Katrina Info

As mentioned in class, here is the info on Hurricane Katrina that was in dispute.

A good, neutral, source to deal with issues like this is the urban legends page, Snopes. Here is their specific page on this topic.

The storm made landfall around New Orleans on the morning of August 29 (Source).

Here is Governor Blanco's August 26th press release on the disaster declaration.

Here is the actual declaration itself (also dated August 26th).

Here is a copy of the letter Blanco sent to President Bush asking for a federal declaration of emergency (dated August 27th).

I did misspeak in class. I said she declared an emergency four days before the hurricane hit, it was actually three.

Here is the Department of Homeland Security's mission statement:

In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will provide a coordinated, comprehensive federal response and mount a swift and effective recovery effort. The department assumes primary responsibility for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation.

The key part is the phrase "primary responsibility." Keep in mind that all three levels of government failed in response to Katrina and everybody involved made mistakes. Placing blame on one invidual or organization is a logical fallacy.