Katrina
The news out of the south is very disturbing. Today I read that [the Houston Astrodome is full](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050902/ap_on_re_us/katrina_refugees_hk4) after accepting about half of the expected refugees. Officials are scrambling to find shelter for the remaining thousands that are arriving by the busload.
Why haven’t I read any stories about families in unaffected areas offering to take in those displaced by the storm? [Instapundit](http://instapundit.com) points out that there are posts on [Craigslist](http://neworleans.craigslist.org/hhh/) offering shelter. Nice but I wonder how the people who need it are supposed to read them. Is this an example of individual efforts getting lost in the scope of the disaster? There should be an agency of some sort coordinating these types of efforts, but I doubt anyone is at this point, which is why they are using huge shelters that can accommodate thousands of people.
What we are seeing is that anyone struck by a disaster is really at the mercy of the existing emergency plans and organizations for the first week. After that, things will get better.
Watching this disaster unfold has motivated me to finally put together an emergency supply kit.
**Update:** Instapundit is now linking to [MoveOn.org's Hurricane Housing site](http://www.hurricanehousing.org/) listing over 110,000 beds. That’s great and I just hope someone is funneling people to those homes.
September 3rd, 2005 at 6:00 am
There seems to be a strong sense in many circles that the poor black population along the Gulf Coast was essentially left behind to die. (see Salon, Daily Kos. The call to evacuate meant was pretty useless to those without vehicles, or cash to travel and pay for accommodation elsewhere. There were no large-scale efforts to provide transportation and housing for those that couldn’t make it out themselves. What has the US been doing since 9/11 that it is so ill prepared for this kind of a disaster. As some have pointed out, if this had been a biological weapons attack, there wouldn’t have been any warning, and the chaos would have been even bigger from panic and fear.
The emergency preparedness of FEMA and other organizations looks horrible in the wake of Katrina. The social situation in the South looks worse than after any natural disaster in Africa or Asia.
There’s an interesting post on Boing Boing that contrasts the approach taken in Cuba to that of the US.
Okay, end rant.
September 3rd, 2005 at 10:38 pm
Well, I’m sure the post mortem(s) will start appearing soon enough, but I do agree that racism is alive and well in the south. A weekend in Atlanta, Georgia was enough to demonstrate that fact to me. But, was that a factor in either the preparations or the response? Or was it just bumbling and incompetence?
For example, I wonder if the emergency plans included scenarios where armed gangs shot at rescuers. These armed thugs really derailed rescue efforts. (I am amazed, and yet not amazed, at just how low the human being can slide.)
The Boing Boing article is interesting, but strikes me as the type of thing that would **never** get any traction in the home of the brave.