I just transcribed this unbelievable interview by Rita Cosby on MSNBC. The White House and FEMA were warned. The idea that no one could have conceived of a disaster of this magnitude sounds just like the WH declarations about planes being used as missles. What is unimaginable is the ineptitude of this administration.
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MSNBC News - Rita Cosby
Saturday ~730pm EST
RC: Thank you very much, Karl. Well, uh, not to be surprised, there are some individuals who are coming out now and saying that they predicted the worst would happen. Federal officials are saying that they had no idea. But there are some individuals, particularly individuals with some credibility, including my next guest, who's going to tell us some pretty startling news, I think. Ivor Van Heerden, you're actually a professor at LSU, Louisiana State University. First I want to get to some of the health issues, then I want to get to some of the predictions that you told federal officials about the disaster.
But first let's talk about some of the health concerns.
[omitted discussion on health concerns].
The other issue, and I think it's important because today we heard from Homeland Security Secretay Michael Chirtoff, said "There's no way we could have predicted this amount of catastrophe. We had different scenarios, but we didn't imagine the two doomsday scenarios meeting each other."
RC: [to Van Heerden] You're shaking your head. Why ?
VH: We had an exercise here last year in the same locality, known as the Hurricane Pam Exercise, funded by FEMA, where we flooded the bowl with a hurricane, and then we discussed how to get it out. And we specifically pointed out to them, that based on our public opinion surveys, that we'd undertaken in New Orleans, that at least 70% of the people would have left, but that meant that over 300,000 would have to be rescued, minus those that died. We told them, we said "Just think about it. If you get 30,000 a day, it's going to take you 10 days." You know we fully expected on Tuesday, the skies full of helicopters. I was in New Orleans today, now the sky's full of helicopters. So, you know, we warned them about that. We warned them about the fires, the violence, the diseases and so on.
RC: Who was aware of this information, which you were warning about.
VH: The whole, the FEMA folk who were at this exercise, the Corp of Engineers, US Military and there was even someone from the White House staff who attended part of it. And I briefed them.
RC: And just so we understand too, this kind of information, for average people, it has to be passed up the chain. If the White House representative was sent, if a FEMA representative was sent, it's clearly going to be passed up to the chain of their hierarchy.
VH: Well, one would hope so. I actually gave the person from the White House a cd that had the storm on it, an animation of the storm, a manuscript that described some of the diseases, the number of people. So, as far as I'm concerned, you know, the news was out. We'd been telling them since 1999 this would happen.
RC: And what was their reaction, doctor, when you told them, you know, "Look, this could happen in America" ?
VH: Well when I explained to them that they really needed to pre-position tents for these, to build tent cities for these refugees, I was told by one of the FEMA women, very sarcastically, that "Americans don't live in tents."
RC: What are you going to say to this FEMA women if you see her now.
VH: I'll wring her neck.
RC: I told you so, huh ?
VH: I mean to me, you know, the most awful thing is the people who have died unnecessarily.
RC: You're angry.
VH: I'm damn angry. You know I hope Congress gets in there and nails those who are responsible. And don't look in Louisana, look outside. Because in Louisiana from the Governor on down, they've done an excellent job. But somewhere else that it all fell apart.
RC: Doctor, we'd love to talk with you, continue talking with you the next several days. And I bet there are a lot of people shaking their heads, and you unfortunately can say "I told you so."
VH: Well I hate to do that.
RC: Absolutely, Doctor, thank you, very much. Some startling news. And everbody, when we come back after the break, as we're hearing now, that they did get some warnings, that they were aware of this, FEMA and the White House. A lot of hand-slapping and a lot worse probably coming up in the days to come.
[editor's note, by beetlebum] Links on Hurricane Pam Exercise
Hurricane Pam Exercise
Hurricane Pam Exercise Concludes
FEMA on Hurricane Pam Exercise
New Orleans Disaster was Predicted
FEMA Fails to Follow-up on Hurricane Exercise