Re: Hurricane timeline.


Traveler wrote:
> While you're out and about, see if you run into this information.
>
> I've been trying to find out how long it would have taken to bring all the
> levees safety factor higher, so they would have withstood category 5 instead
> of a category 3 hurricane.
>
> Would it be like the Big Dig in Boston - started in 1983 and now 97%
> complete?
>
> The reason I'm asking is to see how much time Congress and the
> Administration had to appropriate funds? If Congress had given funds in
> 2002, would NO have been able to fix the levees before Katrina or are the
> levees in NO so out of date money would have had to be appropriated in 1990
> to bring the levees all up to withstand cat 5 hurricane and to be ready for
> Katrina?
>
> Thanks

Its my understanding that when it hit land in Louisiana it had been
downgraded to cat 4 or cat 3 (there seems to be some disagreement over
this but no one says it was a class 5 at landfall) and that it didn't
actually hit the city. This e-mail from an unidentified source has been
all over the blogs. Its been posted in the respectable blogs so that
would mean the source has been somewhat checked out and actually does
work for the EPA, probably in some sort of mid or upper level position.
Anonymous sources, that's how you get your news these days. Can't trust
em, can't ignore em. Everything is so clamped up tight by this
administration and anybody who speaks on the record is fired, demoted,
or slimed, there'd be no news if it weren't for the anonymous leaks.


This is from a friend at the EPA:


We're naming it Lake George, 'cause it's his frickin fault. Have you
seen all that data about the levee projects' funding being cut over the

past three years by the Prez, and the funding transferred to Iraq? The
levee, as designed, might not have held back the surge from a direct
Class 5 hit, but it certainly would not have crumbled on Monday night
from saturation and scour erosion following a glancing blow from a
Class 3. The failure was in a spot that had just been rebuilt, not yet
compacted, not planted, and not armed (hardened with rock/concrete).
The project should have been done two years ago, but the federal gov't
diverted 80% of the funding to Iraq. Other areas had settled by a few
feet from their design specs, and the money to repair them was diverted

to Iraq.
The NO paper raised hell about this time and again, to no avail. And
who will take the blame for it? The Army Corps, because they're good
soldiers and will never contradict the C in C. But Corps has had
massive budget cuts across all departments (including wetland
regulatory) since Bush took office, and now we've reaped what was sown.

It really pisses me off to see the Corps get used by the Administration

to shield Bush -- they do great work when they're funded. This was
senseless, useless death caused not by nature but by budget decisions.




>
> <sagetea2000@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1126221147.554731.225140@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline
>
> Visit the web site to leave your comments.
>
> Friday, August 26
> GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: [Office
> of
> the Governor]
>
> GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1
> press
> conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force
> Katrina,
> said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional
> forces
> on Friday, 8/26. [DOD]
>
> Saturday, August 27
> 5AM Â- KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [CNN]
>
> 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." [Office of the Governor]
>
> 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." [White House]
>
> Sunday, August 28
> 2AM Â- KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]
>
> 7AM Â- KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE [CNN]
>
> MORNING Â- LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: "Forecasters
> Fear
> Levees Won't Hold Katrina": "Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that
> storm
> driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster
> Hurricane
> Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow." [Lafayette Daily
> Advertiser]
>
> 9:30 AM Â- MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW
> ORLEANS:
> "We're facing the storm most of us have feared," said Nagin. "This is
> going
> to be an unprecedented event." [Times-Picayune]
>
> 4PM Â- NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE WARNING: In
> the
> event of a category 4 or 5 hit, "Most of the area will be uninhabitable
> for
> weeks, perhaps longer. Â... At least one-half of well-constructed
> homes will
> have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those
> homes
> severely damaged or destroyed. Â... Power outages will last for weeks.
> Â... Water
> shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards."
> [National Weather Service]
>
> AFTERNOON Â- BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY
> NATIONAL
> HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National
> Hurricane Center: "'We were briefing them way before landfall. Â...
> It's not
> like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could
> be
> topped.'" [Times-Picayune; St. Petersburg Times]
>
> LATE PM Â- REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE: "Waves crashed atop
> the
> exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early Monday as
> Katrina churned closer." [Times-Picayune]
>
> APPROXIMATELY 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS
> WORTH OF FOOD [Times-Picayune]
>
> Monday, August 29
> 7AM Â- KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]
>
> 8AM Â- MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: "I've
> gotten
> reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of
> the
> levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we've had one of our pumping
> stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is
> just
> a matter of how much." [NBC's "Today Show"]
>
> MORNING Â- BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION: "I
> spoke to
> Mike Chertoff today, he's the head of the Department of Homeland
> Security.
> I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we
> got
> us an airplane on, a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I
> said,
> are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are." [White
> House]
>
> MORNING Â- BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAIN
> [White
> House]
>
> 11AM Â- BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT:
> "This
> new bill I signed says, if you're a senior and you like the way things
> are
> today, you're in good shape, don't change. But, by the way, there's a
> lot of
> different options for you. And we're here to talk about what that means
> to
> our seniors." [White House]
>
> LATE MORNING Â- LEVEE BREACHED: "A large section of the vital 17th
> Street
> Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new 'hurricane proof' Old
> Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after
> Katrina's fiercest winds were well north." [Times-Picayune]
>
> 11:30AM Â- MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000
> EMPLOYEES
> TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: "Brown's memo to Chertoff
> described Katrina as 'this near catastrophic event' but otherwise
> lacked any
> urgent language. The memo politely ended, 'Thank you for your
> consideration
> in helping us to meet our responsibilities.'" [AP]
>
> 2PM Â- BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE
> DRUG
> BENEFIT: "We've got some folks up here who are concerned about their
> Social
> Security or Medicare. Joan Geist is with us. Â... I could tell Â-
> she was
> looking at me when I first walked in the room to meet her, she was
> wondering
> whether or not old George W. is going to take away her Social Security
> check." [White House]
>
> 9PM Â- RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld
> "joined
> Padres President John Moores in the owner's box at Petco Park." [Editor
> &
> Publisher]
>
> Tuesday, August 30
> 9AM Â- BUSH SPEAKS ON IRAQ AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO [White House]
>
> MIDDAY Â- CHERTOFF FINALLY BECOMES AWARE THAT LEVEE HAS FAILED: "It
> was on
> Tuesday that the leveeÂ-may have been overnight Monday to
> TuesdayÂ-that the
> levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware
> of the
> fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that
> essentially
> the lake was going to start to drain into the city." [Meet the Press,
> 9/4/05]
>
> PENTAGON CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION:
> "Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate
> National
> Guard
> units to handle the hurricane needs." [WWL-TV]
>
> MASS LOOTING REPORTED, SECURITY SHORTAGE CITED: "The looting is out of
> control. The French Quarter has been attacked," Councilwoman Jackie
> Clarkson
> said. "We're using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when
> they
> should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on
> rooftops." [AP]
>
> U.S.S. BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED: "The USS Bataan, a
> 844-foot
> ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has
> helicopters,
> doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can make its own water,
> up
> to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of
> Mexico
> when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan rode out the storm and
> then
> followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots
> flying
> from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New
> Orleans
> residents. But now the Bataan's hospital facilities, including six
> operating
> rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty." [Chicago Tribune]
>
> 3PM Â- PRESIDENT BUSH PLAYS GUITAR WITH COUNTRY SINGER MARK WILLIS
> [AP]
>
> BUSH RETURNS TO CRAWFORD FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION [AP]
>
> Wednesday, August 31
> TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE: "A
> 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a
> restroom.
> Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers.
> 'We
> pee on the floor. We are like animals,' said Taffany Smith, 25, as she
> cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry.
>
> By Wednesday, it had degenerated into horror.
> At least two people, including a child, have been raped. At least
> three people have died, including one man who jumped 50 feet to his
> death,
> saying he had nothing left to live for. There is no sanitation. The
> stench
> is overwhelming."" [Los Angeles Times, 9/1/05]
>
> PRESIDENT BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL
> RESPONSE:
> Bush says on Tuesday he will "fly to Washington to begin workÂ...with
> a task
> force that will coordinate the work of 14 federal agencies involved in
> the
> relief effort." [New York Times, 8/31/05]
>
> JEFFERSON PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY GONE:
> "Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering the
> help
> nearly as fast as it is needed." [WWL-TV]
>
> 80,000 BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS: Former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy
> "estimated 80,000 were trapped in the flooded city and urged President
> Bush
> to send more troops." [Reuters]
>
> 3,000 STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER: "With 3,000
> or
> more evacuees stranded at the convention center and with no apparent
> contingency plan or authority to deal with them collecting a body was
> no
> one's priority. Some had been at the convention center since Tuesday
> morning but had received no food, water or instructions."
> [Times-Picayune]
>
> 5PM Â- BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA: "Nothing about the
> president's demeanor which seemed casual to the point of carelessness
> suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis." [New
> York
> Times]
>
> 8:00PM Â- CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW: "On Wednesday
> night,
> Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at 'Spamalot!, the
> Monty
> Python musical at the Shubert, when the lights went up after the
> performance." [New York Post, 9/2/05]
>
> 9PM Â- FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: "I
> must say,
> this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected." [CNN]
>
> Thursday, September 1
> 8AM Â- BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK: "I don't think
> anybody
> anticipated the breach of the levees." [Washington Post]
>
> CONDOLEEZZA RICE VISITS U.S. OPEN: "Rice, [in New York] on three days'
> vacation to shop and see the U.S. Open, hitting some balls with retired
> champ Monica Seles at the Indoor Tennis Club at Grand Central." [New
> York
> Post]
>
> STILL NO COMMAND AND CONTROL ESTABLISHED: Terry Ebbert, New Orleans
> Homeland
> Security Director: "This is a national emergency. This is a national
> disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and
> control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we
> can't
> bail out the city of New Orleans." [Fox News]
>
> 2PM Â- MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES "DESPERATE SOS" TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:
> "This is a
> desperate SOS. Right now we are out of resources at the convention
> centre
> and don't anticipate enough buses. We need buses. Currently the
> convention
> centre is unsanitary and unsafe and we're running out of supplies."
> [Guardian, 9/2/05]
>
> 2PM Â- MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF
> VIOLENCE: "I've
> had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means
> that
> people are beginning to riot, or you know, they're banging on walls and
> screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I've had no
> reports of
> that." [CNN]
>
> NEW ORLEANS "DESCEND[S] INTO ANARCHY": "Storm victims were raped and
> beaten,
> fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue
> helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out
> New
> Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. 'This is a desperate SOS,' the
> mayor said." [AP]
>
> CONDOLEEZZA RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING: "Just moments ago at the Ferragamo
> on
> 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of
> dollars
> on some nice, new shoes (we've confirmed this, so her new heels will
> surely
> get coverage from the WaPo's Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to
> fathom the absurdity of Rice's timing, went up to the Secretary and
> reportedly shouted, 'How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are
> dying
> and homeless!'" [Gawker]
>
> MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY LEARNS OF EVACUEES IN CONVENTION CENTER: "We
> learned
> about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available
> resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the
> food
> and water and medical care that they need." [CNN]
>
> Friday, September 2
> ROVE-LED CAMPAIGN TO BLAME LOCAL OFFICIALS BEGINS: "Under the command
> of
> President Bush's two senior political advisers, the White House rolled
> out a
> plan to contain the political damage from the administration's response
> to
> Hurricane Katrina." President Bush's comments from the Rose Garden
> Friday
> morning formed "the start of this campaign." [New York Times, 9/5/05]
>
> 9:35AM Â- BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN: "Brownie, you're doing a heck
> of a
> job." [White House, 9/2/05]
>
> 10 AM Â- PRESIDENT BUSH STAGES PHOTO-OP "BRIEFING": Coast Guard
> helicopters
> and crew diverted to act as backdrop for President Bush's photo-op.
>
> BUSH VISIT GROUNDS FOOD AID: "Three tons of food ready for delivery by
> air
> to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the
> Crescent
> City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted
> because of
> President Bush's visit to New Orleans, officials said."
> [Times-Picayune]
>
> LEVEE REPAIR WORK ORCHESTRATED FOR PRESIDENT'S VISIT: Sen. Mary
> Landrieu,
> 9/3: "Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw
> what I
> believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major
> cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this
> morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we
> witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo
> opportunity;
> and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced
> to a
> single, lonely piece of equipment." [Sen. Mary Landrieu]
>
> BUSH USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP: A group
> of
> 1,000 firefighters convened in Atlanta to volunteer with the Katrina
> relief
> efforts. Of those, "a team of 50 Monday morning quickly were ushered
> onto a
> flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand
> beside
> President Bush as he tours devastated areas." [Salt Lake Tribune;
> Reuters]
>
> 3PM Â- BUSH "SATISFIED WITH THE RESPONSE": "I am satisfied with the
> response.
> I am not satisfied with all the results." [AP]
>
> Saturday, September 3
> SENIOR BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LIES TO WASHINGTON POST, CLAIMS
> GOV.
> BLANCO NEVER DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY: The Post reported in their
> Sunday
> edition "As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of
> emergency,
> the senior Bush official said." They were forced to issue a correction
> hours
> later. [Washington Post, 9/4/05]
>
> 9AM Â- BUSH BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS: "[T]he magnitude of
> responding
> to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the size of Great
> Britain has created tremendous problems that have strained state and
> local
> capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not
> getting
> the help they need." [White House, 9/3/05]

.

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  • Re: Hurricane timeline.
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  • Re: Hurricane timeline.
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