A Katrina-like storm was the stuff of innumerable training scenarios. It was truly the cataclysmic event that we all gamed and pre-planned, and we all knew it could happen. We also hoped it wouldn't be in our lifetimes. But it did happen. Then things went from really bad to awful. Expected responses weren't there. People like me began to think something was really wrong when we realized we were busily rebuilding Iraq, but when our own citizens were devastated we offer them 'low interest' SBA loans. Wonder what kind of interest Ali Mohammed pays on his new, courtesy of the U.S.A., home in a lovely Baghdad suburb? But that's another whole posting.
Then came the really bad news. It reads like this:
<http://www.disasternews.net/news/news.php?articleid=2802>
"Hurricane Katrina has obliterated so many homes, churches,
communications systems, fuel supply lines that the normal channels of disaster response have simply ground to a halt...
"With gas supplies faltering, communication disrupted, and an
unprecedented number of homeless people in the U.S., government and faith-based responders alike are being forced to rethink plans they've used in other disasters."
That's from the publication of the folks who make disasters their business. It isn't network hype, nor is it soothing words from a bureaucrat. It's the assessment of the people who know their business. It's also a terrible commentary on what can happen when the central government loses sight of its primary function: the well being of its citizens. It's also scary as hell.
Even moreso it is scary when you live in a place like West-Central Florida. Yes, folks, it can happen here, not quite on the scale of New Orleans, but certainly on the scale of Biloxi.
Think of that when you vote next election day, or, worse yet, when you don't vote.
Arjay
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