Blanco hits bottom and starts digging
Two articles here -- related.
The first from the
Washington Post:
Many Evacuated, but Thousands Still Waiting
White House Shifts Blame to State and Local Officials
Tens of thousands of people spent a fifth day awaiting evacuation from this ruined city, as Bush administration officials blamed state and local authorities for what leaders at all levels have called a failure of the country's emergency management.
The money quote:
Blanco made two moves Saturday that protected her independence from the federal government: She created a philanthropic fund for the state's victims and hired James Lee Witt, Federal Emergency Management Agency director in the Clinton administration, to advise her on the relief effort.
Emphasis mine.
Now on to the online edition of the
Insurance Journal for June 9th, 2004
IEM to Lead Development of Hurricane Plan for Louisiana
IEM Inc., a Baton Rouge, La.-based emergency management and homeland security consultant, announced it will lead the development of a catastrophic hurricane disaster plan for Southeast Louisiana and the City of New Orleans under a more than half a million dollar contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In making the announcement today on behalf of teaming partners Dewberry, URS Corporation and James Lee Witt Associates, IEM Director of Homeland Security Wayne Thomas explained that the development of a base catastrophic hurricane disaster plan has urgency due to the recent start of the annual hurricane season which runs through November. National weather experts are predicting an above normal Atlantic hurricane season with six to eight hurricanes, of which three could be categorized as major.
The IEM team will complete a functional exercise on a catastrophic hurricane strike in Southeast Louisiana and use results to develop a response and recovery plan. A catastrophic event is one that can overwhelm state, local and private capabilities so quickly that communities could be devastated without Federal assistance and multi-agency planning and preparedness.
Emphasis mine again -- notice that name cropping up again?
Granted, there is an efficiency in using the same people as the communications are simpler but sheesh -- after spending $500K on a plan that didn't work, you still hire the same bozo?
Posted by DaveH at September 4, 2005 11:51 PM