Did anybody know it'd be this bad?

[vespersparrow]

I mean really think it could come down to the evacuation of an entire city?
I see so much blame and fingerpointing going on, but can't blame the NHC or TWC. I heard warning after warning after warning about this. Now there are people saying they didn't hear anything about a warning. I live in Pensacola and I heard them warning people all day for days. Was the info so poor in NOLA that people really didn't get adequate reports?
What happened?
I have said it elsewhere that personal responsibility matters for each of us. I know people saw the devastation from Ivan and that was only a Cat 2 (maybe 3)...I would hope to God in Heaven that people would put out their radar when they hear of a Cat 5 heading toward them.
I think alot of it is complacency.
God have mercy on this trainwreck.

[beenthru6]

Many experts warned how bad it could be, but sadly they weren't listened to soon enough.

[Ivanhater]

i havnt heard one pro on the news who thought it would be this bad, even steve lyons talked about that in an interview, he said you know the potential, but you just cant know or imagine till it does

[therealashe]

I think everyone knew the potential was there... but you always think "it won't happen to me". It's very easy to become complacent. Bad hurricanes happen to someone else, it will miss us, turn a the last minute... etc.


I think there are many still there or recently evacuated who still have no real understanding of how catastrophic this was. I saw someone today telling rescue she'd just wait it out a few days.... he told her it would likely be 2 months before she could come back. I was thinking it will be more like 6 months... longer maybe.

I am still struggling to get my mind around it all.

[itglobalsecure]

The Washington Post had a feature article today interviewing those who stayed behind, asking them why. The nearly universal reply (at least, as cited in this article), was that that they were living paycheck to paycheck. The people being interviewed in this article had, in their total savings, no more than $300 - TOTAL, everywhere. The people were working, but the little money they earn gets spent completely each week.

They felt that even if they could afford a bus out, they had no more money after that. What would they do? With young kids, grandparents, sick spouse. and so forth...

[therealashe]

I heard one report pointing out how many of these citizens depended on monthy federal checks, which were to be deposited on the 1st. So it stands to reason that many didn't have money to leave on the 29th.


Has anyone said why NO Mayor or the LA Gov didn't arrange for buses to evacuate people to other areas?

[Kiko]

We knew, or at least should have. The info was out there:


September 2001
Popular Mechanics: New Orleans is Sinking


October 2004
National Geographic: Gone With The Water



The saddest one... Nagin and Blanco both being quoted a year ago knowing their evac plan wasn't going to save everyone:


September 2004
USAToday: Direct hit could mean a modern Atlantis

[therealashe]

The National Geo article is eerie with how accurate it prediction was. <shudder>

[Liberty30]

Anyone who has read the studies should have at least had an idea.

I had detailed discussions with a handful of people before the storm hit, what we thought would happen has, almost exactly. I was wrong in a few areas, 1. I didn't anticipate the widespread looting and anarchy, and 2. I failed to take into account the elevation of the French Quarter and thus expected a bit more flooding than actually occured in some sections of the city. 3. Though not in New Orleans, I was shocked by the amount of surge in the Biloxi area. Unexpected (to me at least).

Very unfortunate. But what happened in New Orleans shouldn't come as a surprise. This was one of the two most studied potential natural disasters in the country (The other being a major earthquake in SF). I first heard about the possibility in a Houston Chronicle article a few years ago (I think it was 2001... I may be wrong) and continued to read the studies. If Savannah is hit by a hurricane and has this happen... yeah I'm surprised. Unfortunately, from Saturday night on, it was quite apparent what would follow...

[SouthernWx]

Did I think it would be this bad? Unfortunately....yes, I did

Once the rapid deepening occurred (from 935 to 915 mb), I knew this was going to be an utter catastrophe. I was on vacation and traveling with my grandmother from the North Carolina mountains (where it was too drizzly and foggy to sightsee along the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville to Boone as I'd planned) enroute to the South Carolina coast, so my internet access was limited; hearing sketchy advisories from radio
(also knew from dad via my cellphone that Katrina was below 910 mb). Around 2 p.m., we arrived in Charleston and proceeded NE along the coast, our ultimate goal being Myrtle Beach. I stopped for a Coke at a McDonalds in Pawleys Island, SC....and was horrified by the images and data on the restaurant TV (think it was on Fox News channel).

I remember telling my grandmother and two teenage girls who were watching the tv that even if it weakened, on the projected path....a hurricane of Katrina's size would devastate New Orleans; that Lake Ponchartrain would overflow/ breach the levees and flood the city 20-30' deep (and obliterate the Mississippi and possibly Alabama coast

Needless to say, that for all intensive purposes ended my vacation. I spent a restless night watching TWC on a Days Inn tv........and decided the next morning to return to Georgia (stopped Monday evening in Brunswick, GA to let Katrina's tornado-laced feeder bands pass by). I drove home Tuesday morning......knowing all my fears; my worst hurricane nightmare had come to life, and that several relatives and many of my friends were in the path.....some of whom I haven't heard from yet

[streetsoldier]

Having been a FEMA Director, and doing my very best to educate the public...all I can offer is that I (we) get treated like the "little boy who cried, 'WOLF' "...until the Vigoro hits the Mixmaster, then it always devolves into a "blame game".

There's plenty of time for that...LATER. There ARE no "quick fixes" when dealing with disasters. Period.

[LSU2001]

Having been a FEMA Director, and doing my very best to educate the public...all I can offer is that I (we) get treated like the "little boy who cried, 'WOLF' "...until the Vigoro hits the Mixmaster, then it always devolves into a "blame game".

There's plenty of time for that...LATER. There ARE no "quick fixes" when dealing with disasters. Period.

Amen!!!!!!!
Great Post
TIm

[THead]

Having been a FEMA Director, and doing my very best to educate the public...all I can offer is that I (we) get treated like the "little boy who cried, 'WOLF' "...until the Vigoro hits the Mixmaster, then it always devolves into a "blame game".

There's plenty of time for that...LATER. There ARE no "quick fixes" when dealing with disasters. Period.

Man! We have an ex-FEMA director on this board?! That's gotta come in handy! Storm2k has one impressive list of contributors, can't be said enough, great job!!

[beachbum_al]

I don't want to be a broken record but the NHC and the Weather Channel kept saying that all people on the Gulf Coast needed to be prepare because wherever it went in it was going to be castrophic.

Did I think that this storm was going to bad? I knew it was going to bad but I never dreamed it would affected so many States and land like it did. This storm was no storm...it was a monster.

[flarrfan]

We knew, or at least should have. The info was out there:

September 2001
Popular Mechanics: New Orleans is Sinking
October 2004
National Geographic: Gone With The Water
The saddest one... Nagin and Blanco both being quoted a year ago knowing their evac plan wasn't going to save everyone:
September 2004
USAToday: Direct hit could mean a modern Atlantis

Don't forget the local newspaper's in-depth investigation from 2002:
Washing Away