Katrina :: Storm Effects
Return To NewOrleans/HurricaneKatrina Homepage
Effects of the Storm :: Hurricane Katrina :: Criticisms : Op-ed
Paul Krugman wrote in the New York Times on September 2: "Thousands of Americans are dead or dying, not because they refused to evacuate, but because they were too poor or too sick to get out without help - and help wasn't provided." He points out: "Yesterday Mr. Bush made an utterly fantastic claim: that nobody expected the breach of the levees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_New_Orleans
Continue below...
Criticisms :: Op-ed
Paul Krugman wrote in the New York Times on September 2: "Thousands of Americans are dead or dying, not because they refused to evacuate, but because they were too poor or too sick to get out without help - and help wasn't provided." He points out: "Yesterday Mr. Bush made an utterly fantastic claim: that nobody expected the breach of the levees. In fact, there had been repeated warnings about exactly that risk." In the same article, the former FEMA chief James Lee Witt is cited as saying at a Congressional hearing: "I am extremely concerned that the ability of our nation to prepare for and respond to disasters has been sharply eroded. I hear from emergency managers, local and state leaders, and first responders nearly every day that the FEMA they knew and worked well with has now disappeared."[56] Former NO resident and journalist Michael Hammerschlag blasts the multiple failures of leadership and stunning inability to repair any breech of flimsy canal levees.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune published only its third issue since Hurricane Katrina struck, and included a sharp editorial demanding the firing of many of those possibly derelict in their responsibilities during the disaster, such as FEMA director Michael Brown. The text is available from Editor & Publisher magazine [57].
Many, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Democratic Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, have urged people and media to delay criticism of the government's response until those stranded in New Orleans can be rescued and relocated. Bill Clinton on September 5, 2005 said the Federal Government 'failed' the people of the coastal communities affected by the storm. The interview is available from CNN [58]. Laura Bush gave a press conference in Lafayette, Louisiana, on September 3, 2005, in which she noted that "bad things are not happening here" and urged the news media to convey the message of how communities are working to help people. She refused to criticize the federal response to the crisis when questioned. She described the international offers of aid and assistance as "very sweet", but did not indicate whether they had been, or would be, accepted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_New_Orleans
Storm Effects Homepage
Website Homepage
