{ 2005 10 22 }

FEMA ignores pre-Katrina warnings from lone NOLA employee

From The Times Picayune:

WASHINGTON — Immediately before and after Hurricane Katrina hit the New Orleans area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s lone official in the city e-mailed agency leaders warning of a desperate need for medical help, oxygen canisters, even food and water.

Marty Bahamonde, a FEMA public affairs official with 12 years of experience in disaster areas, on Thursday told a Senate panel investigating the disaster that for reasons he still can’t quite comprehend, most of his pleas for help got little or no response.

His testimony, and the printouts of his e-mails to FEMA colleagues, give the clearest indication to date of the chaotic federal response to the disaster. They also directly contradict statements by former FEMA Director Michael Brown that he wasn’t aware of the grave conditions in the city for days after the hurricane, as well as his claim in recent House testimony that he had assembled a team of FEMA officials, including doctors, before Katrina made landfall.

“There was only one (FEMA) person there, and that was me,” Bahamonde said.

A Sept. 3 e-mail to a FEMA colleague seemed to sum up his assessment of the Katrina relief efforts: “The leadership from top down in our agency is unprepared and out of touch. But while I am horrified at some of the cluelessness and self-concern that persists, I try to focus on those that have put their lives on hold to help those they have never met and never will,” he said.

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Read the full article here.

Posted by holly on Saturday, October 22nd, 2005, at 7:46 am, and filed under Uncategorized.

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