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Katrina Footage: It went From the Ground to the Roof in 3 Minutes watch!

liveleak.com — Video of the horrible destruction incurred by hurricane Katrina.

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  • BriberyLibrary, on 10/10/2007, -9/+123This is the kind of video that people need to see about Katrina.
    • aliengoods, on 10/10/2007, -29/+81Video of people who were too stupid or stubborn to evacuate? I had a couple of friends living in New Orleans before Katrina, and they packed up and left in about 24 hours. I know I'll get dugg down, but the property damage of Katrina couldn't be avoided (unless people listened to the Army Corps of Engineers). The loss of human life was completely avoidable.
      • chronichyjinx, on 10/10/2007, -27/+19Your a fool if you think that everybodies death was completely avoidable. You know nothing of their circumstances.
        • shark615, on 10/10/2007, -17/+28Living below sea level in a hurricane prone area? I think we know enough.
          • Stormflux, on 10/10/2007, -13/+8Correct me if I'm wrong, but the people who died were either poor, elderly, or disabled; by and large.
          • Slackdragon, on 10/10/2007, -4/+5No one was left behind. This is the great myth of Katrina. The did not go because they did not want to leave. Many sought shelter in the Superdome because they percieved it as safe without having to leave. Others had been cried wolf to over the years so much they felt it couldn't be as bad as it was.

            I sat through it, in Slidell. With my in-laws. We watched water come right up to the front door, but not into the house, thankfully. The reason we didn't leave? I'm from St. Louis and wanted to see a hurricane first hand (got more than I bargained for!) and my father-in-law was convinced it would track away and graze the area as so many storms had done previously.

            By and large, those who sat through the storm were here because THEY chose to. Not because the evil local, state or federal governmnet made them.

            Post Katrina? That's a different story. Our retarded governer, had a lot to do with it. The federal government cannot supercede a states autonomy. They had to wait until she asked for help.
          • actorboy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8"No one was left behind. This is the great myth of Katrina. The did not go because they did not want to leave."

            Slack, what the hell are you talking about? I live in New Orleans. Do you know why we have (had) a lot of busses and streetcars here? Because many people don't have their own transportation. Did you ever have to ride one of those busses or streetcars? They were consistantly standing room only. Do you also recall that Amtrak stopped cancelled all trains and stopped running the Saturday prior to Katrina -- before an mandatory evacuation was called. Do you think there were enough flights or rental cars in the city to make up for everyone left behind? Honestly, I could understand your ingnorance of the situation if you lived somewhere else, but to be down here and not a clue -- astounding.
          • qwertydvorak, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1@actorboy: "Do you think there were enough flights or rental cars in the city to make up for everyone left behind?"

            they're called feet. pretty handy at times. this video shows the utter stupidity of the people living in the area perfectly. quote from the vid (not exact, but gets the point across), "there's boats all around, tried starting all of them, but none will start." why not try paddling your lazy ass in it ? get your hands off the camera and either use them as oars, or find a stick to use as oars. nature flushing the toilet if you ask me.
      • manicallday, on 10/10/2007, -6/+41People forget that the flooding in N.O. was not the result of the actual weather, but rather the effect of the levies rupturing. Further, it's just was not possible for many of the residents to leave. Where are they going to go?

        I understand that douche one-liners gets Diggs, but life doesn't always fit on a bumper sticker.
        • cdahlkvist, on 10/10/2007, -16/+8No one has forgotten that. They were warned. They were told to evacuate and they still stayed. The typical excuse was "where was I going to go?"

          Uhh...higher ground? Someplace above sea level. Duh.
          • manicallday, on 10/10/2007, -5/+12"Uhh...higher ground? Someplace above sea level. Duh."

            This is proof that Digg has dumbed down in the past few months.
        • Birdoftruth, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3its called a hotel up north for 2 days.
          • Shorties, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Not all of them could afford that for what was just going to be another hurricane, they get them all the time. Had they known what was going to happen this time that the levies would break and such they would of all gotten out of there for sure.
        • slipgrid, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Yeah, do they just make the levies weaker in the poorer part of town, or do they have to go out and bomb them to protect the more wealthy parts of town?
        • actorboy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3@ slipgrid

          The levees broke in a relatively affluent part of town as well. But most of those people could afford to evacuate, so you didn't see them in the Superdome or Convention Center -- which is why there is this common misconception that only the poor were flooded out.

          Lakeview homes in good condition: http://www.ericbouler.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=849340&NF=1

          Lakeview homes after Katrina: http://goneworleans.about.com/od/famouslandmarks/ig/Katrina/Lakeview.htm

          More on Lakeview and Katrina: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeview,_New_Orleans
        • lava, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2"Further, it's just was not possible for many of the residents to leave. Where are they going to go? "

          Dude, anywhere else. That's not an excuse. If your life is threatened by a massive destructive force you just have to go, even if you have to leave all your ***** behind and live under a bridge somewhere. I'm from Miami, and I've experienced many hurricanes, and each time a strong one comes by, it's time to go, no question.

          Unfortunately, many people in NO lacked the imagination to realize what was coming. Many did have places to go and didn't leave. Whenever something new and dangerous comes along, some people are always going to remain unconvinced of the danger.
        • Locke2053, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2"life doesn't always fit on a bumper sticker."

          hey, that's catchy. mind if i print that on a bumper sticker?
      • pegisys, on 10/10/2007, -4/+25"people who were too stupid or stubborn to evacuate"

        I somewhat agree but to say everyone who died was stupid or stubborn is a huge insult to the truly impoverished, the children, the old, and the disabled that didn't have a means to pack up and leave
      • coit, on 10/10/2007, -5/+11If you watched to the end, the guy says: "Don't be stupid like me, just run" and "I'll never stay through another hurricane again"

        Sad, but true that most could have been saved had the city had mandatory evacuations like other coastal areas do when hurricanes approach. If Nagin had any character he would accept the blame, rather than trying to shift it off to the state and feds.
        • Samburger, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2burried because he never said "Don't be stupid like me, just run"
      • quisph, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11First, let's assume that everyone *tried* to get away. The evacuation would have to be better than 99.9999% successful in order for every one of several million people to *succeed* in getting away. That's a pretty tall order.

        Secondly, there will always be people who choose to stay behind in a hurricane, just as there will always be people who smoke cigarettes, people who abuse dangerous drugs, people who practice unsafe sex, people who drown themselves in credit card debt, etc. We can either bury our heads in the sand crying "personal responsibility," hoping that these behaviors will magically go away, or we can take practical steps to ensure that they occur less often, and to minimize the negative consequences when they do occur.
        • CorpT, on 10/10/2007, -4/+4Or, we could let the people who make an informed decision suffer the consequences of that decision. I don't care if they go away or not, but I'm not going to lose sleep if something bad happens to someone who made a bad choice. The more we prop up people who make bad choices, the more we enable them to continue making bad choices.
      • supernovasky, on 10/10/2007, -2/+16You are a ***** bastard.
        Have you ever BEEN in New Orleans, you *****? It is impossible to get out on foot, and for those who dont own cars (many people in MANY cities are too poor to afford cars), you're straight up screwed. Note that the place where the largest total loss of human life was the 9th ward, where very few if anyone had mobility enough to leave the city. There are a few bridges that stretch for miles to get out, and then whats outside of the city? Nothing but ***** swamp.

        Now take your callous ***** and shove it. I'm sick of people like you.
      • expat001, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Hey Alien,

        are you 15 years old? Your comment lacks a single element of real world experience. Go back to your Xbox loser.
    • moojj, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5No words can explain what this woman must be feeling. Wow
    • duzytata, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2I hope the people planning to rebuild that area see videos like this too. Before we start pumping billions of dollars into the area, we need to take a serious look at the possibility that this could happen all over again. Maybe rebuilding everything ten miles inward or installing one hell of a leve system before we start constructing buildings would be the right direction to take.
    • slipgrid, on 10/10/2007, -6/+1Spike Lee has a great documentary about Katrina. It begs the question, that I asked a minute ago, but was deleted. The documentary begs the question, do they build the levies around the poorer neighborhoods weaker, or do they have to bomb them to save the more wealthy downtown areas? Please don't delete my comment again. Watch Spike Lee's movie and you'll know what I'm talking about.
    • jlc107, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Enough of this racist "they bombed the levees" BS. My wife and I are native New Orleanians but stupid comments and the media would have everyone believe that this was all a racist conspiracy. We lost it all and now live 500 feet above sea level. The folks in this video are white or has anyone noticed? Racism had nothing to do with who got whacked by the incompetence of the Corps of Engineers. The Gulf Coast was a NATURAL disaster. New Orleans was a man-made (government-made) disaster. How many decades and how many billions of dollars went into a worthless levee system? And to those who say forget about New Orleans. What will New Yorkers say when Long Island gets smacked right in its proud as @#$% face?
      • slipgrid, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Racist? What race do you think I am, and what race do you think I'm speaking against. Isn't that just what they do. You want to protect the most valuable part of the city, right? And, when it comes to levies that are going to break, isn't that what you do? And, what do New Yorkers have to do with it?
    • brianbennett, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2It's a shame this guy learned the hard way. Hopefully next time around, more people will have the good sense to get the hell out. Ultimately there is no excuse. Sleeping in your car in a parking lot somehwere is better than taking your life in your hands this way. Hell, being without air conditioning for a week or more was enough motivation for me to evacuate. If you don't have a car/can't drive, get a ride. Be it friends, a local church... something. Personal responsibility FTW!
  • OBJECTinMOTION, on 10/10/2007, -31/+96This video is profoundly sad and frightening.

    For the most part it seems that we in Western Civilization have conquered nature, and our civilization is invincible. But in moments like this nature simply rises up -- and erases lives and entire neighborhoods in only 3 minutes.

    I really can't imagine going through something like that. Katrina, combined with 911, has in many ways traumatized and destabilized the American psyche.

    But Katrina could have been something else -- that moment could have shown what a great nation America can be, if only the American government had heroically come to the rescue of its own people.

    But it didn't. Instead the world watched as people suffered and the American government couldn't even deliver food or water to downtown New Orleans. Days went by and the chaos and anarchy only grew worse descending into darkness. The great American empire seemed very fragile after Katrina.

    Katrina exposed the current regime in America for what it was -- out of touch with reality and completely unmoved or unwilling to help its own people. Katrina will always be a turning point in American history.

    Someone should send this video to the White house (and entitle it "A heck of a Job").
    • threemagic, on 10/10/2007, -14/+36Hurricanes aren't the most devastating forces of nature that honor belongs to tornadoes. At least with Hurricanes you get many days advance notice to leave...

      Katrina showed that people can ignore warnings for DAYS and still feel entitled

      9/11 people were blindsided... a whole different story.
      • douggmc, on 10/10/2007, -7/+9You are wrong ... hurricanes are far more devastating than tornados ... in terms of both loss of life and property damage.

        I agree with you though that loss of life is avoidable with hurricanes due to advance notice. My compassion is limited for these people for this reason (people = elderly, disabled).
        • threemagic, on 10/10/2007, -5/+10You need to check your facts:

          http://federalvoice.dscc.dla.mil/federalvoice/020313/Tornado.html

          Hurricanes are much bigger but tornadoes are far more powerful...
          • cdahlkvist, on 10/10/2007, -6/+3But tornados are more devastating in the fact that they spring up suddenly. You have very little notice.

            Hurricane victims have victimized themselves. They know they are coming and still chose to stay thinking "It won't be me, that only happens to other people".

            Just plain stupidity.
        • cgohier, on 10/10/2007, -3/+9Well, speaking of forces of nature...

          earthquakes are even less predictable than tornadoes, and can do far more damage than hurricanes...
        • loneraven, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1Hurricanes have winds that last for hours and hours Tornadoes are generally brief.

          THat and Hurricanes can spawn tornadoes themselves, so I think Hurricanes win here.
          • cdahlkvist, on 10/10/2007, -5/+4He wasn't talking about literal "power" but the fact that they spring up suddenly whereas with a hurricane people know DAYS if not weeks in advance. Get the hell out of there, dumbass.

            Don't want to leave? Fine. Die.
      • bigsteve, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0There were people in that area that were too poor to own TVs and radios. There was a sizable population that didn't know how severe this storm would be, and another that simply didn't know it was coming. Also, there were those who did have the means to receive communication about the impending storm, but didn't have the means to transport themselves away either because they didn't have / couldn't afford transportation, or it would be too difficult as they had elderly or disabled loved ones with them.

        I work IT for a homeless outreach in Philadelphia that helped organize some of the "refugee" placement that landed here. Didn't work one on one with the people myself, but heard enough stories second-hand to give anybody nightmares.
        • CorpT, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Is that why they were stealing televisions afterwards? So that they could better prepare themselves in the future?
          • bigsteve, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I guess that's cute, if you so choose to judge an entire population affected by this disaster on a truly minuscule percentage of them that made a spectacle of themselves. It's amazing how many people are swayed from remorse because MSNBC or Fox just gave the real people in need of real help the same air time as the looting human filth.

            Oh screw it, I'm going back to Slashdot.
        • AggieFalcon01, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2If there's a sizeable portion of the population that doesn't have access, isn't it up to the local officials to find other ways of getting the word out?

          This serves as proof that these populations - impoverished, immobile, disabled, elderly - populations which were *dependent* on their local government to take care of them through its "harmless" entitlement programs, were neglected and pretty much abandoned by their local government when a crisis came up.

          Yes, abandoned. Ray "school buses" Nagin had plenty of opportunities (hindsight, of course) that were ignored.
          • bigsteve, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Exactly. Something as simple as a PA system mounted on a township truck would have literally saved lives. Even if it's one life, it would have been worth it. Perhaps ten days in advance. If there was even a small possibility of a disaster, there should have been a precautionary evacuation. Sure this would have lead to unrest, looting, arrests, and even possibly injury or death, but not to the catastrophic scale we saw. Every time there's a fire at a refinery in my state, they evacuate the neighborhoods surrounding just to be safe, and I don't think I've ever heard of a death or even a hospitalization from inhaling the fumes from such an event (I could be wrong.)

            People were instead, literally, left behind.
    • AlwaysDuggDown, on 10/10/2007, -12/+36Yes because people are not responsible for getting their families out of harms way when the local, state, national governments and EVERY TV/radio station across the country is telling them to leave and giving them a place to go (the Superdome was FAR from full and within walking distance of everything in N.O. destroyed).

      These people saw it coming and decided to "ride it out". Is it really the FEDERAL government's job to save the day? Where is the outrage on the "regimes" that were running the State and Local governments (you know, the ones responsible for disaster preperation?). Why not send this video to Nagin's offfice? Or LA governor?
      • manicallday, on 10/10/2007, -5/+13The evacuation order was given 1 day before the storm hit. 1 ***** day. Please stop acting as if people had a month.
        • toekneebullard, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3How far can you drive in a day?
          • PhilTheRed, on 10/10/2007, -3/+9not far if you don't have a car
          • manicallday, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7It took me 4 hours to drive 7 miles the other day in rush hour traffic. Imagine if an entire city tried to evacuate over a network of bridges. Plus there was massive gas shortages before the storm.
          • actorboy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"the Superdome was FAR from full and within walking distance of everything in N.O. destroyed"

            The Superdome was not opened as a shelter until the last minute -- prior to that, Nagin insisted that it would not be available as a shelter at all. While it's true that some could walk, you're forgetting that many of the people housed there were the sick, disabled and elderly -- not the best at hoofing it. Still 26000 people found their way their to find enough MREs and water to support only 1500 for three days. More supplies were delivered there by the military on Sept 2nd, 5 days after people arrived at the Dome.

            "How far can you drive in a day?"

            I evacuated to Baton Rouge, which is 85 miles away. It took me 7 hours to get there. Some didn't make it at all because cars tend to overheat in that sort of gridlock. The best way to make it was to turn off your AC so you didn't put more pressure on your car and didn't burn all your gas (as there was little getting off to refill and no gas to be had if you did -- the pumps ran dry quickly with an entire city taking for a trip). Because many did have to turn off their AC on what was a very hot day, some of the elderly and sick died on the trip. Ambulances racing down the shoulder were a regular sight.
        • cdahlkvist, on 10/10/2007, -12/+4Wow...only a day. God forbid they get their ***** packed up and leave.

          IT WAS A ***** FULL DAY!!!! That is plenty of ADVANCED NOTICE TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!!!

          Give me a break.
        • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -5/+7cdahlkvist: You're a heart-less *****. Some people CANT AFFORD TO LEAVE. New Orleans has had many hurricanes and naturally people know that the odds are in their favor for riding it out. Problem is your government ***** up and didn't fix the 100 year old levy after being told a Cat 5 hurricane would destroy it. You are selling out your Americans with your *****. I've reported you as offensive. *****.
          • iluvgossip, on 10/10/2007, -3/+0Because someone has a different opinion you report them as offensive. That actually is offensive. I've reported you. *****.

            Did any of the people who couldn't afford to leave smoke cigarettes? Were any of them overweight? They chose where to spend their money.

            Did they study hard in high school and work hard at a job to succeed? Then why were they broke?

            Sure, the very elderly and mentally disabled have my sympathy. But Nagin should have sent the buses. Everyone else? They made their choices. *****.
        • jaxcs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I dunno how many cars were on the streets before it became unsafe to drive?
      • HypocriteDigg, on 10/10/2007, -4/+4So, if someone goes hiking, and gets stranded, it's their own damn fault right? Leave them there!

        You're a dumbass!
    • tdaddy11, on 10/10/2007, -7/+48If you rely on the gov't to save you, then you're already in trouble.
      • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -5/+5Especially if your government is the US government. Spend billions bombing a country and limit funds for the 9/11 investigation and Katrina aid all the while saying, "heck of a job Brownie" ...
      • AggieFalcon01, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Especially if your government is the Louisiana government. Spend billions on pork, graft, and similar corruption and limit funds for disaster preparedness and infrastructure maintenance, all the while saying, "give us more money or we'll call you racist!"
        • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Are you *****? The state of Louisiana had a budget that included funds for upgrading the levy. Your president slashed the funding in order to pay for the war in Iraq. Such ignorance in our society.
        • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5@orderdigg

          You obviously forgot about Edwin Edwards and David Duke. The problem existed long before bush. The lousiana government has suffered corruption for a very long time.
    • olsonea, on 10/10/2007, -7/+8"For the most part it seems that we in Western Civilization have conquered nature, and our civilization is invincible."

      Wrong! We are in no more control of nature and our environment than are bacterium! It's thinking like this that causes people to think they can ride out storms, live without consequence in earthquake zones, etc.
      • SkippyDoorknob, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4That's the point he was making in that comment, that it seems like we're invincible, but we're not.
    • oldhick, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10How stupid and pretentious can a comment be? Can we begin a nominating process for ridiculous comment of the day?
      • OBJECTinMOTION, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Hi oldhick,

        I was just wondering what exactly made the comment seem "pretentious" or "stupid"?

        I'm not asking because I'm offended, or wanted to pick an argument. Rather I was really curious to know. If you can be more specific, I'll be open minded and listen to what you didn't like about it, or why you disagree.

        Essentially I was trying to express 2 feelings:
        1) I was shocked at how quickly nature could just overwhelm a neighborhood like that, and
        2) I still feel frustrated that no one seemed to be helping the people of New Orleans for days after the fact. It seemed like there wasn't really a "will" or "drive" to come to their rescue. Why not, I wonder?

        (I live with the notion that America is the most advanced, organized, and "kick ass" nation on Earth. America is supposed to be an example of how great things can be. But... it didn't look that way after Katrina.)
    • bfdonnelly, on 10/10/2007, -4/+0This will happen more and more as we arrive at the Long Emergency and as global warming raises sea levels. They will be a one-two punch that will overwhelm us.
      • onewingedangel9, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Really? REALLY? As the sea levels rise, people will either build sea walls, or move out of areas that the sea reclaims. It's not like it happens in 3 minutes with global warming.
    • knupso, on 10/10/2007, -4/+17When you live in a city below sea level, where water has to be constantly pumped out to keep from flooding. I think being prepared for the worst is the least you can do. People shouldn't rely on the government, the government should rely on people.
    • Infowarmachine, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6what pisses me off is when the fed/military did show up they stole everyones guns rather than give people water
      they even shot a handful of american citizens
      • frogpelt, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You have a short memory. When the helicopters showed up people started shooting at them.
        They had not choice but to take the guns. Thugs were keeping them from getting to innocent people who needed help.
    • NecroSexy, on 10/10/2007, -4/+5Man has never conquered nature; he can't even conquer superstition religion.
      • onewingedangel9, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0I would put it like "We have won the battle, but not the war." We can put up seawalls and levees and earthquake warning devices, but it's a constant battle and nature will win certain battles every year.
    • Cerebral, on 10/10/2007, -2/+15To all the nay-sayers about they didn't have time to leave. LAST WORDS ON THE VIDEO:

      "I'll never say through another hurricane again, I will run"

      That means he is admitting that he did have time to leave but chose not to! It cannot be summed up any better than that.
    • Dokkodo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You should never depend on your government...it will eventually fail you.
    • BufordT, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2My sympathy for Katrina victims vanished when I saw on the news the other day, a woman protesting and holding a sign that read "WHERE'S MY MONEY?" To imply that the taxpayers of America owe her anything is simply insulting.
      • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3And because one person says something stupid you no longer have any sympathy for anyone effected? Sounds like your level of compassion is pretty shallow.
      • actorboy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Buford: Source? She could be a freeloader, or should could be one of the thousands down here who got screwed over by their insurance company.
      • neodorian, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1So it's no problem to spend billions a day knocking over and building up pissant dictatorships around the world but if the taxpayers can't even seem to be taken care of in a state of emergency like that, they're freeloaders for demanding it? ***** that. I pay taxes too and if the government can't find enough cash to bail me out of a drowned major city while spending trillions in Iraq you can damn well bet I'm gonna be angry.
    • frogpelt, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You make some good points.
      But didn't you hear what Mr. Guerra kept saying? " I'll never stay through another hurricane again. "
      If people had left when the threat of the hurricane became real, there would not have been a significant loss of life.
    • munna80, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Katrina is NOTHING compared with many natural disasters around the world. And they where warned.
  • duddles, on 10/10/2007, -13/+18Very powerful video. I hope they were able to take the dog with them. I still remember a video from one of Oprah's shows where she reunited someone with their dog after Katrina... made me cry.

    And I will refrain from making any lame 'Snakes on a Roof' jokes.
    • Jaysunli, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1I'm not sure why people are digging down this comment. Outrageous if you ask me.
      • Alias12, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Because there's no "snakes on a roof" joke?
    • KyleGoetz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16So basically Oprah has someone's dog and decides not to give it back to them until she can get them on the show for ratings? Bitch...
    • VeryBoredNow, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2A whole major US city is gone all all this ***** can say is "I hope they saved the dog".
      • omgItsJon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Well, *****, these people could have chosen to leave, but instead chose to "ride it out." Not sure what IQ you are working with but a dog can't watch the news, hear the hurricane warning, and then pack up his family and leave the city.
      • crawf061, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3yeah, because he is concerned about the dog he must not have any compassion for the city as a whole.

        Please get back under your bridge
    • NtHammer, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1lol you cried
  • plizard, on 10/10/2007, -20/+113and that's what happens when you live 9-14 feet BELOW sea level
    • Tobark, on 10/10/2007, -8/+16Correct. The people living there thought they were safe but in reality they were naive.
      • vampgrrl, on 10/10/2007, -2/+14INCORRECT.

        Chalmette, LA is NOT below sea level nor is much of New Orleans, LA

        Chalmette was flooded by a breech in the Industrial Canal fed by the MAN MADE shipping channel called the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.

        Please take note, these people did live in a safe area until the US Government dredged that canal!!!!
      • therightside, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Maybe they should have listened when the GOVERNMENT warned them that a hurricane was coming and then made MANDATORY evacuations. Wait, i thought the government did nothing...
    • gwhardyiv, on 10/10/2007, -14/+9Didn't take long for the assholes to come out, did it? Amazing how it's taboo to say that America deserved 9/11, but idiots like you are allowed to blame the victims of Katrina without reproach.
      • threemagic, on 10/10/2007, -5/+11Probably because most were victims of their own poor judgment. Don't get me wrong, it's sad that anyone died but the reality is that no one that died in the twin towers were told days before that the planes were going to hit.
      • shark615, on 10/10/2007, -8/+17THEY LIVED BELOW SEA LEVEL IN A HURRICANE PRONE AREA.

        Thats the truth; when you live on a volcano you can't be pissed when it erupts and ***** your house up. The victims are to blame for living in an area that they shouldn't have and worst of all not leaving when told to.
        • gwhardyiv, on 10/10/2007, -7/+5Let me explain how compassion works: First of all, you need an imagination. Then you use it to imagine yourself in someone else's shoes. So imagine that you were born in New Orleans. One of the oldest cities in the United States. You family has lived there for countless generations. Your job is there, your family is there, your friends are there. Not quite the same as living on a volcano, is it? By your logic, we all deserve to die for living in the path of gigantic ***** space meteors. When the Earth finally gets smacked out of orbit, some distant observer is going to say "They knew they needed to get off that thing. Why didn't they leave?"
          • goatspanka, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3I think leaving Earth and the couple of hundred miles by car it takes to leave the strong wrath of a hurricane are two completely different animals. Nice comparison smart ass. I live on the Gulf Coast and have lived here my whole life. If a storm the size of Katrina comes my way, which it did, I get the hell out of here!

            By the way, if a meteor is heading towards earth, all we need to do is call Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis to save us!
          • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4FINALLY someone with compassion. Americans should be ashamed of all these assholes that are saying they deserve it. As a Canadian, I am appalled that anyone would say they deserved it. Next time something bad happens to you, make sure you tell yourself, "well, I deserved it"
          • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Compassion ended a year ago. It's been two years. My compassion and will to listen has long since ended. There are amputees and burn victims who get over their tragedies faster than the entitlement seekers of NOLA.
          • gwhardyiv, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I'd rather have my arm cut off than have to face some of the ***** these people have to go through.
        • shark615, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Emotionalize the issue all you want. But at the end of the day people built their homes in an area that was below the sea level in an area that gets hit by hurricanes. End of story. They took a risk and now they are paying the price for it.
        • gwhardyiv, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1So nobody should live on the Gulf Coast? Who's going to bust their ass to make sure you can have cheap oil? YOU benefit from offshore oil workers, refinery workers, and fishermen. You fail to understand the complexity of our interdependency on one another. It's not as simple as your simple mind would have it.
      • oldhick, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3How is it being an ***** to point out common sense? At what point to people have to take control of there lives and their own destiny? And how does this relate to 9/11?
      • FOUGHTANDWON, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5city shaped like a swimming pool, only there's no water in it. But there is a big ass lake on one side, and a ocean gulf on the other. Big ass storm (water) coming. YOU do the math. It's nature, not terrorism. Amazing how we witness nature rip us a new one frequently (via news or internet, but it won't happen to me!!), but so quickly forget the power of mother nature.
    • bmnrocks, on 10/10/2007, -6/+4Well said. There is no way in hell I would live there.
    • truNWA, on 10/10/2007, -4/+11Yea, I agree, personally I WOULD NOT live 14 feet below sealevel, but I still think that those people had reason to believe they were safe. Many probably thought that the US government would not allow a major city, and America's 3rd most profittable seaport, to be that far below sea level without the proper precautions.....

      .... as we can see, there were no proper precautions.
      • Brownflem, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3To think that we can overcome nature is arrogant. To believe that the government can make us safe from nature is naive. One should not live under water.
        • onewingedangel9, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1As it stands now we do not have the technology to stop a hurricane, earthquake, or other natural distater. We do however have early warning technologies, in hopes that we might avoid casualties and just let property get destroyed.

          I'll tell you one thing though. I live in a very earthquake prone region. To build any large building requires far more heavy seismic standards than elsewhere in the world. The skyscrapers are build to withstand the heaviest of earthquakes. With proper planning, you can minimize the damage that is caused.
    • AggieFalcon01, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3those people had reason to believe they were safe. Many probably thought that the Louisiana government would not allow a major city, and America's 3rd most profitable seaport, to be that far below sea level without the proper precautions ... as we can see, there were no proper precautions.
    • dropoutfilms, on 10/10/2007, -5/+4"and that's what happens when you live 9-14 feet BELOW sea level"

      Actually, Chalmette, Louisiana (where this video was filmed) has an elevation of 3ft.

      My point here is that for some reason GWB apologists/Global Warming deniers have been spouting this line as if the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina is the fault of people for ever daring to live in New Orleans. What happens when the tsunami hits the west coast, or another earthquake, or a tornado in the midwest... or flooding near any major river??? If we cannot depend on our government to help us (or react at all) when horrible natural disasters strike, why are we paying taxes? Oh wait, I know: to fight and win the war on "terror"!

      Had you ever been to New Orleans pre-Katrina? Go take a trip down to the lower 9th: tell them this utter tosh and get your teeth knocked out like you ***** deserve.
    • sgtpppr, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9Nothing like callous assholes who judge other peoples' homes. A large portion of New Orleans was born and raised there. Home is home. The culture, history, and people of New orleans shouldn't have been abandoned by scumbags like you all who simply write it all off as 'oh well, shouldn't have lived below sea-level'. Are people morons for living in the midwest with the possiblity of their whole town being destroyed by tornados? Are people morons for living in San Francisco with the possiblity of a killer earthquake? Get a clue.
    • Danjak, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5Writing from New Orleans, I'd just like to say: ***** you, *****. I guess everyone should go live in the Midwest, where it's nice and safe. Oh, wait, it flooded there too just last month. No where is 100% safe to live, so to see callous assholes like you turning your back on your fellow Americans really makes me sick to my stomach.
    • bobliesmith, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1From the Chalmette, Louisiana entry on Wikipedia
      "Chalmette is located... ..., along the Mississippi River and has an elevation of 3 feet (0.9 m)GR3. It is located east of New Orleans, and is part of the Greater New Orleans Area.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalmette%2C_Louisiana

      This is a slight repeat of what 'dropoutfilms' said however I wanted to make sure there was no doubt about Chalmette's elevation.
    • BonerMachine, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Uh huh, that's why the Netherlands is under water.

      No, in this modern world, this is what happens when government FAILS!
    • dbacker, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I grew up in The Netherlands of which 60% is below sea level. We had our Katrina back in 1953 when flooding and dike breaks killed ~1500 people overnight. The people of The Netherlands and the government decided that shouldn't happen ever again. We spend a lot of money protecting ourselves and have helped other countries build dikes to do the same. It is possible. It costs tax money and needs to be properly organized at the governament level....and THAT is where stuff failed for New Orleans. I feel sorry for the people involved and hope that America is learning.
  • Smokersroom, on 10/10/2007, -15/+19I love that it had this Google ad below it:

    Leak detection / analysis
    Solutions to leaks or damp in roofs walls,glazing,floors,basements

    Ha!
    • bankhead, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1about like those Ebay ads, google search "Baby" ... eBay:Babies for sale
      lol
  • cd_RW, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3pretty rough
  • rheemglas, on 10/10/2007, -3/+47Am I the only one who remembers seeing the evacuation notices on all the local news stations? I know some people didn't have the capacity to leave, but these people had a car and everything. I don't understand what these people were thinking staying there during the storm.
    • threemagic, on 10/10/2007, -1/+44He did say it was the biggest mistake he's ever made.
    • RedHerringHack, on 10/10/2007, -1/+23I was there on vacation. The sat images and then the evac warnings were enough for me to GTFO the morning before, on saturday. All the Gasoline was gone, all the stations were empty, I rented a motorcycle, drove it 2 miles to the hotel, emptied the tank and put it into my car, and headed north. I paid $75 for 3 gallons of gasoline.
    • truNWA, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11Some people couldn't afford to leave, or had nowhere else to go. You have people like that in all hurricanes. This one just ended up much worst.
    • sableenees, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2So these people deserved to die because they made a bad choice that, if you look at it honestly, anyone could see himself making?
      • iluvgossip, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I don't think anyone DESERVES to die. But when you do something idiotic it is time to step up and say, "Yeah, I F'd up!" Not blame everyone else. Then it would be nice if you learned your lesson and didn't do it again. I've made any number of stupid choices that could have gotten me killed. If I'm a smoker and I get cancer then I'll say, "Yeah, I was an idiot." That doesn't mean I DESERVE to die. It just means I contributed to my death and if I blame YOU for my cancer then you ought to tell me to wake up and take some personal responsibility.
    • AcidPhysx, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I remember the news three days before explicitly stating "Any living thing directly exposed to hurricane Katrina will die."
  • AlwaysDuggDown, on 10/10/2007, -24/+43Why is the first question people ask "Why weren't the Feds there to save them?"

    Why isn't it "Why the hell didn't you leave when we ALL saw the evacuation notices and armegeddon warnings for THREE DAYS before this thing hit?" You were in WALKING DISTANCE TO THE SUPERDOME you (lazy? cocky? stupid?) people!
    • xtlosx, on 10/10/2007, -12/+6it's hard to feel sorry for them when they didn't listen to any evacuation warnings, and just decided to stay in their homes and ride out a monstrous nature disaster...... they did it to themselves....
      • Jaysunli, on 10/10/2007, -5/+6I agree to some extent but these people have heard hurricane warnings all there life. Nothing even close to this has happened, so it's easy to see how someone would think of just hunkering down and riding it out. Also, alot of people were two poor or two elderly to get out and travel several miles.

        Come on, think a little bit.
        • threemagic, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5Jay.. this warning said it was a CAT 5 with explanations on what a Cat 5 hurricane would do...

          I hear tornado warnings... I seek shelter.
        • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Thinking is not the action of a coward. Blaming people for their situation is as cowardly as you can get.
      • gwhardyiv, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8If you lived on the coast your entire life, and you evacuated your home and family at least once a year for a storm that never even came close to hitting you, and you watched the media become more and more sensational, using dramatic music and flashy graphics every time it rains, then you might not take the weathermen seriously anymore.
        • cgohier, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6You're right... the media is crying wolf too often... only in this case, the wolf did come.
      • plethorex, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Thank you for this comment, because finally someone with a brain has spoken. I realize practically none of you (obviously) live on the coast, but when every single year is "year of the hurricanes" and you are given evacuation orders 3 times during the summer, only to find out that it didn't even rain at your house, you quit heeding warnings. My family and I stayed during Hurricane Francis and our property was mostly destroyed, however it wasn't due to a lack of common sense that we stayed. Simply that we couldn't afford to leave. Driving 200 miles north, spending 3 nights in a hotel room, driving 200 miles back. It isn't free. The government isn't sending out checks with smiley faces on them, noting, "Thanks for making us look good."
    • gwhardyiv, on 10/10/2007, -12/+18You don't know what you're talking about. Just admit it. Do you know where this video was taken? Do you know where the Superdome is? Heve you ever even been to New Orleans? STFU.
      • oldhick, on 10/10/2007, -7/+11I have. Lived there for 4 years. His comment makes perfect sense. The guy in the video even admitted making the mistake of ignoring the evacuation notices. How stupid are you?
        • jaxcs, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3are you a home owner? Was the superdome particularly safe?
          • cooterbrown000, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1if you don't count the rapes, then yes, it was particularly safe.
        • oldhick, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5The guy admitted he made a mistake by not evacuating. How are your questions relevant? Yes the superdome was safe. Not pleasant, but safe. Yes I own a home.
        • gwhardyiv, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2*****. So in your 4 years of living in New Orleans, did you ever once consider walking from The Superdome to Chalmette?
        • Bobius, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1thank you gwhardyiv..

          @ oldhick
          You're full of *****. In 22+ years of living in Chalmette, I've never had the sudden inclination to walk 20+ miles to the super dome to put my life at risk.
      • cooterbrown000, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7I've lived within an hour of New Orleans my whole life. I disagree with the tone of poster AlwaysDuggDown, but he is right about walking distance. This guy lives in Chalmette. Chalmette to the Superdome is less than ten miles. It's a long walk, but it's walkable. Of coarse at the point that the video was made, it was too late.

        I don't see how anybody can be so apathetic to these people. Sure they had a choice, an they made a bad one. No reason to damn them for the rest of their lives because of it. I rode out Katrina in Baton Rouge, an hour drive west of New Orleans. The rest of my family in Covington, an hour drive north of New Orleans. My parent's house is in Slidell, an hour north east of New Orleans (where the eye of the hurricane went; it had three trees laid across the roof). My sister's duplex was on the Gulf Coast in MS (it got 6 feet of water). If the track of the storm suddenly went to the west, we could've ALL been in a ton of trouble. I drove to Covington the following morning because I couldn't get in contact with them. When I got there I could tell why. Tornadoes had touched down along the highway to his house, and had to wait on a cutting crew to cut a pathway through. It took about five hours of waiting before I could see my family.
        • Bobius, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You would actually walk from Violet (down da road from Chalmette) to the superdome? That's 15 miles if you take the interstate (can't walk on that) so it'd probably be about a 20 mile walk.
    • Infowarmachine, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11the superdome was a massive toilet and it had sections of the roof collapse and they had everyone there at gun point, why in the ***** would anyone want to go there

      and they were giving evacuation notices to half the gulf of mexico, they never know exactly where a hurricane will hit
      the roads were INSAAAANELY congested
      it took my mom 24 hours to drive 40 miles

      people on the roads were stealing, fighting, charging insane premiums for gas.. sweating their asses off, some people died from the heat..
      i mean.. its not like the choice was so obvious for what to do..

    • RealHyperX, on 10/10/2007, -6/+3Because when people are used to the handouts liberals give out, they can't think on their own.
      • actorboy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Or maybe it's because the goverment created an entity called the Federal Emergency Management Agency and told us it would manage emergencies.
    • Bobius, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Are you really that ***** stupid? Are the 20+ people who dugg you up also that stupid? Do you know where this video was taken? St. Bernard Parish. A good 20 miles away from the city, and the super dome. We've always been safe in da parish. How the hell were we supposed to know that the levees would break and we'd be under 11+ feet of water?

      All the media shows is New Orleans. hell.. the city itself wasn't even damaged that much. It's pretty much back to normal. St Bernard Parish, however, was 100% devastated. Every house, every building, every piece of property was destroyed. Why don't you hear about that?

      We are good, middle class, hard working people who lost everything, and we got screwed. So if you'd like to be less ignorant, why don't you take a trip down here. I'll put your ass up just to show you how ignorant you really are.
  • xtlosx, on 10/10/2007, -10/+4snakes on a roof, that's great...... nature is a great beast.
  • rheemglas, on 10/10/2007, -11/+6Am I the only one who remembers seeing the evacuation notices on all the local news stations 2 days before katrina hit land? Not to bash but these people are idiots. It looks like they even had a car to leave in. wtf
    • gwhardyiv, on 10/10/2007, -4/+7I'll just keep posting this comment to all you assholes who insist on blaming the victims.

      If you lived on the coast your entire life, and you evacuated your home and family at least once a year for a storm that never even came close to hitting you, and you watched the media become more and more sensational, using dramatic music and flashy graphics every time it rains, then you might not take the weathermen seriously anymore.
      • shark615, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I lived on an island half my life in the middle of the Atlantic. When the weatherman said a hurricane was coming we made preparations to ensure our own safety EVERYTIME.

        We could also feel and see the signs of a direct hit or a glancing blow but we were always prepared. In this case they could have easily made themselves ready.
        • jaxcs, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2what preparations did you take? stored water and food? radio? how much good is it if everything is under water?
          • iluvgossip, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0So, is it your contention that a bottle of water and a can of food is ruined if it is under water? I did not know that. Every American should spend some money to have emergency supplies. You can spend 25 bucks per person and be set up for a week if you try. It isn't that hard and it isn't that expensive.
  • jun2san, on 10/10/2007, -9/+1Did anybody else watch the "women of isreali army" video below this one?
  • michaelburns, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9I really hope the person that was calling out for help is ok. What a terrifying event to witness. I would not know how to react and stay calm like this man did.
  • Veretax, on 10/10/2007, -9/+3CAn someone tell me if this is NSFW?
  • shorty9, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2More hurricane videos here: http://tinyurl.com/2q73dr
  • toddieg, on 10/10/2007, -16/+5another president bush f&ck up...
    • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6What does the president have to do with this?

      This was the governor and mayors fault. The president ( and it doesnt matter if it's a retard in office or not ) can't be expected to handle EVERY crisis. This is why they states have leaders. This is why each city has a leader. Those leaders are meant to handle problems until they need the next level to help them out. The feds made mistakes, but those mistakes would never had to be made if the local government had done their jobs.
      • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4You don't know what you are talking about. Your government took money from state projects and gave it to the Homeland Defense Department for things such as War in Iraq. New Orleans had millions of dollars set aside for upgrading the levy and that was reduced by a large amount by the Bush administration.

        http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10117.htm

        Don't be so ignorant.
        • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1yeah, it's not like they didnt have 30 years prior to the bush to upgrade....oh wait. They did.
          • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Did you know that an assessment was done on the levy a couple of years before Katrina and they said it would not hold up against a Cat 5 hurricane. They knew this 2 years before and did nothing. I'm not sure where you came up with 30 years (your ass I imagine) but 30 years ago the levy was in much better shape and repairs weren't as needed. It didn't flood 30 years ago did it? No. So STFU and stop changing topics. You first defend your defenseless president by blaming the state and when I denounce your comments as *****, you change the topic. Typically idiotic.
          • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2@orderdigg

            They were talking about repairing the levy system when I lived there back in the 80's. The problem was nothing new and the assessments changed with each administration. Get your head out of your ass.
          • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1My head is firmly planted on my shoulders thank you.

            You can't deny the fact that the US Federal government took funds away from New Orleans for upgrading the levy after an assessment said without an upgrade it would fail if a Cat 5 hurricane hit. This happened as planned and now you are defending the government at the expense of your fellow Americans. The fact that you lived there over 20 years ago means ***** all. You should be ashamed of yourself.
    • iucraigmc, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4hahahah, Yes, lets blame the president for (1) the mayor of New Orleans doing nothing but blaming others (2) Three days of evacuation notices and people doing nothing. (3) how about a school parking lot full of buses that could evacuate people? (See 1 above) (4) The fact that as American's, we are responsible for ourselves and our own safety. As someone had stated above, if you are relying on the government to take care of you, then you're not far from desiring a communistic government - and you're in trouble. Everyone knows the government taking care of you sounds good on paper, but has never and will never work in the real world.
      • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Dugg down for being a sheep. Check my post above about Bush slashing funding that would have prevented the flooding.
    • unclefire, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Bush is a dolt, but you can't blame him for the hurricane. Come on now. The recovery and aftermath, sure you can blame bush, nagin, state and local officials. Not all places had bad recovery efforts. Mostly N.O.

      And the levy's have been a known risk for years. So its not just Bush to blame for levy size etc. ***** happens.
      • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Wrong. The US government took funds away from the levy upgrade fund and that's why they failed.
        • unclefire, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Even so, the levy's were built way before Bush took office. And if I remember correctly, they were rated to withstand a cat 3 hurricane. So give me a break-- he's not the ONLY one to blame.

          LIke I said, bush is a dolt, but at least try to be objective.
          • actorboy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The rating was based on overtopping, i.e, water puring over the top, not bursting the levy. The U.S. Corp of Engineers designed and built those levies in a manner questioned by the ASCE in regard to the integrity of their design.
    • Thorox, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1The federal government CANNOT intervene until invited by local/state officials... Before you pop off comments, go take a civics class. The President would have had to sign an executive order, which you same people would say was a gross overstatement of power and trampled these same local officials' rights. You can't have it both ways.
  • ColorBlind, on 10/10/2007, -11/+3Three minutes.......riiiiiiiiiiiiight
  • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -6/+82I lived in New Orleans at the time of Katrina. I evacuated the Friday before the storm hit - we had the money, reliable transportation and I have a young son so there was no question we would leave. Ended up in a motel in Mississippi with my son, my girlfriend, my exwife and our great dane (a story in itself). While I agree that many who decided not to evacuate were at fault I also remember meeting a family who's 17 year old daughter refused to leave her bedridden grandmother who was too ill to evacuate. By the time we finally left the motel to stay with family the other evacuees had become something like family. I found the family whos daughter had stayed to say goodbye - the phone lines were still down and cell phones had stopped working. They sstill had no idea what had happened to their daughter. I hugged the mother of the family told her goodbye and we all were crying. I keep remembering the mother showing me a photo in her wallet of her daughter, telling me what a good girl she was. I'll never forget many things about that time but I'll remember that picture the most. You can place blame on many people and the government or whoever but just don't forget that a lot of people died and those people all have family who loved them and miss them.
    • manicallday, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5Why are you digging this person down? Oh... he didn't say the key words.
    • kalleanka, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9I think this is the first time ever I have been touched by an comment on digg. And I've been around since Digg started.
  • NitroNeo, on 10/10/2007, -14/+30The real blame here?

    First, Mayor Magin. There were hundreds to thousands of public buses & school buses which were flooded, they could have been used for evacuation. see pics at http://www.mikechurch.com/joomla/content/view/1188/1/

    Second, Governor Blanco. She purposely held the Federal Government back from assisting for days, insisting that she and her state could handle this storm. Let us not forget that there is a federal law which prohibits the federal government from stepping in and taking control over any states operations. This was enacted way back after the civil war people.

    Lastly, anyone who lives on a coastline in a city below sea level, and which is globally located in a hurricane prone area. Let's also not forget that they had plenty of advanced warning to evacuate. They typically didn't prepare for the storm by gathering supplies such as food & water. Many of the people who you saw on TV were those which have become too dependent on the government for providing what they need in order to survive.
    • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6You're right. A lot of blame can be placed at the feet of both Blanco and Nagin (not Magin). Blame can also be placed on the federal government for being ill prepared with their response. As for the state taking care of itself, you also need to know that a large part of the Louisiana National Guard were in Iraq fighting Mr. Bush's war and couldn't help with the relief efforts in their own state.
    • jaxcs, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2since everything is inside the house and underwater any amount of supplies would be rather useless. Plus, there is no reason to belive they did not take the time to prepare, it just UNDERWATER.
    • SkippyDoorknob, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Not to mention the years of warnings that the levee system was badly in need of upgrading.
      • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3That is true to some degree but the levees that ruptured and flooded most of the city were actually the newer levees in the system. The Army Corp of Engineers has admitted it was their faulty design that lead to the flooding.
    • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2*****. You have nothing to back up your statements.

      http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10117.htm

      First person to blame is the highest person in charge. Or don't you understand the chain of command?
      • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3I don't think you understand how a command hierarchy works. Problems are supposed to be resolved at the LOWEST level possible. The executive office could not be expected to handle every contingency plan for every state and still perform the other duties the office requires. That's why we have governors and mayors. It's up to THEM to create contingency plans.
        • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3You don't understand. When a superior gives an order, the subordinates follow it. When there is a problem with the order, you must go up the chain of command to find out at what point did the process fail. When a senior official in the US government tells the state that they are losing money for fixing the levies, you can't blame anyone below the person who gave the order. If you ever served time with the military you would have not made such an ignorant statement.
        • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2@orderdigg

          Wow, your ignorance or blind stupidity is truly astounding. Funds WERE being given to LA for YEARS. However, the corrupt LA government funneled those funds to pet projects.

          The way the hierarchy actually works is:
          1) top level gives an order
          2) Bottom level makes it happen.

          In this case the local government were told to fix the issue and were given the funds to do so. it was up to them to make sure it happened.
        • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Sources? I provided my sources so why aren't you? Funny how you speak as if you know everything when in fact, you know nothing. Until you provide proof, everything and anything you say is considered *****.

          Don't preach to me about how the government works. I'm well aware of the mechanisms in place and I understand the chain of command. You just reiterated what I said in 2 bullets. Not exactly a smart move on your part but I wouldn't expect anything else.

          Considering you changed your argument already, that is proof that you have no information to back you up.
        • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Sources for what? It's well known the Louisiana government has suffered unbelievable amounts of corruption for decades. The state ( and every state ) is given funds to repair infrastructure every year. This is common knowledge.

          Wake up and stop smelling your own ass.
        • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Sources for what? Are you kidding me? Damn you're a retard.

          I asked you to provide sources to back up your statement, "Funds WERE being given to LA for YEARS. However, the corrupt LA government funneled those funds to pet projects." Simple enough right? You sound like a conspiracy theorists saying how the government of LA is corrupt without having proof. What pet projects? How do you know they were taking money from the levy fund to fund other projects? If you have no proof, you're talking *****.

          That's what I'm smelling, *****. It's coming from your mouth and yet you seem blissfully ignorant. Must be nice.
    • Brownflem, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5I agree. "He who builds his house on the sand..."

      I have news for you people who blame everyone else - This WILL happen again. It's simple geography. New Orleans is below sea level. Enough Said.
      • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Really? How so? I mean, The Netherlands are also below sea level. Why aren't they flooding? Simple geography? I think not. Simple-minded idiot spouting beliefs as fact? Oh Yeah.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands
      • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1If you truly believe what you say, then you must have just as little compassion for Israelis than you do for Americans because Israelis chose to live next to millions of Arabs that hate them. According your comment, Israelis deserve rocket attacks. Well done.
        • vampgrrl, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3The original historic parts of New Orleans are NOT below sea level.
          Garden District, Uptown, the Quarter, much of the CBD, the Marigny, Warehouse/Arts district
          • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3And once again... they digg you down for stating a simple truth. I lived in the heart of New Orleans (Esplanade & Broad) and my house had very little damage because it was above sea level. *sigh* Children and their silly political agendas...
          • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1While it's true not all parts of NO are under water, there are parts that are under water and they got hit the worst. Percentage of above / under water has little to do with the initial statement but it's valid to point out that not all of NO is under sea level.
      • oldhick, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1The Netherlands is a country and it is below sea level and they spend the money to protect themselves. New Orleans is a city, THEY can spend the money to protect themselves. Why should my federal tax dollars pay for their BS?
        • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Why should my Federal tax dollars go to repair roads in the Midwest that are destroyed every winter? Why should my tax dollars go to support Oakland after the earthquake? Why should my tax dollars go to pay for.... the list goes on and on.

          The answer? Because you are presumably human and being human the decent thing to do is help out your countrymen when they need it. I've never bitched about MY tax dollars helping out in a natural disaster. Your lack of campassion for your fellow Americans is revolting. Pray it never happens to you.
          • oldhick, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0I do pray it never happens to me. I also try to avoid situations where it is destined to happen to me. And I don't think your list is really a good comparison. Also, I don't lack compassion. I didn't argue that the folks in New Orleans shouldn't be helped, they should be helped by their state. They should raise their taxes to maintain the levees. Most roads that are repaired with federal money are interstates, which are federal roads. Also I am human and I believe charity, not federal money is the way to help. I can't please everyone all the time...
          • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2If only more Americans were like you higriggs.
        • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Just because the Netherlands is a country and New Orleans is a city doesn't mean your federal government shouldn't help out. I could be wrong but I believe there are cities in the Netherlands as well. I may be incorrect so correct me if I'm wrong on that. It's not 'their BS', it's your 'BS' because you live in the same country. If you feel you shouldn't help out your fellow Americans via taxes, you deserve to have bad things happen to you. That would be the only way you would truly understand what's like to have compassion. Until such time occurs, you will remain compassion less.

          Your nick suits your ignorance.
          • actorboy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Not to mention that as a major port and gateway to the gulf oil fields, New Orleans serves a pretty important role in the nation's economy.
    • ACE1906, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Who were going to drive the school buses? Not civilian bus drivers who had to make sure there own families were safe. There probably would have been a few volunteers but don't think that you would have see a fleet of civilian school bus drivers saving the day.
      • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1This is very true and seems to be forgotten every time someone brings up "those buses". I remember hearing at the time about a teenager who "borrowed" a bus and managed to drive most of his neighborhood to safety in Houston.
    • KyleGoetz, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3It doesn't change the fact that when the ***** hit the fan, the federal government (and a large portion of the US populace) went: ***** you, dumbasses, you can die for all I care. I don't care if someone is responsible for placing themself in a dangerous situation; that doesn't give me authority or moral justification to ignore their pleas for help. As a Christian, I would be extremely remiss if I didn't try to help a person, even if they created their own dangerous situation.
      How heartless have we become?
    • MewTwo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Every governor years before Katrina is to blame for this.
    • ruley, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1thank you for having a well thought out, and intelligent statement.
  • NitroNeo, on 10/10/2007, -10/+5The real blame here?

    First, Mayor Magin. There were hundreds to thousands of public buses & school buses which were flooded, they could have been used for evacuation. see pics at http://www.mikechurch.com/joomla/content/view/1188/1/

    Second, Governor Blanco. She purposely held the Federal Government back from assisting for days, insisting that she and her state could handle this storm. Let us not forget that there is a federal law which prohibits the federal government from stepping in and taking control over any states operations. This was enacted way back after the civil war people.

    Lastly, anyone who lives on a coastline in a city below sea level, and which is globally located in a hurricane prone area. Let's also not forget that they had plenty of advanced warning to evacuate. They typically didn't prepare for the storm by gathering supplies such as food & water. Many of the people who you saw on TV were those which have become too dependent on the government for providing what they need in order to survive.
  • mlagana, on 10/10/2007, -13/+3america, I reaallly hope that your next president actually cares about you
    • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6Bush deserves the blame for a lot of things, but not this.

      This was Nagin's and Blanco's fault.
      • oderdigg, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2Wrong. You have been drinking too much Government issued Kool-Aid. Try google searching for "New Orleans budget cut Katrina" and the name Bush appears everywhere. He reduced funding to levels that could not stave off a flood. Blaming the mayor is weak and pathetic.
        • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2As stated elsewhere, the levees were in need of repair LONG before bush took office. The local governments are to blame.
  • wardy22, on 10/10/2007, -5/+27The other thing that no one is mentioning is that the federal government cannot intervene until asked to by the state government. The state did NOT ask for assistance for three days. I blame the mayor, and the governor, for the entire debacle.
    • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1And in the three days the Federal government was waiting for permission you'd think they could have been organizing a bit wouldn't you? Among the many heroes of Katrina were the Coast Guard who didn't wait for permission to save lives. They flew rescue missions non stop for days (even after being told to stop in some cases) all the while Mike Brown sat in Baton Rouge eating steak dinners and getting his hair cut.
      • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5The coast guard was given implicit authority when the area was declared a disaster area.
        • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2And I happen to know that they didn't wait for that permission before beginning rescue operations.
    • Brownflem, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4I agree. I blame the mayor and his "Chocolate state"
    • BonerMachine, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1*****, like that has stopped the federal government before. If we're going to live in a country with such concentrated federal power, they at least better ***** protect us from a goddamn hurricane!
  • aaronwa, on 10/10/2007, -5/+11I know it's been said before, but New Orleans is in a bowl, below sea level. If it's rebuild, this will happen again. Man cannot push off nature forever.
    • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4And San Francisco?
      • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3isn't in a flood plain.
        • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2And it was destroyed by an earthquake, was rebuilt and will be hit with an earthquake again.
      • rlh1, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Surprisingly it really is above sea level
    • manicallday, on 10/10/2007, -4/+5I guess Holland is just doomed by your logic.
      • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Holland also has an extensive system of dykes, dams, and floodgates to control water. They spent a lot of time and money to keep their town safe. If they hadn't they would have been destroyed long ago.
      • jacquesm, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0no, but in NL they actually have a once-in-10000 years acceptable risk policy, the acceptable risk in New Orleans was once-in-100 years. You get what you pay for.
    • sgtpppr, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Your logic is just plain stupid. I don't even know what else to say.
  • airwalke, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I used to live near the coast in South Carolina, and I can tell you that most people don't evacuate because they either don't have the methods, or they feel that they can "brave" the storm. Granted, a Category 5 storm has (luckily) never hit South Carolina directly, and the worst storm to hit my area in the recent past was Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which my family and I did evacuate for. Every other storm, I remember staying through and finding a suitable shelter for the day until the storm made its way inland. It's mostly a personal decision, and the people who suffered from Katrina by staying in their homes probably didn't realize the true terror of the storm. Hindsight is always 20-20, but before it hit, a lot of people probably felt they could get away with staying as most storms like these weaken before landfall.
  • bobcrotch, on 10/10/2007, -8/+1If people are just now seeing these videos and just now learning about Katrina they have absolutely no right to comment on the whole situation.

    Whats with the slough of Katrina articles in the passed couple days anyhow?
    • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13It is the second anniversary of the storm.
      • hlgriggs, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Lol, I'm dugg down for saying it is the second anniversary of the storm? Wow.
  • seks03, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2The sad part about this video is that they most likely were separated from their dog and the dog was put down by the incompetent city enforcement.
  • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -21/+16I said it in the last Katrina thread and I'm saying it again. I know i'll get dugg down, but someone has to inject some reality here.

    STOP THE KATRINA WHINING THREADS.

    Katrina was over 2 years ago. The responsible adults have either moved to richer pastures or picked up their lives in NO. Then you have the others who are continually crying for more and more money. If you can't get your life back in order after 2 years then your life wasn't in order to begin with.
    Yes, Katrina was a tragedy for the entire gulf coast. The loss of life is always sad, but not debilitating. The entire gulf coast was ravaged; only the welfare addicts of NO are still blubbering.

    Before all the bleeding heart liberals start calling me a heartless, inhumane bastard; I'm originally from Louisiana. I was born in New Orleans. I've seen first hand the type of people that live there. It sucks that the good have to get grouped with the bad, but honestly the flood was just what that town needed. I liken it to flushing the toilet. It forced many to move to Texas and Arkansas where they HAD to get a job and become a productive member of society.
    • vampgrrl, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3That wasn't New Orleans, that was St. Bernard...and they were NOT welfare cases.
    • swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -5/+7Let me inject some reality into your post - The hurricane was over 2 years ago, but the poor areas of new orleans (where the majority of the population lives) have NOT been rebuilt, and New Orleans lower class is still displaced and living in FEMA refugee camps. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of people are barred from returning.
      • AggieFalcon01, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Barred from returning? Give me a break.

        I keep hearing on the radio (Houston) about the "Governor's Road Home Program" and road2la.org. Yes, I know that as I listen to radio & surf the web, I'm more "priviledged". But if people are living in FEMA camps still, I think they'll have people reminding them about this program.

        And how are they barred from returning? In the radio ads, they practically beg, and even offer to give assistance in getting people back into living in New Orleans.
        • swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2It's not that they can't return to New Orleans, at least the upper-class areas that have been rebuilt, they can't return to their HOMES, i.e. the projects in the 9th ward and others.

          Among the miles and miles of devastated houses, rubble still there today in New Orleans, we found dry, beautiful homes. But their residents were told by guys dressed like Ninjas wearing “Blackwater” badges: “Try to go into your home and we’ll arrest you.” These aren’t just any homes. They are the public housing projects of the city. http://www.gregpalast.com

    • jacoment, on 10/10/2007, -4/+8you are ***** sick. i was born and raised in new orleans and if you had any decency and would go down to the lower 9th ward, TODAY, august 30, 2007, you would notice that it looks like a ***** bomb exploded yesterday.

      and for your information, you should probably know this since you were born in new orleans... many of the residents in the lower 9th ward were homeowners and the insurance company is giving them nothing.

      for your information the dutch have been living about 65 feet below sea level successfully for the past 50 years. after the flood of 1927 that wiped out a lot of holland, the dutch took the motto, "never again." they then built the most sophisticated flood prevention system the world has ever seen that is still in use today. but i digress....

      ***** you and yours, sir. its something called people. open your ***** eyes, man.
      • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6I think you need to open your own eyes. As I posted in another thread, the dutch invested heavily into the flood control infrastructure. New Orleans didn't. The levees hadn't been upgraded in over 30 years. Whose fault was that? The people of New Orleans, that's who.

        Home insurance doesn't cover floods. This is nothing new. If your a home owner that lives in a flood plain and don't buy flood insurance, THATS YOUR OWN ***** FAULT!

        If I offend you so greatly, i can only surmise that my comments hit close to home. Perhaps you should cease being part of the problem and get a job.
        • bigsteve, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Pardon my ignorance, honest question; I'd thought it was lack of funding given from the country to the state that was the reason for N.O.'s woefully ineffective flood defense system?
        • KyleGoetz, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Ya, I mean, the US government derives massive amounts of money from New Orleans. Why can't the government do NO a solid and fix their *****?
        • swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4The Army Corps of Engineers were responsible for building and maintaining the NO levee system. It was a FEDERAL *****, no matter how you try to spin it.
        • jwdarkstar, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Actually New Orleans was given millions of dollars over the years to maintain and upgrade the levies. Instead they spent it on pet projects like a new fountain for the city hall.
        • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4@bigsteve
          The lack of funding was due to the city/state no creating a means to raise the funds. They tried to raise taxes ( by about a dollar a person ) years ago to fix it. The general attitude by the taxpayers was "Hell no, the levees are working fine."

          The government did try, but the general malaise of the population held it back.
        • urinalpoop, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2It is the responsibility of the federal government, specifically the US Army Corps of Engineers, to maintain the levee system. They've been trying to get funding for years to improve the levee system, but they've been repeatedly denied by Congress. This has been a hot issue in New Orleans for years prior to Katrina, ever since researchers started publishing articles about the potential for disaster from a direct hit by a major hurricane. The feds did nothing.
        • jaxcs, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1This is all a red herring issue anyway. The reason it's Bush's fault is 1) it occurred on his watch, 2) he appointed a guy to FEMA who knew nothing about emergencies, 3) when the government got the go ahead, the evacuations were haphazard. Months later, people who wanted trailers and other such aid didn't get them. 4) the trailers contained unsafe levels of formaldehyde. From start to end, the handling of this disaster was pure ass.
        • slipgrid, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Yeah, it's NOLA's fault for existing.
        • jacoment, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Actually, my dear friend, I am a resident of Lafayette, Louisiana at the moment. I am a college graduate and have my master's degree.

          Yeah you're right, maybe I DO need to get a job and contribute to society! Oh wait, I am.

          And you are right, your comments do hit close to home. I don't know if its because I care about people, or the fact that much of my family who work very hard and do not live in the poor areas of New Orleans lost everything. Thankfully they had the insurance but are you trying to tell me that these companies don't owe these people anything because they didn't have flood insurance? Well you probably have to answer the question, did the flood come because of the hurricane? I'd venture to say yes. What more do you need?

          When hurricane Betsy hit New Orleans in the 50's, president Lyndon B. Johnson dropped every pressing issue on his desk and flew on air force one to New Orleans. Bush waited 4 days to come. Now I don't know whats changed. But I can tell you that if Bush had gotten word that the Hampton's are flooded and people are on their rooftops waiting to be saved, you know every resource that he could have provided would have been provided.

          So I'm not playing the race card. Or the gender card. I'm playing the ***** human card. I can say that I care about these people.

          This may be hard for you to wrap your head around, if so I understand.
      • AggieFalcon01, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1"if you had any decency and would go down to the lower 9th ward, TODAY, august 30, 2007, you would notice that it looks like a ***** bomb exploded yesterday."
        Um ... how is this Bush's fault? Doesn't New Orleans have local politicians in charge of taking care of that area?
    • jaxcs, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1The family in the video seemed at least middle class. I think you are the one who is on a soap box and whining.
    • svenathon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You, sir, are an ass.
    • honestlywhagwan, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1wow, what the *****. I live in Mississippi and you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. There are tons of people still living in trailers because their insurance has refused to pay and they don't have to money to rebuild on their own. not everyone had thousands of dollars in the bank just in case this happened. You obviously do not understand that these people lost EVERYTHING. their homes, their belongings, their income. How do you expect people to get back to normal when all you have are the clothes on your back? 2 years is no where near long enough to get back on track. Remember Camille? It took the Mississippi gulf coast several years to recover from her.

      so, what the ***** are you tripping on?
  • sotallytober, on 10/10/2007, -6/+27Ignorant diggers bug the ***** out of me especially when they think they know it all. First off, the majority of the areas in New Orleans that lost lives were/are poor..we're talking below poverty level. What's the chances these people owned a car? Or even had money to get out of the city? You do realize that it hit at the very end of August when most people had already used up that month's public assistance. Do you realize that the gas stations ran out of gas and public transportation stopped running BEFORE the mandatory evacuation was issued? Nagin waited until 8/28 to order an evacuation. The hurricane made landfall on 8/29. There is an actual hurricane evacuation plan that called for people closest the the cost to be evacuated first. Did people follow the plan? Is less than 24 hours enough time to clear people out of NO keeping in mind there's only a handful of bridges that cross over into NO? What do the ignorant diggers that say "it's their fault they ignored the warnings" suggest the nursing homes and hospitals do to evacuate those people in their care? The breach of the levee's and the flooding that resulted is what killed the majority of the people in New Orleans. The government had been warned years in advance that the levees wouldn't hold a catagory 5. They ignored the warnings and failed the people.
    • jwdarkstar, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2So I guess they were too poor to own a TV too then? If I lived in an area below sea level and saw a category 5 hurricane headed straight for me I'd leave by any means possible. Nagin was neglect in waiting so long and not using all his resources to evacuate the people when there was still time. Also the upgraded levies that are being put in still will not stand up to a category 5 hurricane.
      • actorboy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1jwd, hurricanes don't head straight for anybody. I've lived in hurricane zones all my life, I'm forty years old, and can tell you, you very rarely know for certain where it will make landfall.
    • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -4/+5I think you need to visit some of these "poor." I've known their kind; I've lived next to them. I've seen so many that live 8 to a home where each is pulling down a welfare check. The home looks like complete ass, but you go inside and they have a big screen plasma TV, high end stereo systems, computers, every high-end gaming system on the market. They have cars with $2000 rims, gold and platinum jewelry.

      For these people, forgive me if my give-a-*****-o-meter doesn't raise.
      The ONLY people I feel sorry for are the elderly and infirm. They truly needed help to leave the city and the local governments seriously screwed the pooch on that one.
      • swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2i call shenanigans on that post
      • sgtpppr, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Just another 'i hate poor black people' post. Move along.
        • drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You do know there are poor white people, poor hispanic people, poor cajun people, and poor creole people in New Orleans too right?

          Stop crying race. This isn't a race issue. There are deadbeats in every ethnic group. This is a class issue, and in new orleans you have two kinds of poor: the working poor and the welfare poor. The working poor will have moved on with their lives.

          You really need to examine your value system when someone says to get a job and you think racist.
      • mcm020, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Wow. You're just a dumbass.
  • Elky25, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7That was one of the most amazing videos i have seen in a long time. It really bought home the realities of what it would be like to live through such an event. The problem with seeing these types of scenarios on the news is that it desensitizes you to what is actually happening with all the editing and what they chose to show or not show you, but that video was RAW FOOTAGE and really made me think about what the people of new Orleans actually went through.
  • Ninjao, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3I thought i was watching a scene out of a movie like "the day after tomorrow"
  • SloeMoe, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6re: English
    Hurricane Katrina didn't incur horrible destruction. Hurricane Katrina *wrought* horrible destruction, or horrible destruction was incurred *from* Hurricane Katrina.
    • KyleGoetz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The verb "incur" in the active tense (as opposed to the passive that SloeMoe used as an example) would be: New Orleans incurred Katrina's wrath.
    • munna80, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0These are the types of comments I most hate about digg. People who think they are really smart by correcting others grammar. By the way, before you correct me, I speak 5 dif languages, not to perfection but I'm sure is more than you.
  • swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -7/+17To all the "this was not Bush's fault" comments:
    Bush gutted FEMA, reducing it to an element of Dept. of Homeland Security. Who ran FEMA during Katrina? International Arabian Horse Association Commisioner Mike Brown, who's only qualification was his friendship with Bush's campaign manager.

    FEMA was responsible for maintaining the levees (they were 12 inches too low, this was known years in advance of the storm), FEMA knew the levees had been breeched, filmed the breech, and failed to inform the local government for a full day. FEMA was responsible for planning the evacuation - they hired a private contractor to do the planning. After the spectacular failure of their evacuation plan, FEMA hired the same company to assess what went wrong. FEMA has placed millions of people in fenced-off camps, guarded by Blackwater security. Filming or photographing the FEMA camps is illegal, because of "homeland security." Blackwater also has mercenaries in New Orleans itself, preventing the displaced from returning to their homes.
    http://www.gregpalast.com/
    http://www.linktv.org/programs/bigeasy
    • vampgrrl, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Actually it was the US Army Corps of engineers, NOT FEMA who built and designed the Levee system.
    • oldhick, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2You sir are an uneducated twit. FEMA is not responsible for maintaining the levees. Never have been, never will be.
    • swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Army Corps Engineers is a federal agency. My point is, the disaster response was a ***** at the federal level. Who is ultimately responsible for the actions of the federal government? That would be the Commander in Chief.
      • JeffS, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It is not the President's job to know that the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana are not competent enough to have a disaster plan. There is a reason we have state and local governments. It is their responsibility to take care of things like this and go to the Federal government for assistance. Other states have to deal with hurricanes too. None of them have had the problems that New Orleans had. I live in Flordia and have been through some close calls. We know what storms can do and when one is 3-4 days out and we're in a 5% risk of being hit the governor (be it Jeb Bush, Lawton Chiles, or Bob Graham) is on the TV telling people to prepare. The mayors of the cities are on TV and radio telling people what to do. The coverage is insane and people get ready because we know that it is our responsibility to survive afterwards because we know it could be 3 or more days before the roads are clear and help can arrive. Ever spring we prepare for the worst. I have 3 days o