This morning the Miami Herald ran a story talking about all sorts of hurricane-related issues... from lack of funding to inept management. It talks about how NOAA diverts funding from crucial areas and how hurricane research funding has been cutoff... leaving the nation more exposed to these disasters.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12853399.htm
More below...
I can't comment too much as I have some relation to the story but text from the story below sums it up pretty well. I could answer a few questions I think NOAA employees have to tread lightly.
"But government records obtained by The Herald reveal some of the most crippling problems are man-made, created by the National Weather Service and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The problems for years have landed at the doorstep of the Hurricane Center, but officials said they kept quiet because they feared for their jobs.
Said former Hurricane Center Director Robert Simpson: ``You could cut your own throat.''"
Parts II and III to come later in the week...