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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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October
2005
Volume
9 - Number 1 |
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Statements by Mayor Ray Nagin during Hurricane Katrina Mayor Nagin Urges Citizens to Prepare For Hurricane Katrina CITY OF NEW ORLEANS MAYORS OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS “Although the track could change, forecasters believe Hurricane Katrina will affect New Orleans,” said Mayor Nagin. “We may call for a voluntary evacuation later this afternoon or tomorrow morning to coincide with the instatement of contraflow. This will give people more options to leave the area. However, citizens need to begin preparing now so they will be ready to leave when necessary. Do everything to prepare for a regular hurricane, but treat this one differently because it is headed our way. This is not a test.” The Mayor also recommended that residents of Algiers, the Lower Ninth Ward and low-lying areas begin evacuating now. http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=1&load=~/PortalModules/ViewPressRelease.ascx&itemid=3139 Mayor Urges Storm Preparations Times-Picayune New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, in a joint afternoon news conference with Gov. Kathleen Blanco, warned residents to take Katrina seriously. Hoping for yet another near miss could be deadly, he said. “This is not a test. This is the real deal,” Nagin said. “Things could change, but as of right now, New Orleans is definitely the target for this hurricane.” The mayor said he would stick with the state’s evacuation plan and not officially call for residents to leave until 30 hours before expected landfall, allowing residents in low-lying surrounding areas to leave first. But he recommended residents in low-lying areas of the city, such as Algiers and the 9th Ward, get a heard start. “We want you to take this a little more seriously and start moving — right now, as a matter of fact,” Nagin said…. …Nagin said the city would open the Superdome as a shelter of last resort for evacuees with special needs. He advised anyone planning to stay there to bring there own food, drinks and other comforts such as folding chairs, as if planning to go camping. “No weapons, no large items, and bring small quantities of food for three or four days, to be safe,” he said http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08_27.html August 28, 2005 New Orleans Curfew Times-Picayune New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin called a curfew at 6 p.m. Sunday. “I am advising everyone to get off the streets immediately,” the mayor said in a release. The city fire, police and emergency services departments will continue to provide services until winds exceed 45 mph, the mayor said. City Hall will be closed Monday and until further notice. http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08_28.html#074654 KATRINA TAKES AIM Times-Picayune By mid-afternoon, officials in Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, Lafourche, Terrebonne and Jefferson parishes had called for voluntary or mandatory evacuations. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin followed at 5 p.m., issuing a voluntary evacuation. Nagin said late Saturday that he's having his legal staff look into whether he can order a mandatory evacuation of the city, a step he's been hesitant to do because of potential liability on the part of the city for closing hotels and other businesses. "Come the first break of light in the morning, you may have the first mandatory evacuation of New Orleans," Nagin told WWL-TV. http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1125213007249320.xm Nagin orders first-ever mandatory evacuation of New Orleans Times-Picayune New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin called for a first-ever mandatory evacuation of the city this morning, saying that Hurricane Katrina’s devastating power may well create the sort of cataclysmic damage that residents have long worried that a killer storm could cause in a city that lies mostly below sea level. “I wish I had better news, but we’re facing the storm most of us have feared,” said Nagin, flanked by city and state officials, including Gov. Kathleen Blanco. “This is very serious. This is going to be an unprecedented event. ” Nagin said Katrina’s “awesome” winds are likely to create storm surges that overwhelm the city’s system of levees, causing water to pour into lower-lying areas. Blanco said the water could get as high as 20 feet in places. The city has 30 boats at its disposal, the mayor said… …Meantime, to make sure word of the mandatory evacuation gets out, Nagin said that police and fire crews would be driving through neighborhoods Sunday with bullhorns, directing people to leave. The evacuation order contained exemptions for certain people, including city, state and federal officials, inmates of the parish prison, those in hospitals, tourists staying in hotels and members of the media. An emergency order Nagin announced Sunday in declaring the mandatory evacuation gives authorities the right to commandeer private buildings and vehicles — including boats — as they see fit. The mayor did not say which buildings might be seized for public use. For the time being, the Superdome will be used as a “shelter of last resort” for those unable to evacuate the city. If the dome fills to capacity, other buildings could be appropriated, Nagin said. Nagin said the dome’s availability to residents doesn’t mean that going there is a good idea. “I want to emphasize, the first choice of every citizen should be to leave the city,” he said. He noted that the Dome is likely to be without power for days — and possibly weeks — after the storm fits, and said it will not be a comfortable place. At the same time, the mayor said, going to the dome is a better option than staying home. Many homes are likely to suffer serious damage and flood. Nagin said staying in one’s house would be a violation of the law, although one unlikely to result in any punishment. The mayor urged residents to check on their neighbors and offer them help, in particular senior citizens. “This is an opportunity for us to come together in a way we’ve never done before,” he said http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08_28.html#074654 August 30, 2005 City a woeful scene Times-Picayune …Then, in an evening press conference, Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the already crippled city would take yet another blow: Another surge of water from the failed 17th Street Canal levee that could push an additional 10 feet of water into already waterlogged neighborhoods – and possibly flood the remaining dry sections of Uptown. The expected surge stems from a failure to execute a plan to dump sandbags via helicopter into the 200 yard wide breach. Nagin offered up no culprit but promised to investigate the matter. "I thought everyone understood this morning that that was the highest priority," the mayor said. "It didn’t get done. Now there’s nothing to slow down the pace of the water." http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08_30.html New Orleans shelters to be evacuated CNN Online Floodwaters rising, devastation widespread in Katrina's wake Mayor Ray Nagin told CNN that at least 30 buildings had collapsed, but that no attempt had been made to determine a death toll. "There are dead bodies floating in some of the water," Nagin said. "The rescuers would basically push them aside as they were trying to save individuals." Nagin said that as of late Tuesday "a significant amount of water" is flowing into the bowl-shaped city and sections of the city now dry could be under 9 or 10 feet of water within hours. "The bowl is filling up," he said. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/30/katrina/index.html Nagin details latest storm damage by Melinda Deslatte, AP New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said Tuesday that the city might need to set up a temporary morgue to deal with the death toll in a city that's 80 percent flooded, food and water are scarce and an atmosphere of lawlessness has set in as police and other emergency resources are dedicated to rescuing people still stuck in their homes after Hurricane Katrina. That's not all. Three levees have been broken, flooding areas of the city that appeared to survive the storm. A 50-inch water main under City Park is cut. And power is running out at the Superdome, where some 15,000 to 20,000 people took refuge at the “shelter of last resort.” At Charity Hospital, which hosts the city's top trauma center, the flood levels got too high for ambulances to get in or out. “Charity Hospital is in a crisis,” Nagin said. He estimated it would take as long as two weeks to clear out the floodwaters once the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fixes the levees. Also, Municipal Yacht Harbor burned to the ground. And looting has become so widespread that it's sometimes taking place in full view of police and other emergency workers who are busy searching for any survivors in need of rescue. Drug addicts have been looting pharmacies, Nagin said. There are no official death tolls, but it's expected to be steep. At this point, “Rescue workers are not even dealing with dead bodies. They're just pushing them to the side,” Nagin said. http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08_30.html August 31, 2005 NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Conditions worsened Wednesday in New Orleans from still-rising floodwater, looting and rapidly deteriorating conditions in the Superdome, where up to 30,000 people sought shelter. CNN's Soledad O'Brien spoke Wednesday with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin about how the city is coping with the effects of Hurricane Katrina. O'BRIEN: Here's how it sounds from our vantage point. Things are getting worse, and it doesn't seem like there's much of a plan to make things better. Is that a fair reading? NAGIN: Well, you know, we have our challenges, and obviously over the last couple of hours, the challenges have escalated. The good news in the city is that our rescue efforts have been tremendous, and we've saved thousands of people that have been on top of roofs and stuck in attics. But, unfortunately, we do have that rising water situation. O'BRIEN: You mention, sir, too many cooks. What did you mean? (Watch: "There is way too many fricking ... cooks in the kitchen") NAGIN: Well, you know, yesterday, I was a little frustrated. There was, you know, I was expecting the levee to be plugged with some 3,000-pound sandbags, and it didn't happen. So we have command centers that are spread out in different locations, and this morning we're going to bring all of our command centers together so that we can get all of the varying opinions in one room ... O'BRIEN: I could imagine that would be very frustrating. Who exactly is in charge? I mean, why are you still talking about a plan when you're 48-plus hours into this storm hitting? It wasn't much of a surprise in a lot of ways that it was coming. NAGIN: Well, you know, this is an unprecedented event. And you have so many agencies working down here. You have wildlife and fisheries, with over a hundred rescue boats. You have the National Guard. They are mobilizing another 3,000 troops that are expected to be here. You have the state. You have the Army. You -- we have an unprecedented number of support personnel. And it's just a matter of getting everybody totally on synch and making sure that we have the sense of urgency on the priority issues. That's my concern. O'BRIEN: So all of these different agencies, in your opinion, aren't really communicating well and aren't talking? NAGIN: Well, we're talking, but unfortunately the communication systems are not that great down here, with the surprises. Most of the cell phones are not working. E-mails are not working properly. Batteries have run out on most of the radio systems that we have. So we're constantly in a state of flux, as it relates to communication. But we're going to get it fixed. O'BRIEN: This is a city that is below sea level and right in the path of hurricanes. I mean, it has been for a long, long time. Why is there not a plan in place or a plan that has been in place for years and years in the event of something like this happening? NAGIN: Well, there's always a plan in place. The last time New Orleans had an event like this -- similar, not even as worse as this -- was Hurricane Betsy in the '60s. No one could have predicted that a Category 4 or 5 would come this close to New Orleans and breach levees of two main parts of the city. That's the unique thing. (Map) O'BRIEN: Do you feel, sir, that the administration and that FEMA are doing enough to help out? NAGIN: FEMA is on the ground. I talked to the director of FEMA. He assured me that everything that we needed would be taken care of. I just tell you that it's really hard to understand the devastation and the challenge that we face, unless you're here. So now that we have people on the ground, I'm sure we will pick things up. O'BRIEN: There are huge problems with evacuations. Why aren't people and why haven't people been taken out of the city by whatever means possible? NAGIN: Well, you know, we have some very unique challenges in that respect, also. O'BRIEN: What do you mean? NAGIN: ... We're basically almost surrounded by water, so there's a bridge system that brings us out to the east. That bridge system has been destroyed by the storm, for the most part. There's a high-rise interstate. It's a double lane in a state that is basically a jigsaw puzzle, missing slabs -- huge missing slabs of concrete. So that locked us in. To the west, there's a problem with flooding in certain sections of the interstate to the west. So we're really kind of locked in with only one kind of alternate route where you have to go through several gyrations to get in and out of the city. O'BRIEN: Why not military transport planes ... dragging people out or taking people out and evacuating them? I mean, you've got 20,000 or so people just inside the Superdome, where the temperatures are getting to, you know, 90, 100 degrees. There's no bathroom facilities. They're hungry. They're frustrated. They're, obviously psychologically a wreck. I don't think it takes a genius to figure out that these people are going to start snapping very soon. NAGIN: Yes, but you have to understand the priorities of our challenges. We had thousands of people. We evacuated probably close to a million people in the metropolitan area. But there were still a couple hundred thousand still here. So all of the resources initially were focused on rescue. And we have rescued thousands of people that were trapped in attics and on roofs. So that was the main priority, as far as getting people out, with the challenge of rescue and rising waters. And then we've had some looting. We've had our hands full. O'BRIEN: Are you getting all the assistance you need? Is there anyone you'd like to ask assistance from? NAGIN: The federal government is working great with us. The state is working wonderful with us. It's just a plethora of challenges and we just need, in my opinion --- I'm a very impatient person in a crisis. We just need to all make sure that we're on the same page, and we're moving with a tremendous sense of urgency to get things done. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/31/nagin/index.html September 2, 2005 Mayor to feds: 'Get off your asses' CNN Online The following is a transcript of WWL correspondent Garland Robinette's interview with Nagin on Thursday night. Robinette asked the mayor about his conversation with President Bush: NAGIN: I told him we had an incredible crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice. And that I have been all around this city, and I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we're outmanned in just about every respect. You know the reason why the looters got out of control? Because we had most of our resources saving people, thousands of people that were stuck in attics, man, old ladies. ... You pull off the doggone ventilator vent and you look down there and they're standing in there in water up to their freaking necks. And they don't have a clue what's going on down here. They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn -- excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed. WWL: Did you say to the president of the United States, "I need the military in here"? NAGIN: I said, "I need everything." Now, I will tell you this -- and I give the president some credit on this -- he sent one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done, and his name is [Lt.] Gen. [Russel] Honore. And he came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving. And he's getting some stuff done. They ought to give that guy -- if they don't want to give it to me, give him full authority to get the job done, and we can save some people. WWL: What do you need right now to get control of this situation? NAGIN: I need reinforcements, I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man. We ain't talking about -- you know, one of the briefings we had, they were talking about getting public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out here. I'm like, "You got to be kidding me. This is a national disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans." That's -- they're thinking small, man. And this is a major, major, major deal. And I can't emphasize it enough, man. This is crazy. I've got 15,000 to 20,000 people over at the convention center. It's bursting at the seams. The poor people in Plaquemines Parish. ... We don't have anything, and we're sharing with our brothers in Plaquemines Parish. It's awful down here, man. WWL: Do you believe that the president is seeing this, holding a news conference on it but can't do anything until [Louisiana Gov.] Kathleen Blanco requested him to do it? And do you know whether or not she has made that request? NAGIN: I have no idea what they're doing. But I will tell you this: You know, God is looking down on all this, and if they are not doing everything in their power to save people, they are going to pay the price. Because every day that we delay, people are dying and they're dying by the hundreds, I'm willing to bet you. We're getting reports and calls that are breaking my heart, from people saying, "I've been in my attic. I can't take it anymore. The water is up to my neck. I don't think I can hold out." And that's happening as we speak. You know what really upsets me, Garland? We told everybody the importance of the 17th Street Canal issue. We said, "Please, please take care of this. We don't care what you do. Figure it out." WWL: Who'd you say that to? NAGIN: Everybody: the governor, Homeland Security, FEMA. You name it, we said it. And they allowed that pumping station next to Pumping Station 6 to go under water. Our sewage and water board people ... stayed there and endangered their lives. And what happened when that pumping station went down, the water started flowing again in the city, and it starting getting to levels that probably killed more people. In addition to that, we had water flowing through the pipes in the city. That's a power station over there. So there's no water flowing anywhere on the east bank of Orleans Parish. So our critical water supply was destroyed because of lack of action. WWL: Why couldn't they drop the 3,000-pound sandbags or the containers that they were talking about earlier? Was it an engineering feat that just couldn't be done? NAGIN: They said it was some pulleys that they had to manufacture. But, you know, in a state of emergency, man, you are creative, you figure out ways to get stuff done. Then they told me that they went overnight, and they built 17 concrete structures and they had the pulleys on them and they were going to drop them. I flew over that thing yesterday, and it's in the same shape that it was after the storm hit. There is nothing happening. And they're feeding the public a line of bull and they're spinning, and people are dying down here. WWL: If some of the public called and they're right, that there's a law that the president, that the federal government can't do anything without local or state requests, would you request martial law? NAGIN: I've already called for martial law in the city of New Orleans. We did that a few days ago. WWL: Did the governor do that, too? NAGIN: I don't know. I don't think so. But we called for martial law when we realized that the looting was getting out of control. And we redirected all of our police officers back to patrolling the streets. They were dead-tired from saving people, but they worked all night because we thought this thing was going to blow wide open last night. And so we redirected all of our resources, and we hold it under check. I'm not sure if we can do that another night with the current resources. And I am telling you right now: They're showing all these reports of people looting and doing all that weird stuff, and they are doing that, but people are desperate and they're trying to find food and water, the majority of them. Now you got some knuckleheads out there, and they are taking advantage of this lawless -- this situation where, you know, we can't really control it, and they're doing some awful, awful things. But that's a small majority of the people. Most people are looking to try and survive. And one of the things people -- nobody's talked about this. Drugs flowed in and out of New Orleans and the surrounding metropolitan area so freely it was scary to me, and that's why we were having the escalation in murders. People don't want to talk about this, but I'm going to talk about it. You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will. And right now, they don't have anything to take the edge off. And they've probably found guns. So what you're seeing is drug-starving crazy addicts, drug addicts, that are wrecking havoc. And we don't have the manpower to adequately deal with it. We can only target certain sections of the city and form a perimeter around them and hope to God that we're not overrun. WWL: Well, you and I must be in the minority. Because apparently there's a section of our citizenry out there that thinks because of a law that says the federal government can't come in unless requested by the proper people, that everything that's going on to this point has been done as good as it can possibly be. NAGIN: Really? WWL: I know you don't feel that way. NAGIN: Well, did the tsunami victims request? Did it go through a formal process to request? You know, did the Iraqi people request that we go in there? Did they ask us to go in there? What is more important? And I'll tell you, man, I'm probably going get in a whole bunch of trouble. I'm probably going to get in so much trouble it ain't even funny. You probably won't even want to deal with me after this interview is over. WWL: You and I will be in the funny place together. NAGIN: But we authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq lickety-quick. After 9/11, we gave the president unprecedented powers lickety-quick to take care of New York and other places. Now, you mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through, a place that is so unique when you mention New Orleans anywhere around the world, everybody's eyes light up -- you mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need? Come on, man. You know, I'm not one of those drug addicts. I am thinking very clearly. And I don't know whose problem it is. I don't know whether it's the governor's problem. I don't know whether it's the president's problem, but somebody needs to get their ass on a plane and sit down, the two of them, and figure this out right now. WWL: What can we do here? NAGIN: Keep talking about it. WWL: We'll do that. What else can we do? NAGIN: Organize people to write letters and make calls to their congressmen, to the president, to the governor. Flood their doggone offices with requests to do something. This is ridiculous. I don't want to see anybody do anymore goddamn press conferences. Put a moratorium on press conferences. Don't do another press conference until the resources are in this city. And then come down to this city and stand with us when there are military trucks and troops that we can't even count. Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here. They're not here. It's too doggone late. Now get off your asses and do something, and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country. WWL: I'll say it right now, you're the only politician that's called and called for arms like this. And if -- whatever it takes, the governor, president -- whatever law precedent it takes, whatever it takes, I bet that the people listening to you are on your side. NAGIN: Well, I hope so, Garland. I am just -- I'm at the point now where it don't matter. People are dying. They don't have homes. They don't have jobs. The city of New Orleans will never be the same in this time. WWL: We're both pretty speechless here. NAGIN: Yeah, I don't know what to say. I got to go. WWL: OK. Keep in touch. Keep in touch http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/nagin.transcript/index.html |