Obama says U.S. is better prepared on sixth anniversary of Katrina

[News_Editor]

Obama says U.S. is better prepared on sixth anniversary of Katrina

2011-08-30 05:19:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday pledged continued efforts to help the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Katrina and said the federal government is better prepared to respond to natural disasters than it was six years ago.

Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005, near the Louisiana-Mississippi border with maximum sustained winds near 125 miles (201 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts, making it a powerful category three hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity.

The hurricane caused severe damage from central Florida to Texas, mostly due to storm surge which resulted in a catastrophic failure of the levee system in Greater New Orleans. More than 1,800 people were killed, many in New Orleans, making it one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States.

On Monday, the six year anniversary of Katrina's landfall, Obama commemorated the "tragic events of those days." "But what's required of us is more than remembrance - what's required of us is our continued efforts to make sure that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast fully recover, and to make sure that our response to such disasters is the best it can possibly be," the president said.

Then-President George W. Bush and other government agencies, especially the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), received harsh criticism in the wake of the disaster for its slow response.

"When it comes to disaster response, we've worked very seriously to enhance our preparedness efforts so that Americans are ready before disaster strikes, and to strengthen our recovery capabilities so that we're more resilient after disaster strikes," Obama said.

The president gave Hurricane Irene, which made landfall in North Carolina on Saturday and tore a path of destruction along the U.S. East Coast, as an example. "Before the storm made landfall, the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA worked closely with our state and local partners to preposition supplies and teams of first responders, and support their response efforts," Obama said. "Those response efforts are ongoing and we will continue that partnership, responding as quickly and effectively as possible, for as long as necessary, until the affected communities are back on their feet."

Obama said the six year anniversary of Katrina's landfall is not just a reminder of the immediate devastation that can be caused by such storms, but also the long term needs of communities impacted by disasters. "This Administration will stand by those communities until the work is done," he said.

Also on Monday, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate gave credit to the U.S. Congress for passing the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act which allowed FEMA to respond more quickly to pending disasters. Before Katrina, FEMA did not respond when a disaster such as a hurricane was expected to happen, but only after it happened when a state was already overwhelmed and made a request.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-08-30

[whybother]

Michele Bachmann Thinks Hurricane Irene Is A Sign That God Is Mad At Washington

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/michele-bachmann-thinks-hurricane-irene-is-a-sign-that-god-is-mad-at-washington-2011-8#ixzz1WTQQr1Me

[mpoppel]

Michele Bachmann Thinks Hurricane Irene Is A Sign That God Is Mad At Washington

Read more: http://www.businessi...8#ixzz1WTQQr1Me

Is Bachmann running for president or to be God's representative?

[flying]

Michele Bachmann Thinks Hurricane Irene Is A Sign That God Is Mad At Washington

Without even reading it I can say she is the scariest thing to come along

any campaign trail in a loooooong time.

Watching the republican candidates debate a few weeks ago she & also Santorum

struck me as not being the sharpest tools in the shed.

[Steely Dan]

Michele Bachmann Thinks Hurricane Irene Is A Sign That God Is Mad At Washington

Without even reading it I can say she is the scariest thing to come along

any campaign trail in a loooooong time.

Watching the republican candidates debate a few weeks ago she & also Santorum

struck me as not being the sharpest tools in the shed.

Hmmm, The clash of the two largest religions for 2012?

[Scott]

Michelle Bachmann certainly puts the fear of God in me.

I don't think it took too much effort to be better prepared for this storm than Katrina.

[Jingthing]

Mark the date. I am the last person you would expect to defend Bachmann but in this case, to be fair, if you watch the video of her statement it is clear to anyone that was her attempt at HUMOR! There is enough real stuff to knock Bachmann on without overblowing an attempted joke. Happily, her chances of being nominated are small, and elected president even smaller. She's like from the tea party on crack, and America may indeed be hurting, but not quite that desperate ... yet.

Edited August 30, 2011 by Jingthing

[Ulysses G.]

Who is the old guy who wants to give Iran The Bomb? He is the one who scares me.

[Jingthing]

Who is the old guy who wants to give Iran The Bomb? He is the one who scares me.

You mean Ron Paul. Don't be scared. The press doesn't even cover him. He's there like a circus show, that's all.

[flying]

Who is the old guy who wants to give Iran The Bomb? He is the one who scares me.

You mean Ron Paul. Don't be scared. The press doesn't even cover him. He's there like a circus show, that's all.

Come now even you two can do better than that

[Jingthing]

OK, to be fair he doesn't actually want to GIVE Iran the bomb. He just thinks it's OK to allow them to continue to develop and doesn't consider Iran a military threat. That's almost as bad.

[flying]

Even a Dem like Jon Stewart gets it funny 4 minutes at link below

Your right though the press & presidential candidates would like to ignore him.

They cannot handle a debate with him that is for certain.

It is like he is intellecually fencing with un-armed opponents

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-15-2011/indecision-2012---corn-polled-edition---ron-paul---the-top-tier

Edited August 30, 2011 by flying

[Steely Dan]

Even a Dem like Jon Stewart gets it funny 4 minutes at link below

Your right though the press & presidential candidates would like to ignore him.

They cannot handle a debate with him that is for certain.

It is like he is intellecually fencing with un-armed opponents

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-15-2011/indecision-2012---corn-polled-edition---ron-paul---the-top-tier

He is an enigma, completely gets it when it comes to economics but spoils it sadly with various bigoted views which should make him unelectable ... but then again by that logic.

[flying]

He is an enigma, completely gets it when it comes to economics but spoils it sadly with various bigoted views which should make him unelectable ... but then again by that logic.

Read any of his books?

You would know how wrong you are if you did.

Then again in this day of tearing the constitution apart & ignoring the

wisdom given by the founding fathers it is understandable that some would see

someone devoted to those principles as a bigot.

I in many ways hope he never gets elected. Although he would be the best thing

to happen to for the USA

He would be assassinated quicker than any before him.

You cannot speak out against the FED,CIA,IRS & the Military Industrial Complex & not have an accident.

Sorry for drifting off topic...

Edited August 30, 2011 by flying

[Steely Dan]

He is an enigma, completely gets it when it comes to economics but spoils it sadly with various bigoted views which should make him unelectable ... but then again by that logic.

Read any of his books?

You would know how wrong you are if you did.

To be fair, no, but he has certainly upset the powers that be in one way or another, but yes we are getting off topic so will wait for the election thread.

[Scott]

The thread does seem to be drifting off topic.....but then again, it is about being prepared for a major storm hitting Washington, D.C., so maybe it isn't all that far off topic!