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Padriag -> RE: Military response to National Emergency (9/2/2005 1:25:02 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BlkTallFullfig
It's not really pointing fingers as much as asking why this is happening so slowly... It doesn't matter I suppose, since I haven't the money/resources to fly there and pick people up one by one... I just started crying when I saw the white woman on tv with a boy about the same age as mine, and the kid was losing consciousness because he's hungry, hot and dehydrated.. M
I'd hug ya if it would help. It is frustrating and part of why I'm trying to share some of what I know from my own experience is just to help people understand. Its not to talk down to anyone. And believe me, you aren't the only one crying, there are a lot of those relief workers who are crying too when no one is looking. Its so damn hard when you show up in a place like that and people rush to you looking to you to help them, expecting you to somehow fix everything an you can't. You can't help them all an you know it and it doesn't stop you from wanting to and that breaks your heart, do it long enough an it'll rip your soul apart. That's why I said earlier that those people doing the relief work don't just need our donations, they need our faith and support. They're going through their own special kind of hell just trying to help all these people.
The friend I have who is down there working. He's living out of his truck. He doesn't get a bath either or hot meals. There are no motels to stay in. No electricity for him either other than the portable generator they have. They'll be living like that for weeks, you don't do that folks if you don't care and care a whole lot!
Let me see if I can try to explain some of why the response has been so slow. The short answer is, because the devastation is just so incredibly wide spread, and that really is the main reason. But maybe it would help to explain some of how disaster response normally works.
Usually when you have a hurricane or a flood or whatever, you're talking a few counties, maybe 10, rarely a whole state. What we are dealing with now is 50% to 75% of three states hit hard. Normally there would be neighboring counties that could send first responders on the first and second day, that's your first response, it comes not form federal agencies but local ones. In this case, because the devastation is so widespread, there are no neighboring counties to help until you get far north, almost near the northern state lines of Loiusanna and Mississippi. So a lot of the manpower that would have been there with supplies and aid the first few days just wasn't available. That's the first thing I see that has made this so bad.
FEMA responded about the same as they usually do, that is, they normally start showing up on the 3rd or 4th day, they are not first responders and aren't set up to be. In this case, they came in and sometimes were the first responders whether they were prepared to be or not. In those situations you do what you can for people, but if you don't have the supplies and equipment... you're just limited in what you can do. I do think FEMA, even once they were there underestimated how much help they needed, but before anyone critcizes them for that, keep in mind they had no aerial photos and communications have been totally FUBARed down there. Usually by the time FEMA shows up, others have already made those assessments and they then organize and bring in extra help where its needed... in this case FEMA got overwhelmed having to do a lot more. Go easy on them, they're human like the rest of us an when you're staring at a few thousand people begging for help you don't always make the best decisions. Its a very chaotic situation right now and that is extremely tough to make decisions in.
While its great that there are now 30,000 national guard deployed or being deployed... the manpower is still a huge shortage. Want to know why so many are not seeing much in the way of relief workers. Consider this... you've got 30,000 national guard... 90,000 sq miles of devastation, that's an average of 1 guardsman per 3 sq miles. The manpower they have is spread really thin. An I know you're wondering why they don't move more in, they are. But also keep in mind that takes time. In the Gulf War, with full access to airports and roads and docks and things... it still took the US six months to build up 500,000 troops in Saudi Arabia. That's lest than 100,000 per month. Now consider the damage down there, the roads, everything else an that they've had at best just 5 days... 30,000 in five days isn't doing so bad. Sure, its not enough manpower, but like I said, under the circumstances is just about a miracle. 30,000 in one city is a beehive of activity... 30,000 spread over 90,000 sq mile an you'll hardly notice they're there. That's part of what they are up against.
One thing I find really interesting is that the Navy has dispatched so many ships. That's odd because normally they don't do that. Sending ships is way slower for getting supplies in than going by rail or road or air. So my guess is that they must have made an assessment of the roads and decided that its so bad that ships would be the fastest way to get all those troops, supplies and things in that everyone is begging for. I can't think of any other reason they'd be sending all those ships down there like that. Half the flottila are supply ships an you can bet they ain't carrying marbles folks. It'll be interesting to see what happens and I wouldn't be at all supprised if we wake up to see a small fleet off of New Orleans in the morning.
That's some of why things are taking so much time. I hope that helps ease the frustration at least a little bit. I know it doesn't make it go away, I'm frustrated too. All we can do is what we can do... and the sad news is, sometimes its not going to be enough.
I'm also sure a lot of lesson will come out of this and there will be changes in how things are handled. What those will be I could only guess at... it goes back to that tough job of who's going to be the guy who has to second guess the next disaster an how to be ready for it. If you get it right, you're a hero, if you get wrong you're crucified... but the truth is its just human beings just like any of us doing their jobs the best they can. An sometimes that just isn't enough.
One option might be to set up federal emergancy response teams spread out strategically over the nation. That would give you first responders that could get on site quickly no matter what the disaster. But it would cost a lot of money to do that an you have to get that into budgets somehow... that'll mean more taxes. I also imagine FEMA and other organizations will re-examine how they respond and try to be prepared to be more flexible and better able to put command and control in place in the future (one of the other things that has made this a mess has been the lack of communications, and without that you can't have command or control of the situation). These people aren't stupid, they do try their best, but like any of us they get caught by surprise too.
One more thing to remember... this hurricane really was one of those "storms of the century"... it was way bigger than I think most realize and even though it dropped to category 4 it was just so large. You had not just one state hit... it hit three simulataneously and with enough energy to do so much devastation. One person said it looked a lot like the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Thailand, and I tend to agree. They had the same problem there... a large area effected and just not enough manpower to cover it all. Could we do better in the future, sure an I imagine we will. People will learn from this. But for now, the focus is in what we can do for those who need the help right now. And for most of us, a donation is about all you can do.
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