FEMA: Effective only for Bushes?

[rjung]

Not entirely a debate per se, but given how Great Debates seems to be the focal point for hashing out the political persepctive of FEMA and Hurricane Katrina, it seems like the right forum for this:

FEMA’s preparation, performance and questionable largesse during the four 2004 Florida hurricanes stands in stark contrast with its abysmal failure in New Orleans in the wake of Katrina. While severe, the four Florida hurricanes (Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne) caused under 100 deaths and $22 billion in damage, a fraction of Katrina’s destructive force. Yet FEMA’s proactive role and President Bush’s timely and personal involvement in Florida bear no relation to 2005:

Hurricane Charley in August 2004 saw FEMA, National Guard troops, relief supplies and President Bush on stand by before the storm even made landfall. As the St. Petersburg Times reported on August 17th, 2004, “Governor Jeb Bush sought federal help Friday while Charley was still in the Gulf of Mexico. President Bush approved the aid about an hour after the hurricane made landfall.” …This performance was repeated for Ivan and Jeanne, which hit two and three weeks later, respectively. Again, FEMA was in place with food, ice, water, and financial aid in advance of the arrival of the storms.

So, did Mike Brown and FEMA suffered a sharp blow on the head between 2004 and 2005, which resulted in the bungling response to Hurricane Katrina? Or are they entirely capable of a timely and competent response – but only when Bush’s election is on the line?

[Kimstu]

I think the GD version of your debate topic would be “Was FEMA more effective against last year’s Florida hurricane disasters than against Katrina, and if so, why?”

The Pit version would be “Dubya doesn’t give a rat’s ass about hurricane victims—except in his brother’s state in an election year!”

This hybrid you came up with doesn’t really fit in anywhere, if yask me.

[XT]

@rjung

So, did Mike Brown and FEMA suffered a sharp blow on the head between 2004 and 2005, which resulted in the bungling response to Hurricane Katrina? Or are they entirely capable of a timely and competent response – but only when Bush’s election is on the line?

Or are the two events different, despite both being caused by hurricanes? Like, is the logistics picture different or the same? How about the response from the local officials?

The devil is in the details. If you REALLY want to look into this and not just do your standard Bush Bash (for the 100,000th time in the last month), maybe you should dig up some of those pesky details so you can do a detailed comparison.

Myself, I’m not going to waste the time until I’m sure you aren’t on another of your fingers in ears, hands covering eyes all out Bush is Evil and the Center of all Evil-ness type rants.

-XT

[Whack-a-Mole]

I cannot say what (or wasn’t) in Mike Brown’s head when Katrina appeared on the radar but reading your link if he did feel he got blasted for largesse in past hurricane relief he missed the point. I do not think anyone is upset over their being prepared and ready with water, National Guard, food and so on in anticipation of the hurricanes. I’d think they’d be glad to take on anyone who took them to task for that as in such situations I think it is easy to defend being over-prepared rather than under-prepared. What they rightfully got bashed for was the following bit and that all happened after the hurricanes were well gone.

This featured over $31 million in payouts, including paying for home and car repairs, in Miami-Dade County, which had been virtually unaffected by the storms. More morose, FEMA managed to pay the costs of over 300 funerals statewide, even though medical examiners attributed only 123 to the hurricanes.

SOURCE: http://www.perrspectives.com/blog/archives/000246.htm (same as above link)

[Whack-a-Mole]

I cannot say what was (or wasn’t) in Mike Brown’s head when Katrina appeared on the radar but reading your link if he did feel he got blasted for largesse in past hurricane relief he missed the point. I do not think anyone is upset over their being prepared and ready with water, National Guard, food and so on in anticipation of the hurricanes. I’d think they’d be glad to take on anyone who took them to task for that as in such situations I think it is easy to defend being over-prepared rather than under-prepared. What they rightfully got bashed for was the following bit and that all happened after the hurricanes were well gone.

This featured over $31 million in payouts, including paying for home and car repairs, in Miami-Dade County, which had been virtually unaffected by the storms. More morose, FEMA managed to pay the costs of over 300 funerals statewide, even though medical examiners attributed only 123 to the hurricanes.

SOURCE: http://www.perrspectives.com/blog/archives/000246.htm (same as above link)

[smiling_bandit]

Look, regardless of the name, FEMA is not and never has been first-line response to disasters. The major focus and purpose of FEMA is to pick up the peices after bad stuff happens. They aren’t equipped to deal with ongoing problems.

[rjung]

@Kimstu

I think the GD version of your debate topic would be “Was FEMA more effective against last year’s Florida hurricane disasters than against Katrina, and if so, why?”

Probably. I don’t claim to be the most eloquent question-framer, at least not on a first cut. I do think the compare-and-contrast is worthy of some analysis, however.

@xtisme

The devil is in the details. If you REALLY want to look into this and not just do your standard Bush Bash (for the 100,000th time in the last month), maybe you should dig up some of those pesky details so you can do a detailed comparison.

So you admit you haven’t read the article linked in the OP, then? Talk about “fingers in the ears”…

[Squink]

@Kimstu

I think the GD version of your debate topic would be “Was FEMA more effective against last year’s Florida hurricane disasters than against Katrina, and if so, why?”

How quickly did FEMA send employees to Florida last year?
When did they start the paperwork moving so as to get them there?

For Katrina, we have these answers:
FEMA Chief Waited Until After Storm Hit

The government’s disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security employees to the region — and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents.

Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said that among duties of these employees was to “convey a positive image” about the government’s response for victims.

Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged Tuesday the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged.