The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.
The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.
Representing FEMA, Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Department of Homeland Security, named William Lokey as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FEMA (202) 646-4600.
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UPDATE: I’ve received numerous emails explaining that all of the coastal parishes were already declared disaster areas because of Tropical Storm Cindy, which struck in June. Checking with FEMA’s own website… nope. Only five coastal parishes — Jefferson, Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Charles — seem to be covered here, and only on a limited basis at that.
This is explicitly confirmed by the presidential authorization of August 23, as posted on the White House website.
There is more:
Although not as bad as the complete inversion of Louisiana…for some unknown reason they also did not protect four counties in Mississippi:Wayne, Perry, Greene and George Does any one know anything about these counties??? Like are they Democratic???
…Wayne, Perry, Greene and George are all counties that just re-elected Democratic Congressman GENE TAYLOR.
In fact I would add the counties of Clark and Jasper …I can’t read the rest… but it is the whole district of GENE TAYLOR that is Missing he was running against someone named Lott…perhaps a relative.
OMG! Just when I think I can no longer be shocked by these people. Well, I guess it’s a damned good thing for me that I live in Kansas. . .oh, wait, we elected a Dem. Congressman in my county. I’m screwed.
What did these people ever do to deserve this kind of malevolent treatment?
America has been hijacked by the worst bunch of greedhead psycopaths on earth at the minimum.
At the worst, Bush is the AntiChrist.
LL
Voted “D”, apparently.
What did these people ever do to deserve this kind of malevolent treatment?
They are poor and/or Black.
Does any one know anything about these counties??? Like are they Democratic???
That’s an excellent question and an answerable one. I suspect that if you examined census data and poverty rates the Parishes and counties mentioned would be the ones with the highest poverty rates and minority populations.
Well, I know my first thought was that the red area must be where all the white people are. But, I checked the blog where this info was compiled, and he says there is no demographic pattern that he can see. It could just be utter stupidity.
Well, I know my first thought was that the red area must be where all the white people are. But, I checked the blog where this info was compiled, and he says there is no demographic pattern that he can see. It could just be utter stupidity.
Yes, I checked too. He said that race did not appear to be a factor and yes, that was correct and poverty wasn’t either. I checked the poverty rate data for the 4 counties. All counties in Mississippi have horrendous poverty rates and child poverty rates (of these 43 the lowest child poverty rate was George Co with a child poverty rate of 29.1 (with Wayne Co being the highest of the 4 with a CP rate of 37.2).
The most obvious commonality is that they’re contiguous and sticking right out there in the Gulf. It makes no sense to not include them, none whatsoever.
FYI,
I put this collection of maps together at My Left Wing and MyDD last night, when I should have been sound asleep. The Louisiana map comes from BobHarris.com. The others I created. I’m happy that Parker has posted this here, as I’m really pretty beat this AM, and getting the stuff out is much more important than credit. (If someone with better luck than I getting recommended diaries at DKos wants to post there, please go right ahead.) I only mention this so that folks know I’ve thought about this a lot in putting it together.
As you can see from the map below, the vast majority of the area covered in Mississippi is within the same Democratic district as the four largely rural counties that were excluded. So there doesn’t seem to be a political motive there:
It’s important to not go off on wild tangents. The primary value of the Alabama and Mississippi maps, IMHO, is as contrast to what happened in Louisiana. I wanted to drive home the fact that what Bob Harris lays out really is as damning as it seems.
The four counties I pointed to are an anamoly, and their exclusion does warrant attention, but it shouldn’t be assumed that it’s connected or that it ranks in the same league. Let’s keep our heads while they’r losing theirs.
.
Where have all the $$$ billions of US taxpayers gone?
Where are the basic services for the people starving and dying!
Where is the call on UN logistic support, honed for these emergency relief aid operations! Where is JB?
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FEMA and Risk Management Groups are part of the “no-bid and no-performance” corporations, profiting from the VP Cheney’s Corporate American Power
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