Hurricane Katrina

“ The President was given multiple warnings that Hurricane Katrina had a high likelihood of causing serious damage to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. At 10 AM on Sunday 28 August 2005, the day before the storm hit, the National Weather Service published an alert titled ‘‘DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED.’’ Printed in all capital letters, the alert stated that ‘‘MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS . . . PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. . ”

“ On August 29th, 2005, a hurricane made landfall in Louisiana. The forecasters called it "Hurricane Katrina," quickly shortened to "Katrina" as its story took over the news. The New Orleans levees failed. Soon the United States and then most of the world was watching pictures of a flooded New Orleans, seeing pleading citizens—mainly African-American—and a Keystone Cops response by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The stories from New Orleans became more and more frightening. ”

“ As the American people unite to help those who are hurting, we share a determination to stand by those affected by Hurricane Katrina in the months and years ahead as they rebuild their lives and reclaim their future. ”

“ In the wake of Hurricane Katrina-- all of us are still shell shocked and trying to get a sense of how we move forward as the waters recede, as the bodies are recovered, as people are placed in temporary housing, there are a lot of questions that have to be asked about issues of poverty, about the competence of our disaster relief efforts, how FEMA is structured, how the Department of Homeland Security is structured. ”

“ AREA— Any reference in such provisions to the Hurricane Katrina disaster area or the Gulf Opportunity Zone shall be treated as a reference to any Midwestern disaster area and any reference to the Hurricane Katrina disaster area or the Gulf Opportunity Zone within a State shall be treated as a reference to all Midwestern disaster areas within the State. ”

“ As we observe a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of Hurricane Katrina, we pledge our support for those who have been injured and for the communities that are struggling to rebuild. We offer thanks to God for the goodness and generosity of so many Americans who have come together to provide relief and bring hope to fellow citizens in need. Our Nation is united in compassion for the victims and in resolve to overcome the tremendous loss that has come to America. ”

“ Rescue workers, other first responders, and concerned citizens from around the country risked their lives to save others and performed heroically under the most difficult of circumstances. Many were victims themselves, acting on a sense of duty greater than their own suffering. Men, women, and children across America rallied to help their neighbors in desperate need, providing food, water, shelter, and hope to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Those days tested our Nation, and they revealed a resilience more powerful than any storm. ”

“ For an additional amount for "Construction" for necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes of the 2005 season, $25,300,000, to remain available until expended, which may be used to continue construction of projects related to interior drainage for the greater New Orleans metropolitan area. ”

“ Creation of the Gulf Coast Recovery and Rebuilding Council
By the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5121-5206) (the "Stafford Act") , and in order to further strengthen Federal support for the recovery and rebuilding of the Gulf Coast region affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1.⁠ Policy. ”

“ If this is how we respond to a situation where we've got four or five days notice of a hurricane coming, how are we going to respond it there was a dirty bomb planted in Chicago or New York or Los Angeles? How can we make sure that law and order is maintained? How do we make sure that communications systems are operable? How do we make sure that everybody, not just those who can leave on their own, but everybody is able to get to safety? ”

“ Look at what happened in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast when Katrina hit. People ask me whether I thought race was the reason the response was so slow. I said, "No. This Administration was colorblind in its incompetence." But everyone here knows the disaster and the poverty happened long before that hurricane hit. ”

“ It will indeed take a long time for any country to recover and rise from massive calamities. In Haiti, two years after the earthquake, there are still many who live in evacuation centers. For our brothers and sisters in Indonesia, it took eight years before they recovered from the tsunami in Aceh. And even in America, it is said that it took eight years for things to return to normal after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Our work is not done. There are still many houses that need to be constructed; many more of our countrymen need to be assisted in getting back on their own two feet ”

“ Under various other related acts, the payment of wages is made dependent upon determinations by the Secretary of Labor under section 3142 of title 40, United States Code.
4. Section 3147 of title 40, United States Code, provides that " (t) he President may suspend the provisions of this subchapter during a national emergency."
5. Several areas of the Nation have been recently devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The devastation from the hurricane has resulted in the largest amount of property damage from a natural disaster in the history of the Nation. ”

“ Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding. ”

“ Each year, several hurricanes develop off American shores in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Some of these strike the United States coastline every year, causing numerous fatalities and costing billions of dollars in damage. Many Americans are vulnerable to the dangers of these storms.
In recent years, advances in how we predict and track these storms have improved preparedness and saved lives, but people living in hurricane-prone areas still must be prepared. ”

“ Its tentacles—octopus-like arms—reach out with gale-driven torrents of rain and begin picking everything to pieces. After hours that seem like days, the central fury of the earth-blasting storm begins its devastation of man’s possessions.
And as it has proved to be unquestionably true that no two hurricanes are exactly alike, so it is evident now that the same hurricane is subject to massive changes from day to day. It has a life history. Like the caterpillar that is transformed into the cocoon and then into the butterfly, the tropical storm goes through definite stages. ”

“ The spread of wireless across the oceans began while the American people still had vividly in mind the most terrible hurricane disaster in the history of the United States. The nation had been shocked by news of a “tidal wave” which had virtually destroyed Galveston, Texas, on the night of September 8, 1900, and killed more than six thousand of its citizens. Really it was not a tidal wave but a West Indian hurricane of almost irresistible force which had raised the tide to heights never known before and then topped it with an enormous storm wave as the center struck the low-lying island. ”

“ Hurricanes heading northwestward from the Caribbean and curving to follow the coastline, sweep over the Cape, which juts into the ocean at the point where the northward-moving storms still retain great force. In winter, big extratropical cyclones passing eastward across the region of the Great Lakes tend to produce small companions or secondaries in the southeastern states and some of them develop gales of hurricane force by the time they reach Hatteras. Here the cold air masses of the continent, guided by storm winds, are thrown against the warm, moist air from the Gulf Stream. ”

“ A hundred cataracts, unknown before, Rush down the mountain's side with fearful roar, And as with foaming fury down they go, Loose the firm rocks and thunder them below; Blue lightnings from the dark cloud's bosom sprung, Like serpents, menacing with forked tongue, While many a sturdy oak that stiffly braved The threatening hurricane that round it raved, Shiver'd beneath its bright, resistless flash, Came tumbling down amain with fearful crash. Air, earth, and skies, seem'd now to try their power, And struggle for the mastery of the hour ”

“ The wind began to shift about at last. Grampus said that it was the termination of the hurricane. Still it might play us a scurvy trick before it was over, and drive us on some inhospitable shore. I began now to look for further signs of the ending of the storm. It got round to the northward, and on we drove till we caught sight of the coast. It was a most unwelcome sight, though, for should the little craft once get within the power of the breakers, which were dashing furiously against it, I could not hope that a single man on board would escape with his life. ”

“ The wildest cries of agony and fear arose from below, where row beyond row of the thickly crowded streets swayed backwards and forwards, like the agitated waves of the ocean, when the first blast of the hurricane is felt ”

“ If the distant cloud is seen to move along the horizon, the tumult of wind and sea on the beaches will subside. The local indications in the sky and the water tell a vital story to the initiated but the warning they give does not come soon enough. It is necessary to know what is going to happen while the hurricane is well out at sea. This depends on the hurricane hunters, and so the messages they send ashore while fighting their way by air into the vortices of these terrible whirlwinds are awaited anxiously by countless people. ”

“ But when warnings were issued by the Weather Bureau, coastal towns were almost deserted. The greatest organized mass exodus from shore areas in advance of a tropical storm occurred in Texas, in 1942. On August 30, a big hurricane with a tremendous storm wave struck the coast between Corpus Christi and 105 Galveston. It had been tracked across the Caribbean and Gulf, and ample warnings had been issued. More than fifty thousand persons were systematically evacuated from the threatened region and though every house was damaged in many towns, only eight lives were lost. ”

“ Each year from June through November, Americans living on the Eastern seaboard and along the Gulf of Mexico face an increased threat of hurricanes. These powerful storms can create severe flooding, cause power outages, and damage homes and businesses with their high winds, tornadoes, storm surges, and heavy rainfall. The effects of these storms can be devastating to families and cause lasting economic distress. During National Hurricane Preparedness Week, we call attention to the importance of planning ahead and securing our homes and property in advance of storms. ”

“ These cyclones which come up the eastern coast of the United States at certain seasons are usually violent, and often do considerable damage to shipping. The Weather Bureau gives all the warning possible of the coming of these hurricanes, as they are called, by displaying hurricane signals along the coast, and by issuing telegraphic warnings to newspapers. In this way ship captains, knowing of the approach of gales dangerous to navigation, may keep their vessels in port until all danger is past. Millions of dollars’ worth of property and hundreds of lives have thus been saved. ”

“ Soon there are violent gales and the power of the storm is apparent in the roaring of the wind and sea.
And so it is easy to think of a plane in a hurricane as being like an oak leaf in a thunderstorm, except that the leaf is bigger in proportion but lacks the skillful handling of a youthful crew, alert, fearful and resourceful, straining desperately to keep it from rocketing steeply into the wind-torn sea below. For these reasons, the men who ventured in 1943 to probe tropical storms by air were exceedingly cautious about it. ”

“ And yet all of them fit a certain direful pattern; there is nothing else that resembles these big storms of the tropics. Like the explosion of an atom bomb, with its enormous cloud recognized by everyone who sees a picture of it, the hurricane has well-known features—unlike anything else—but of such enormous extent that no one can get a bird’s-eye view of the whole. Putting together what we know by radar, upper air soundings, aircraft penetrations and millions of weather observations in the low levels, we can draw a sketchy word 254 picture. ”

“ On the morning of the 10th the hurricane began, and by the afternoon the Albemarle frigate and all the merchantmen in the bay parted from their anchors and drove to sea. By night the fury of the tempest had reached its utmost height, and dreadful were the consequences. It is impossible to describe the scenes of horror and distress occurring on every side. ”

“ Here again we have frustration. Going up with one of the investigators, we get the facts. Strangely enough, this is one of the men who want to get into hurricanes, who come down to the coast to look, and who finally “thumb a ride” with the 255 airmen into the big winds. A brief of his story will illustrate.
This story begins with the big Gulf hurricane of 1919. It came from the Atlantic east of the Windward Islands, moved slowly to the northward of Puerto Rico and Haiti and thence to the central Bahamas, a fairly large storm threatening the Atlantic seaboard. ”