of the Apes" or "Lord of the Flies".

You can read it at http://mgno.com/ The posts are in reverse chronological order so you have to read from bottom to top and there are multiple pages.

 

[drsvelte]

I know it is hard to get inland (even into the port city) and that there must be some Natl Guardsman there somewhere but it looks like it has taken too long or not well planned. Maybe I am wrong on this and I would appreciate anyone that is in the "know" to set me straight. It seems that people get very desperate after 24-36 hours without help in situations like this. Then the desperation leads to looting, lawlessness, or worse etc.

Even in normal times, access to NOLA was not very good. Now there is only one access point to Orleans parish and that is from west of the river over the Crescent City Connection bridge into the Central Business District. I-10 from BR is covered with water near the I-10 & I-610 split and I-10 from the east is closed because the "twin spans" - bridges over Lake Pontchartrain - were severely damaged. They may be able to repair the spans similar to the temporary fix that was done to I-10 bridges over Escambia Bay, but this will still take weeks. The Causeway from the northshore to Metarie and Jefferson Parish was also severely damaged and it is expected to be closed for over a month or more. The Port of New Orleans is closed because many of the navigational bouys and aids were destroyed in the storm plus silt pushed up by Katrina has changed river depths. The system needs to be surveyed and marked before it can be re-opened to ship traffic. It is simply not possible to move that much equipment/personnel into the city in a short period of time.

 

[Bob]

IMHO it seems that it taking way too long for the National Guard or whomever should be on the ground in NOLA and the gulfcoast to get there. I know the Coast Guard is doing 1000s of rescues but as of late last night (1am et) CNN was reporting that they were nowhere to be found.

It looks like the levy and pump system was not up to snuff or maintained over the years and even with several days of warning between the 1st and 2nd landfall that the feds were napping???

I know it is hard to get inland (even into the port city) and that there must be some Natl Guardsman there somewhere but it looks like it has taken too long or not well planned. Maybe I am wrong on this and I would appreciate anyone that is in the "know" to set me straight. It seems that people get very desperate after 24-36 hours without help in situations like this. Then the desperation leads to looting, lawlessness, or worse etc.

Not to be funny, but there is little ground for the National Guard to be on. Those levees were designed for Cat 3, and were built as designed. I don't think any plans can efficiently deal with any major city being wiped out by flood. It makes movement within the area almost impossible. Feds weren't napping. Bush declared the city a disaster area before the storm hit.

 

[Miss Kitty]

Did I hear on the news today that the forces on the ground have new orders...Deal with the looters now instead of search and rescue??

 

[TooFarTampa]

Did I hear on the news today that the forces on the ground have new orders...Deal with the looters now instead of search and rescue??

Yes, that's what they're saying. They've SUSPENDED ALL RESCUES while they try to take control of a relatively small number of criminals.

I am so angry. There are people literally dying outside, waiting for help to come, with no information, no food, no water, no bathrooms. If we can airlift supplies to Afghanistan, why in HELL are there not planes dropping MREs and liquid sustenance? At the very freaking least?

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

They had hundreds of volunteers on hundreds of small boats ready to go out. The first boats out got shot at and F.E.M.A. has suspended rescue operations until the situation is under control.

It is sad and scary to see how people behave when they are in a situation like this. What would you do for a bottle of water if your child was dying of thirst? Interesting question. We hope that our morality comes from an inner strength and knowledge of what is right and not from the fact that we will go to jail if we're caught doing something wrong.

Would you share your last bottle of water with a stranger?