Time for Accountability
There is definitely a time for accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible -- local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin (Williams, 2005).
The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and her emergency operations center.
The actions and inactions are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved (Williams, 2005).
In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a simulated hurricane drill 13 months before the disasters, in which widespread flooding supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside...
The exercise simulated the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in the simulation apparently were not solved.
The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed for federal assistance was to request the specific type of assistance needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid (Williams, 2005).
Bibliography
Dao, J. (2005, Nov 22). Louisiana sees faded urgency in relief effort. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/22/national/nationalspecial/22louisiana.html?ex=1290315600&en=96a67d624f89c525&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss#
Hurricane Katrina. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2009, from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services HHS.Gov: http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/emergency/naturaldisasters/hurricanes/katrina/index.html
(2005, Oct 05). A month after Katrina: lessons from leadership failures. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1289
Schneider, S. (2005). Administrative breakdowns in the governmental response to Hurricane Katrina. Public Administration Review, Pages 515-516, Volume 65 Issue 5.
Williams, B. (2005, Sept 07). Blame amid the tragedy. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from the Wall Street Journal: http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007219
Hurricane Katrina
