Feds say states not ready for disasters
Say what? Hey, Governor Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin, please tell us that after subjecting the planet to a year's worth of post-Katrina Bush, Red Cross, FEMA, and Caucasian bashing, finger pointing, whining, sniveling, and abject displays of utter incompetence, Louisiana and New Orleans are now prepared for disasters...
Say it ain't so, Kath and Ray. Say that a federal security analysis -- published June 17 which revealed that New Orleans is still woefully unprepared for catastrophes ten months after Hurricane Katrina -- is completely untrue.
Same old bums, same old ineptitude
What have you two clueless, should-be-in-jail-for-gross-negligence clowns been doing all this time? Visiting Leno on the Tonight Show? Releasing an All-Time Greatest Hits compact disc of your blame-game sound bites?
Congratulations. You are in the running for the two most despicable people on earth.
Unfortunately, and while Blanco and Nagin have blunderingly carried on in the same fashion as prior to, during, and after Katrina befell New Orleans, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report also indicated:
- The two cities targeted by the September 11 attacks, New York City and Washington D.C., do not meet guidelines for responding to major disasters; and
- All 50 states as well as 75 major cities show continuing weaknesses — with the overwhelming majority still ill-equipped to handle a natural or man-made calamity.
These findings are nearly as disturbing as the ineptitude of Blanco and Nagin.
A few rays of sunshine
Mind you, there was one faint glint of sunshine lurking about in the report's brooding storm clouds; Florida was the only state to meet all of the DHS's basic requirements for planning for catastrophes.
And although they did not meet all of the DHS criteria, ten other states were rated as having sufficient plans to respond to disasters: Alabama, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont.
Now I know what you're thinking out there: "But B2, B2!" you're thinking, unibrows knotted in concentration and rivulets of sweat from the effort cascading off your case-hardened skulls, "Florida should be prepared. They're used to being battered and flooded by hurricane winds and rain!" Perhaps...mais, il y a plus, so pipe down.
While it is true that Florida has been subjected to and recorded more on-shore hurricanes and tropical storms than any other state, it is not an exclusive club. Six U.S. Territories, Hawaii, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine are also members in good standing.
And in this age of instantaneous communication and certainly after the mass murder of September 11, you have to be brain-dead (or Blanco and Nagin) to be unaware of the potential for any type of natural or man-made disaster of consequence.
This is particularly true when you factor in the nonstop "All Doom And Gloom, All The Time" mantra disingenuously emanating from al-CNN, al-PBS, al-ABC, al-CBS, al-NBC, al-MSNBC, al-New York Times, al-Washington Post, al-Newsweek, al-L.A. Times, and the rest of that agenda-driven lot.
No, the fact is that across the nation, while city and state plans for emergencies like localized fires, floods, hazardous materials spills, and tornadoes are good, their plans for large-scale catastrophes are either nonexistent or woefully inadequate.
False beliefs yield false hopes
Any experienced emergency manager will also tell you that even if you do have an adequate plan, it will probably fail you when dealing with the scope of a regional or statewide event if it is not regularly and properly tested beforehand. And if you mistakenly assume that relief personnel and resources will flood your jurisdiction immediately after a catastrophic event, you might as well use your pretty but useless plan as a door stop or toilet paper.
And as for all you helpless, hopeless people who woke up one morning to suddenly, shockingly discover you live on a fault line, near the coast, on a floodplain, or below sea level, please stand, reverently clutch a DVD of al-Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" to your hearts, and repeat this solemn vow:
"I solemnly swear that despite Drive-By Media lies, FEMA is not now nor ever was a rapid response agency. It is wrong to expect help from whining or playing the race card. I sound like a real jerk when I blame others for my own negligence. Therefore, from now on I'm going to take responsibility for my own disaster preparedness and survive on my own for several days if need be, so help me Ray Nagin."
States and cities may not be ready, but now you feel better, don't you?