Is Bobby Jindal (R) doing what Blanco (D) and Nagin(D) failed to do?

Question

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Aug28/0,4670,GustavapossThreat,00.html

Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency to lay the groundwork for federal assistance, and put 3,000 National Guard

troops on standby.

Latest heard, he has called out 700 buses at ready. ( remember Nagin let them flood)

Answer 1

Yes, but you won't hear CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, talking about it.

Answer 2

But does he have Maine Lobster on the busses, and Hilton resevations in the ready?

Has he ordered all busnisses to keep their doors unlocked to make it easier for the looters? You know, the cost of plasma's ain't cheap...

Answer 3

With Emergency Management you are going to catch it if you call it too late (like Katrina) or possibly too early (as may be seen) with Gustav.

The problem here is that nothing happens immediately. If you remember, you saw lines and lines of folks stalled out trying to drive north to escape Katrina. there were over three days of evacuations during that storm and as we all know, more should have left that did not go.

So what is an Emergency Manager to do? Wait until the last minute and maybe get people killed in the rush? Call it early and maybe get you to leave and the storm not even hit in that particular area? That Emergency Manager is making plans with absolutely little or no information with which to make it. That is the true definition of 'emergency'. Making decisions when you do not have the information with which to do so.  

The bottom line to all of this is life and safety so I personally would not fault any Emergency Manager who make you leave too early. Being alive and mad a thousand miles away is much better than doing the back stroke in all the oil, gas and filth floating on top of the water in the disaster area waiting for someone else to provide food, water and housing.

First off, make a plan. Were are you going to go? Tell other family members where that will be and that you will call them if you decide to run. Stock pile water and can good for at least 72 hours. You must be able to support you and your family for at least 72 hours in an incident. If you are going to run, run early! Don't get stuck in that last minute crowd that you saw trying to leave NOLA lat time.

Leaving early saves hassles with other problems in other areas. In Katrina there were so many problems at a distance from New Orleans. Pensacola, FL ran out of gas and diesel at the service stations. Why? Because it is four hours away from New Orleans and was where people were re-filling their tanks. So even though Florida was not hit by that particular hurricane, they were greatly effected by it.  And you too if you were looking for a tank of gas.

Do not attempt to contact anyone in the storm area during the storm or immediately afterwards. There is no communications in the area except emergency communications and you do not want to tie that up. There is generally nothing you can do for them. You can't send them a check, the banks are closed. You can't send them food because there is no postal service (Go back up and read why you should evacuate!) Wait for them to call you. Believe me, if they need help, they will be contacting you at the first available opportunity.



Next learn more about your situation. Volunteer for Civil Emergency Response Teams (CERT). Learn how to use a radio. Volunteer for the Red Cross, Salvation Army. Do what ever you can do to stay informed.

A friend of mine decided that a hurricane would not be all THAT bad and decided to stay but he at least sent his family out. He said that he knew he had made the wrong decision when he pulled the curtains aside to look out the window and found the glass bowed in and touching his chubby little tummy. He piled all of the matresses in a small closet and jumped in the middle and prayed. He lived but the house was totalled.

Sorry to be blunt about it but realizing that you should have left after it is too late to leave should not spend more than a second crossing your mind. You MUST guess right the first time in these life threatening situations because no emergency worker will rescue you in 150 MPH winds and 20 feet of water. It just won't happen.

Good luck and stay safe to all!