To the Editor, The Washington Post

Dear Editor

Almost thirty years ago, in the aftermath of the Guatemala earthquake that 
killed over 22,000 people, Professor Nick Ambraseys of Imperial College 
London suggested that "Today's act of God, will be regarded as tomorrow's 
act of criminal negligence".  He was referring to all the unnatural aspects 
of the disaster that contributed to the scale of deaths and damage. His 
words now ring true in relation to the chaos and acute suffering following 
Katrina.  Therefore, when the US Congress initiates some form of 
Congressional Commission to investigate this tragedy, to decide on who was 
responsible for the 'unnatural' aspects of Katrina as well as to report on 
any essential policy changes, they will have an extensive agenda before 
them. It could include the following questions:

  1.. Why were the levees built and maintained without regard to the impact 
of a storm surge of this scale, and specifically, why was the 2004 model 
that predicted 10-15 feet of water in New Orleans, as a result of hurricane 
flooding, ignored?
  2.. Why was the pre-event evacuation of the region so incomplete, without 
attention being given to citizens of the city without means of 
transportation?
  3.. Why was the Louisiana Superdome opened to provide 'safety' to between 
10- 20,000 persons without even minimal provision being made for such basic 
needs as sanitation, food, shelter, water, medical needs and human security?
  4.. Why in the current search and rescue operation is minimal reliance 
being given for the use of rescue boats to supplement helicopter rescue 
operations?
  5.. Why are the extensive resources of the Office of Foreign Disaster 
Assistance (OFDA) not being used?
  6.. Why did it take six days before international assistance was 
requested?  And finally,
  7.. Why did any disaster plans that might have been available for fully 
predictable severe hurricane winds accompanied by fully predictable severe 
flooding fail so miserably?
While working in forty five disaster situations within developing countries 
in over thirty five years, I have never seen anything approaching this level 
of governmental failure in any country, however poor and undeveloped.  While 
Mercy demands any action to reduce further human suffering, Justice demands 
that responsibility for failures be assigned and policies be reviewed to 
avoid further "acts of criminal negligence"


Yours sincerely

Professor Ian Davis
Resilience Centre
Cranfield University,
UK


Home address:
97 Kingston Road
Oxford
OX2 6RL
UK

Home Tel: 44 (0) 1865 556473

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "CACH Info Ctr" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 4:50 AM
Subject: Re: Day by day graphics, chrono of Katrina & New Orleans


> Talk about your political diatribe...
>
> Offers of assistance CAME from Canada and a dozen or more other nations -
> voluntary OFFERS of assistance.
>
> A number of those offers - Venezuela's included - have political overtones
> not even worthy of discussion.
>
> Your last paragraph is outrageous on its face and does little to further 
> the
> discussion of natural hazards and disasters to which this list is 
> ostensibly
> dedicated.
>
> Be well, stay safe.
> Charles
>
> C. S. Thomas
> Managing Director
> CACH International Ltd Co
> "Planning to Keep You in Business"sm
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Natural hazards and disasters
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ben Wisner
> Sent: Sunday, 04 September 2005 23:36
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Day by day graphics, chrono of Katrina & New Orleans
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> I am not sure how many of you have seen the New York Times online section
> that provides day by day satellite images, maps of New Orleans with
> flooding, fires, etc. marked, and notes on response.
>
> See
> http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/2005_HURRICANEKATRINA_GRAPHIC/
> index_02.html .
>
> Humans are good at ordering disorder, or, at least, going through the 
> ritual
> motions.  This slick graphical display -- and there is no denying it's
> usefulness -- seems somehow rather futile nonetheless.  The city is now
> almost empty except for occupying troops and stray animals and the dead 
> (no
> doubt now in the thousands).  The genie is out of the bottle.
>
> The U.S. has finally asked Canada, the EU, and NATO for assistance: 
> disaster
> diplomacy, as Ilan Kelman would say.  Cuban doctors are standing buy, and
> there is an offer of more Venezuelan oil, but that is probably too much 
> for
> the Bush administration.
>
> Condoleza Rice has vehemently denied that racism played any role in the 
> lack
> of plans for evacuating New Orleans' poor, predominantly Black population
> (some 112,000 households known from the U.S. Census to be without private
> automobiles) and slow response.  Well, that's her job in the WHITE house,
> isn't it?
>
> Ben Wisner
> [log in to unmask]
>