SW Florida leaders defend FEMA, boss
Local emergency management officials believe that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its director, Michael Brown, are being made scapegoats in the slow response to Hurricane Katrina.
John Wilson, Lee County public safety director, hesitated a moment when contacted for reaction to Friday's news that Brown was no longer in command of onsite relief efforts and had been called back to Washington.
"I suppose that's an inevitable result to some of the feelings that have been expressed in response to Hurricane Katrina," Wilson said. "From my perspective, some of it has been justified, but some of it has not.
"Certainly what we have seen over here is like nothing I have seen in my 26 years in this business," Wilson said.
"Gearing up the logistical support to deal with the hundreds of thousands of disaster victims of this hurricane is like no other. It dwarfs Hurricane Andrew."
Wayne Sallade, Charlotte County emergency management director, lays the blame for the breakdown in disaster response at the feet of local and state agencies.
"Mark my words, that will be proven in the weeks ahead," Sallade said. "There were massive breakdowns in their own response."
Sallade said he spoke Friday afternoon to Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center. He said Mayfield spoke to both the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans the Saturday afternoon before Katrina hit and told the elected officials that the hurricane was a Category 5 and the one they always feared.
Yet no evacuations were called for until Sunday morning, Sallade said. The school buses meant to evacuate crowds sat empty.
"Why were there acres and acres of school buses left to be flooded under 8 feet of water?" Sallade asked.
Why wasn't the Red Cross permitted initially to go into the Superdome and convention center with food, water and comfort kits by Louisiana homeland security staff, Sallade asked.
They were told not to because the state staff didn't want to encourage people to stay in those makeshift shelters, Sallade said.
FEMA is not the agency expected to lead the on-the-ground response to a major disaster event, Sallade said. "That has never been relinquished to the locals."
Wilson said a response to a hurricane as big and deadly as Katrina takes time. If it took too long, everyone should take responsibility � government, private sector and people living in disaster-prone areas.
"Trying to to lay blame at a few agencies' feet is not the silver bullet," he said.
John Wilson, Lee County public safety director, hesitated a moment when contacted for reaction to Friday's news that Brown was no longer in command of onsite relief efforts and had been called back to Washington.
"I suppose that's an inevitable result to some of the feelings that have been expressed in response to Hurricane Katrina," Wilson said. "From my perspective, some of it has been justified, but some of it has not.
"Certainly what we have seen over here is like nothing I have seen in my 26 years in this business," Wilson said.
"Gearing up the logistical support to deal with the hundreds of thousands of disaster victims of this hurricane is like no other. It dwarfs Hurricane Andrew."
Wayne Sallade, Charlotte County emergency management director, lays the blame for the breakdown in disaster response at the feet of local and state agencies.
"Mark my words, that will be proven in the weeks ahead," Sallade said. "There were massive breakdowns in their own response."
Sallade said he spoke Friday afternoon to Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center. He said Mayfield spoke to both the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans the Saturday afternoon before Katrina hit and told the elected officials that the hurricane was a Category 5 and the one they always feared.
Yet no evacuations were called for until Sunday morning, Sallade said. The school buses meant to evacuate crowds sat empty.
"Why were there acres and acres of school buses left to be flooded under 8 feet of water?" Sallade asked.
Why wasn't the Red Cross permitted initially to go into the Superdome and convention center with food, water and comfort kits by Louisiana homeland security staff, Sallade asked.
They were told not to because the state staff didn't want to encourage people to stay in those makeshift shelters, Sallade said.
FEMA is not the agency expected to lead the on-the-ground response to a major disaster event, Sallade said. "That has never been relinquished to the locals."
Wilson said a response to a hurricane as big and deadly as Katrina takes time. If it took too long, everyone should take responsibility � government, private sector and people living in disaster-prone areas.
"Trying to to lay blame at a few agencies' feet is not the silver bullet," he said.
posted by J.R. at
1:00:00 PM
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