Katrina and my weekend.
I have seen more than a few entries on Katrina, and all of these emotions going with it, so I would like to offer my tidbit.
Many of you probably did not know, since not a lot of you are in daily contact with me, but I was in New Orleans last weekend. Me, three of my friends, and two of my army buddies. We had all did sort of last minute plan to meet in New Orleans to somewhat celebrate the end of the summer sort of thing.
At the time we had left, (thursday night) the path of the Huricane was to go up around Appalachicola (just a little south of us) and was projected to be a category 1 or two. Friday the prediction had changed to that of a much stronger huricane.
We did the New Orleans thing, in which I am sad to say not a single one of us had a camera to capture the city as it was, had we known what we had known now we would have.
I was in New Orleans on Saturday and Sunday. When there was urges to immediately vacuate. As early as Saturday morning they were changing every lane on the highways to one way. All flights were cancelled, it took us ten hours to get back home from a trip that took us 4 and half to get there. There was a lot of stress, but people were taking it in stride.
Now, another fact some of you may not know. When I was in the Army I was stationed in Panama. In fall of 1998 the Isthmus was ravaged by Hurricane Mitch. WHen I say ravaged I mean total devastation. There were massive mudslides, Mitch hit with 180mph winds, when it was all said and done there were 11 thousand injured, 6 thousand dead, and 8 thousand missing. I was on the front lines, digging bodies out of the mud. Bringing in water, food, and all the aid we could.
We were one country a way, directly south of the country. To even begin to get started it took us 3 days, and that was just the preliminary aid.
My point being, these things take time. Many of you probably have never even heard of Huricane Mitch or were aware of the damage to the country and people it produced.
As many of you know, I have loved New Orleans all my life. I have gone there once or twice a year for quite sometime now. It is heartbreaking what is going on, but these are the things that go on in natural disasters.
Anyone who has the slightest idea about what it takes to coordinate a massive operation of aid like this should understand. It takes time. Roads are gone, entire bridges and routes into the City and affected areas are gone. 4 Days since it made landfall, and only 3 days since the flooding began. These news reports of people who haven't eaten in 5 or 6 days are skewed. Because as I left Sunday afternoon there were places to eat. However in the 3 days in which rescue workers were able to come in and help there have been thousands of people moved out to houston, thousands of people being helped, and hundreds of people being rescued.
A fact in which the News, who are all about trying to win a pulitzer or some shit out of their coverage seem to neglect talking about. They spend the entire time screaming "where's the help?" when the help is going on all around them. Conditions are bad there, I realize this. And I know how desperate it can be when you aren't getting the news, and you are out on the street and haven't heard a single thing. It is hot, these people are hungry and scared. And that is the thing I have to keep reminding myself when I see these news coverages, these people feel abandoned even though it has been such a short time, because they have no communication going on to tell them what is going on.
Here's the thing, it takes time to mobilize that type of aid, and the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Coast Guard, National Guard should be fucking commended for being able to get accomplished what they have in such a short period of time. The Air Force combat control teams, cleared and secured the entire airport and got it back up in running in two days, when the place was under 8 feet of water.
There isn't a delay in aid as the news says, there is if anything not enough yet. A fact that will be remedied shortly as more and more transportation routes, and people move into the area.
Here is what there is a major fucking flaw in. COMMUNICATION!
Understandably there are a lot of things going on right now, between stemming the levy, rescuing people and moving people out, medical supplies etc. But how much time would it take, how much precious resources would be wasted to have one motherfucker in a bullhorn, or hell any of the hundreds of ROAMING REPORTERS doing street interviews to tell people where the fuck to go. The problem is there are a lot of people getting the aid they need because they are in the right spot. Then there are a shitload of people not getting the aid they need because they do not know where to go, or what the fuck is going on.
Getting aid to these people in the initial days is never going to be enough, when there isn't a coordinated organization going on. A lot of that I blame on New Orleans mayor Nagin, and the City of New Orleans government. Believe me, as I was leaving I saw constant screw ups in the evacuation system, and a lot of confusion.
Maybe it is because I live in Florida, and we have evacuations and huricane preparedness down to a fucking science here. But since they beginning there has been a lot of disorganization and confusion by the City of New Orleans and the state of LA. Understandably this is not an event they have dealt with, despite doing a training run with FEMA that simulated such a thing. Until you have it happen you are never prepared.
I praise the rescue workers for the work they are doing. The people who are out commiting crimes under the cover of darkness, shooting at rescue helicopters, police and other victims are the worst type of scum. But that is the way it is. These are the people who either chose not to leave, or didn't have the means to leave, when the Huricane Center gave a 3 day warning. Another thing I think needs commending, those guys did everything they could to warn as soon as possible.
So before you go blaming the valiant efforts of the rescue workers, saying that there is a delay in aid, try to realize it has been 3 days since they could come in, and there is limited access to the area. It takes time to coordinate such an effort and there are some geniune heroes out there busting their asses to help people.
Those are the people who need to be highlighted on the news. Not the people who are shooting, stealing T.V.'s and screaming that they are left there to die. Where I can understand that desperation, and lord knows I have seen it first hand. The real story are the people who are taking people into their homes, the rescue workers working 24 hours a day, and the police and national guard trying valiantly to keep the peace without injury. There are only so many of them, and they are way underpaid.
That is my two cents, as someone who has been on the frontlines, and behind the scenes of such a catastrophic natural disaster.
Many of you probably did not know, since not a lot of you are in daily contact with me, but I was in New Orleans last weekend. Me, three of my friends, and two of my army buddies. We had all did sort of last minute plan to meet in New Orleans to somewhat celebrate the end of the summer sort of thing.
At the time we had left, (thursday night) the path of the Huricane was to go up around Appalachicola (just a little south of us) and was projected to be a category 1 or two. Friday the prediction had changed to that of a much stronger huricane.
We did the New Orleans thing, in which I am sad to say not a single one of us had a camera to capture the city as it was, had we known what we had known now we would have.
I was in New Orleans on Saturday and Sunday. When there was urges to immediately vacuate. As early as Saturday morning they were changing every lane on the highways to one way. All flights were cancelled, it took us ten hours to get back home from a trip that took us 4 and half to get there. There was a lot of stress, but people were taking it in stride.
Now, another fact some of you may not know. When I was in the Army I was stationed in Panama. In fall of 1998 the Isthmus was ravaged by Hurricane Mitch. WHen I say ravaged I mean total devastation. There were massive mudslides, Mitch hit with 180mph winds, when it was all said and done there were 11 thousand injured, 6 thousand dead, and 8 thousand missing. I was on the front lines, digging bodies out of the mud. Bringing in water, food, and all the aid we could.
We were one country a way, directly south of the country. To even begin to get started it took us 3 days, and that was just the preliminary aid.
My point being, these things take time. Many of you probably have never even heard of Huricane Mitch or were aware of the damage to the country and people it produced.
As many of you know, I have loved New Orleans all my life. I have gone there once or twice a year for quite sometime now. It is heartbreaking what is going on, but these are the things that go on in natural disasters.
Anyone who has the slightest idea about what it takes to coordinate a massive operation of aid like this should understand. It takes time. Roads are gone, entire bridges and routes into the City and affected areas are gone. 4 Days since it made landfall, and only 3 days since the flooding began. These news reports of people who haven't eaten in 5 or 6 days are skewed. Because as I left Sunday afternoon there were places to eat. However in the 3 days in which rescue workers were able to come in and help there have been thousands of people moved out to houston, thousands of people being helped, and hundreds of people being rescued.
A fact in which the News, who are all about trying to win a pulitzer or some shit out of their coverage seem to neglect talking about. They spend the entire time screaming "where's the help?" when the help is going on all around them. Conditions are bad there, I realize this. And I know how desperate it can be when you aren't getting the news, and you are out on the street and haven't heard a single thing. It is hot, these people are hungry and scared. And that is the thing I have to keep reminding myself when I see these news coverages, these people feel abandoned even though it has been such a short time, because they have no communication going on to tell them what is going on.
Here's the thing, it takes time to mobilize that type of aid, and the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Coast Guard, National Guard should be fucking commended for being able to get accomplished what they have in such a short period of time. The Air Force combat control teams, cleared and secured the entire airport and got it back up in running in two days, when the place was under 8 feet of water.
There isn't a delay in aid as the news says, there is if anything not enough yet. A fact that will be remedied shortly as more and more transportation routes, and people move into the area.
Here is what there is a major fucking flaw in. COMMUNICATION!
Understandably there are a lot of things going on right now, between stemming the levy, rescuing people and moving people out, medical supplies etc. But how much time would it take, how much precious resources would be wasted to have one motherfucker in a bullhorn, or hell any of the hundreds of ROAMING REPORTERS doing street interviews to tell people where the fuck to go. The problem is there are a lot of people getting the aid they need because they are in the right spot. Then there are a shitload of people not getting the aid they need because they do not know where to go, or what the fuck is going on.
Getting aid to these people in the initial days is never going to be enough, when there isn't a coordinated organization going on. A lot of that I blame on New Orleans mayor Nagin, and the City of New Orleans government. Believe me, as I was leaving I saw constant screw ups in the evacuation system, and a lot of confusion.
Maybe it is because I live in Florida, and we have evacuations and huricane preparedness down to a fucking science here. But since they beginning there has been a lot of disorganization and confusion by the City of New Orleans and the state of LA. Understandably this is not an event they have dealt with, despite doing a training run with FEMA that simulated such a thing. Until you have it happen you are never prepared.
I praise the rescue workers for the work they are doing. The people who are out commiting crimes under the cover of darkness, shooting at rescue helicopters, police and other victims are the worst type of scum. But that is the way it is. These are the people who either chose not to leave, or didn't have the means to leave, when the Huricane Center gave a 3 day warning. Another thing I think needs commending, those guys did everything they could to warn as soon as possible.
So before you go blaming the valiant efforts of the rescue workers, saying that there is a delay in aid, try to realize it has been 3 days since they could come in, and there is limited access to the area. It takes time to coordinate such an effort and there are some geniune heroes out there busting their asses to help people.
Those are the people who need to be highlighted on the news. Not the people who are shooting, stealing T.V.'s and screaming that they are left there to die. Where I can understand that desperation, and lord knows I have seen it first hand. The real story are the people who are taking people into their homes, the rescue workers working 24 hours a day, and the police and national guard trying valiantly to keep the peace without injury. There are only so many of them, and they are way underpaid.
That is my two cents, as someone who has been on the frontlines, and behind the scenes of such a catastrophic natural disaster.