The Corps Just Keeps The Hits Comin'

Lost in all of the major-league screw-ups -- the botched design and construction of the levees, the FEMA response, the toxic trailers -- that are now part of what's called "Katrina" is one crucial fact: the Corps of Engineers did not have large sandbags pre-stationed as the hurricane approached. In fact, on "Katrina Wednesday," a Corps official told CNN, "we're filling sandbags now."

So I guess it's progress that today's Times-Picayune reports that the Corps now has some filled sandbags pre-positioned for the next problem. It's not progress that the Corps has not made a deal for the use of the large helicopters necessary to drop the bags. But, hey, plenty of time to get that problem solved after the next Corps-caused disaster.

Comments

[JAUG]

Okay once more into the breach.

The politicians of the day in LA were Democrats. The Govna and the Mayor both. Little good that did us.

It was all a grand experiment to show the good citizens of the USA that THEIR city could be next. Next to go under without any help from the local, state and federal law-ticians.

This is a warning to ALL cities in the USA, this is the emergency broadcasting alert to all and every citizen. Pay Attention!!!

You're Next: L.A., San Fran, NYC, Detroit, St. Louis, Denver, Seattle, Be Prepared. Don't RELY on your government. All they really want from you is your almighty dollar. The Law-ticians could give a Rats Ass whether you live or die!! Believe it!!!

[research]

Notice from some of the comments here, that the conservative rethug fascist, NEVER stop trying to revising history for the evil goals.

This is why Rove cites Borges Labyrinth book of short stories as one of his favorites. One of the stories is about a project to rewrite the entire encyclopedia for any alternate world. Once finished the world starts to change to resemble the revised Encyclopedia.

Everything a rethugs says is a Lie designed to deceive you to accept their domination.

[seawolf77]

Watching the water pour into the city was one of the lowest points in this nation's history. The city and state were remarkably unprepared and FEMA, well what can you say. In the end this once mighty country could only helplessly watch.

[hopeless277]

Geeze, you STILL don't get it! Follow the money. I'll say it again. Follow The Money. New Orleans was not neglected by accident. It was set up to be destroyed. Look at what has been done. The poor have been shipped out and the rich have been shipped in. Affordable,usable housing has been torn down and high profit, high rent condos and houses have been put in their place. I think it's called DISASTER CAPITALISM aka The Shock Doctrine. Katrina, like 9/11, was seen coming by the Republicans. The flooding, like the collapse of the twin towers, provided just the opportunity the Republicans needed. As Bush did prior to 9/11, he dismissed all warnings and DID NOTHING. As with Iraq, it was not incompetitence but a deliberate strategy to soak the countries money and resources up and squeeze them out over favored corporations and military arms suppliers. Bush may be dumb as a stump, but Cheney is not. Remember that, Cheney IS NOT.

[Brgotn]

Where was the state and city government in all of this? FEMA did screw up bigtime but the state and city were far worse. I work for a city and sand bags are provided on a regualr basis. It is time to hold the mayor accountable.
HARRY RESPONDS: As many commenters noted at the time of the sandbag problem, regular sized sandbags would just be swallowed up in the breaches New Orleans suffered. The state and city were "far worse"? Did they "knowingly" (the word of a federal judge design and construct faulty levees, while promising Category 3 protection to a major American metropolis?

[Bienville]

Did you read the article? This is the operative passage:
"The 10,000-pound sandbags and concrete highway barriers dropped by helicopter couldn't close the 200-foot-wide hole in the canal's east wall; they were swallowed up by the deep breach and disappeared beneath the floodwater."
Does your city have 10,000-pound sandbags and helicopters to deliver them to levee breaches?

[FirstShirt]

They were fiddling. That's why they put in a republican governor.

[cminmd]

Hi Harry,
You are so inspirational to me. How do you explain the Corps over and over, year after year and not go insane! I am always amazed at how so many people still don't know the real story behind Thank you for all the great work you are doing for NOLA.
I wanted to ask you what you think of the new Brad Pitt project? I moved from LA back in the 90's so I don't know which group to give money and donations to. Who is actually building homes for people?
HARRY RESPONDS: I do think highly of the Brad Pitt effort, and I have given them money. Habitat for Humanity has put up a little district of homes, the Musicians' Village, with their usual speed. Covenant House New Orleans is dealing with the new problem of the "working homeless", as well as with the mental health crisis. ACORN and Common Ground are also doing good work.

[davidly]

Harry, you seen this?

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14467771.htm

Thanks for being there, for whatever the thanks is worth.

[davidly]

Whoops. Sorry, I did too cursory a read. Of course you've seen it. Well, there's the link for whoever wants it.

[raker]

There are more questions than answers, as my local news station likes to say. Was the Corps undermined and intentionally made incompetent by the Bush administration, as FEMA was, or has it always done half-assed work? And what other Corps-designed structures, if breached, might devastate communities as the breached levees did? Do I need more duct tape and plastic? A gas mask? An ark?
HARRY RESPONDS: The Corps' faulty design and construction work in New Orleans stretches back forty years. The Corps last year unveiled a list of more than a hundred "vulnerable" levees nationwide, including those in the Sacramento Delta area of Northern California.

[realitytrumpsbull]

Given all the other multibillion-dollar fraud and larceny that's becoming evident throughout the government, are you REALLY suprised that the Corps can't seem to 'get er done'?

Public oversight and accountability all went away at this turkey circus at some point, and as a result stewardship of the tax dollar was likewise basically farted off.

EVERYbody hates the bookkeeping dept...but they do a pretty important job, apparently.

[darthmaul]

Your answer to this Harry, I believe is independent review of the Corps work? I don't see any other alternative, except the republicans trying to privatize it. Actually, I'm surprised that they didn't push for this.
HARRY RESPONDS: Ideally, one would wish for a different kind of agency to do these projects. Given the realities, independent review of the Corps' work--ongoing independent review--is the least we should demand.

[Bienville]

Cities and states across the country have engineering divisions for designing their infrastructure. They often only manage the projects and employ consulting engineers to do the nuts-and-bolts of the design and employ additional consulting engineers to INDEPENDENTLY review the work of the design engineers. There is nothing those reviewers like more that finding fault with their competition.

[philistine]

P.J. O'Rourke said it best: "...The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then get elected and prove it."

[kellygrrrl]

and yet, somehow, someway, KBR, subsidiaries of Cheney INC. still come out of Katrina with a profit. Got to love the Disaster Capitalism.

[Berettasskeeter]

Can you tell me how Corps of Engineers caused a natural disaster?
Semper fi
HARRY RESPONDS: Absolutely. It was not a natural disaster. Katrina at New Orleans was, according to the National Hurricane Center, a strong Cat 1 or a weak Cat 2 max. Meaning it was well beneath the rated, advertised capacity of the Corps-built levee-floodwall system (which was Cat 3). Dr. Bob Bea, co-leader of one of the three independendent engineering teams to investigate the disaster, called it "the greatest man-made engineering disaster" in US history. He also said, had the Corps-designed and built structures not failed catastrophically, the worst New Orleans would have suffered during the Katrina event would have been "wet ankles". Read the ILIT report, available from UC Berkeley, or read the Team Louisiana report. Even read the Corps' own report.

[azureblue]

It was not a "natural" disaster. In fact, Bush's government admits so:

On May 25, 2007, Donald Powell, recovery chief for the Gulf Coast, publicly stated, "the federal government is responsible for this hurricane damage because of the failure of the levee system."

And that is that. The ACOE's work failed, they flooded New Orleans, they admit it, they fix New Orleans. It's that simple.