• January 2001: Bush appoints Joe Allbaugh, a crony from Texas, as head of FEMA.  Allbaugh has no previous experience in disaster management.

• 2001: Michael Brown was fired from his last private-sector job overseeing horse shows and got the Deputy Director of FEMA job through an old college friend, Allbaugh [BH]

• March 06, 2001: Senate
  Sen. Edwards
  

  I rise today to express my disappointment in President Bush's decision to discontinue funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Project Impact. ... Most importantly, by discontinuing this program rather than working to refine it, the administration sends a dangerous signal to States and local governments that the Federal Government no longer supports their efforts.

• April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the Bush administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work.  In May, Allbaugh confirms that FEMA will be downsized: "Many are concerned that federal disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement program...." he said. "Expectations of when the federal government should be involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is an appropriate level."

• 2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the three "likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country."

• June 19, 2002: 2nd Session on the Nomination of Brown to be Dept. Dir. of FEMA
  Senate Committee on Gov't Affairs
  

  Brown:  "I have given considerable thought to it, Senator, and I am honestly convinced that it really has no detrimental effect to our all-hazards approach that we currently have. I sincerely  believe it will enhance our ability to convince all of our partners, State, local, and Federal partners, that the whole concept of having an all-hazards approach is the best way to secure the homeland.
      If we are prepared against, and again, I give the example, another example of the all-hazards approach is if we are prepared for responding to the breaking of a dam, regardless of the cause of the breaking of that dam, we have secured the homeland.."

• July 11, 2002: House of Representatives
  Rep. Jones
  

  The United States has a significant hurricane problem. ... Mr. Chairman, even more heartbreaking is the fact that these deaths could have been prevented. That is why I stand before you today to voice my full support for H.R. 2486, the Inland Flood Forecasting and Warning System Act

• September 30, 2002: Senate
  Sen. Landrieu
  

  As nearly all of New Orleans area rests below sea level, a hurricane of [Cat. 4] magnitude alone on the path that Tropical Storm Isidore has taken would devastate southeast Louisiana. ... However, in the President's budget request submitted to Congress this year, funding for the southeast Louisiana Flood Control Project, (SELA), was cut by an astonishing 50 pecent. ... However, given the contribution my State makes to the Nation, it is time for the Nation to carefully consider its deficient investment in South Louisiana and the Gulf Coast Region and to consider what would happen if, God forbid, a major hurricane travels the same path as Tropical Storm Isidore.

• Oct. 2, 2002: Senate
  Sen. Landrieu
  

  The reason I rise to speak about [Hurricane Lili] is not because there is a whole lot we can do in Washington, today...From Washington, we can begin to focus on the kind of investments we should be making along the Gulf Coast that help protect us against the consequences of such storms ... when the hurricanes come, it is the only way for people to flee the storm. We don't have trains, as people do in the Northeast, to get out of harm's way. All we have in Louisiana are highways dangerously crowded with automobiles and pickup trucks. We need to make sure people can get north to higher ground...

• December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh announces he is leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do business in Iraq.  [And work on Bush's re-election campaign]  He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management.

• March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded into the Department of Homeland Security.  Its mission is refocused on fighting acts of terrorism.

• 2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and Response.  FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery.

• Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding requests.  Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: "You would think we would get maximum consideration....This is what the grant program called for. We were more than qualified for it."

• June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in New Orleans is slashed.  Jefferson Parish emergency management chiefs Walter Maestri comments: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay.  Nobody locally is happy that the levees can't be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."

• September 15, 2004: Senate
  Sen. Landrieu
  

  We are talking about severe devastation when a category 3 or category 4 or category 5 hurricane pushes that water out of the gulf, out of Lake Ponchartrain into the tremendously populated areas around the gulf coast.
  [...]

   Luckily, the Governors of these States are very skilled and able, the local elected officials have been through this many times and were quick to see the danger, even though the path could not be predicted, and were quick to call for evacuations days ago.

  [...]

     We are in Iraq, in an important battle, but part of our objective there is to secure an oil supply for the region and for the Nation and to use that for the betterment of the people of Iraq, for their growth and development and the security and stability of the world, as well as to fight for other issues. We are fighting to get 1 to 3 million barrels out of Iraq, and right here in the Gulf of Mexico, today, we have a facility that has virtually been shut down because of a hurricane. Nearly a million barrels is being imported in this country, and exported, a year.

     [...]

     My point is, I hope we will again use this opportunity to focus on the critical infrastructure needs necessary for Louisiana and the gulf coast of Mississippi and Alabama primarily to protect itself not just from homeland security threats from terrorists but real threats of weather.

  [...]

  Well, I do not know when it is going to get to be a high enough priority. I hate to say maybe it is going to take the loss thousands of lives on the gulf coast to make this country wake up and realize in what we are under-investing.

  [...]

     We also have a bill through the WRDA legislation, which is the traditional funding for the Corps of Engineers, the Federal agency primarily responsible to keep the waterways dredged, to keep the levees up as high as possible, to work with our local flood control folks, particularly our levee boards in Louisiana, which are some of the most important public entities we have, that literally keep people dry from heavy rains and from floods and storms of this nature.

    [...]

     We do not have halfway pumping systems. We have the best in the world. We have the best engineers, the finest pumping systems. We are an old city, and we spend a lot of our money to keep those pumping systems up to date. In fact, the Federal Government has been a major partner. I am proud to have led the effort. The Southeast Louisiana Flood Control program has invested hundreds of millions of dollars, Federal and State money, to upgrade those pumping systems. So we are not Pollyanna about this. We are not Johnny-come-lately. We have great engineers. We are smart. If fact, we have taught the world how to drain floodwaters because we have been doing it the longest, for over 300 years.

    [...]

  Let's pray, Madam President, that Hurricane Ivan does not hit the city of New Orleans directly. I am going to submit a front-page article from the Washington Post for the RECORD. It is an article about what that might be like. One of our emergency personnel who has been working on an emergency plan has stored several thousand body bags in the event of a major flood in the city of New Orleans. Let's hope that never happens. But I have to say, as a Senator representing the State of Louisiana, the chances of it happening sometime are pretty good. If we do not improve our transportation evacuation routes, invest in protecting this infrastructure, and focusing on reinvesting some of the tremendous wealth that has been taken from this area, and reinvesting it back, we will only have ourselves to blame.

     Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the article entitled ``Awaiting Ivan in the Big Uneasy'' be printed in the RECORD.

  
  

• December 2004: National Response Plan was accepted and implemented by Bush Administration
  

  President Bush, "directed the development of a new National Response Plan (NRP) to align Federal coordination structures, capabilities, and resources into a unified, all discipline, and all-hazards approach to domestic incident management. . . .The end result is vastly improved coordination among Federal, State, local, and tribal organizations to help save lives and protect America's communities by increasing the speed, effectiveness, and efficiency of incident management."

• January 26, 2005: House of Representatives
  Rep. Blumenauer
  

  What would have happened if last September, Hurricane Ivan had veered 40 miles to the west, devastating the city of New Orleans? One likely scenario would have had a tsunami-like 30-foot wall of water hitting the city, causing thousands of deaths and $100 billion in damage.

• June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million.  One of the hardest-hit areas is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes.

KATRINA TIME LINE BELOW HERE

Katrina predicted to hit the Mississippi or Louisiana coast on Sunday or Monday.
Both states declare a state of emergency.
11PM NOAA NWS TPC/National Hurricane Center Advisory 15 predicts landfall on NOLA at 8pm Monday (pic)

Louisiana disaster declaration
Louisiana and Mississippi declare voluntary evacuations for portions of both states.
Mayor Nagin declares voluntary evacuation at 5:00 PM (NOLA.com) Governor Blanco's letter to President Bush.

Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.35, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.

FEMA teams dispatched to both states
National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield called Nagin at home and told him: get people out of New Orleans.

4:13pm NWS NOLA  ...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...
Natl Hurricane Ctr forecaster Richard Pasch. -- "Some levees in the Greater New Orleans area could be overtopped,"  - [1]
Katrina upgraded to Category 5
New Orleans declares mandatory evacuation at 9:00 AM. (NOLA.com) Tourists were exempted as flights out of the city had already ceased. - WWLTV)
08:17 am - Manditory evacuation of Orleans parish (and most others) [3]
Mississippi disaster declaration
Letter from Louisiana governor to President Bush "I have determined that this incident will be of such severity and magnitude that effective response will be beyond the capabilities of the State and the affected local government and that supplementary Federal assistance will be necessary."

3500 NG troops were called up over the weekend to assist relief operations in Louisiana, 850 in Mississippi, and 1500 in Alabama.

      (all approximate per Salt Lake Tribune) [2]

6:10 AM Katrina comes ashore in Lousiana
7:02 a.m.: Pumps in New Orleans not working (WDSU.com)
7:08 a.m.: FEMA Chief Praises New Orleans Officials "says the government has known for a long time how vulnerable New Orleans would be in a major hurricane like Katrina. Michael Brown says Louisiana went through a table-top drill a year ago and is doing a good job responding right now. He also tells NBC the government is preparing supplies and response teams to move wherever Gulf state governors need them once the weather allows. - AP (via WDSU)
10:40 a.m. Storm surge in Biloxi, reported at 22 feet.
11:15 a.m.: Levee Breached At Industrial Canal (WDSU.com)
11:40 a.m.: Flooding Worse In East Bank Area Reports of waist-deep water in the Metairie area. -- (WDSU.com)
1:40 CNN reports the 17th Street levee is breached. Flooding worsens in New Orleans.
The I-10 pumps overheated, causing valve damage, also negating their effectiveness during the flooding.
1:45 p.m. NOLA reports:

Bush declares Louisiana and Mississippi "major disaster areas,” a declaration which releases federal resources to the storm-damaged regions. “This will allow federal funds to start being used to deploy resources to help in those two states,” White House Spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Pump is also expected to fail. (WWL-TV)

Afternoon:
Looting begins
Brown waited five hours

after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security employees to the region — and gave them two days to arrive.

Brown said that among duties of these employees was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims.

Brown also urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments. Brown said it was vital to coordinate fire and rescue efforts.

NOLA interview with Mayor Nagin:

“FEMA said give us a list of your needs,” said Nagin, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “And let me tell you, we’re giving them a hell of a list.”

6:30 p.m. the effort to sandbag (ongoing since 2 p.m.) the breach in 17th St. canal levee fails.
10 PM Rescue operations commence with boats in Plaquemines, St. Bernard and N.O. East. (wikipedia)

Officials consider moving the frailest out of the superdome. Population at the dome rises to around 15,000 to 20,000 as search and rescue teams bring in people from areas hard-hit by the flooding. (Wikipedia)

Hospitals in trouble, with no running water, no power. Charity's generator failed from the flooding.

Governor Blanco orders all of New Orleans, including the Superdome, be evacuated as waters continued to rise. (wikipedia)

Many rescued people dropped off on Interstate 10, at makeshift triage area (NOLA)

Louis Armstrong International Airport reopened Wednesday, solely for humanitarian aid.

A convoy of food and supplies provided by Hyatt hotels in Atlanta and Houston arrives at Hyatt Regency New Orleans. [4]

Rescue operations suspended in New Orleans - Mayor switches police to suppressing looters.

 
Evacuation of the Superdome begins.
Charity Hospital and University Hospital's SOS to Associated Press.
Charity begins evacuation, stopped, when the helicopter is fired on. ?time?  
FEMA learns there are thousands of people at the Convention Center, many dropped off or directed there by rescuers.

Sometime in the afternoon - Mayor Nagin's interview with CNN and WWL. "SOS"

Homeland security asks airlines for help.

Meanwhile, the airline industry said the government's request for help evacuating storm victims didn't come until late Thursday afternoon. The president of the Air Transport Association, James May, said the Homeland Security Department called then to ask if the group could participate in an airlift for refugees.

Evacuation of Charity Hospital resumes. Tulane, a private hospital, is evacuated by helicopters hired by HCA. Tulane evacuation is complete.

Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush's visit to New Orleans, officials said.   "We had arrangements to airlift food by helicopter to these folks, and now the food is sitting in trucks because they won't let helicopters fly," O'Shea said Friday afternoon.  The food was expected to be in the hands of storm survivors after the president left the devastated region Friday night, he said.

Condi Rice comments on other countries' offers of aid: "We've turned down no offers," she said.

Barbour reported that the Coast Guard has rescued 1,700 people so far

1245? National Guard arrives in New Orleans with food, water and security

Sometime in the afternoon, Forest Service Fire Fighting Planes still grounded in Missouri:

From the Times-Picayune , "The Forest Service has offered fixed plane aircraft used to fight forest fires to help extinguish blazes in New Orleans, according to two congressional sources. But the sources said the planes, which can pour large amounts of water on fires, remained grounded in Missouri Friday because the Department of Homeland Security hasn't authorized their use."

 
After Midnight Evacuations at the Superdome suspended.
Evacuation at the Convention Center begins.
Evacuation Charity Hospital complete.  

Blum said that since Thursday some 7,000 National Guard and military police had moved into the city. President George W Bush on Saturday ordered an additional 7,000 active duty and reserve ground troops.

11:50 a.m. Resume Superdome evacuation. Portable toilets arrive in New Orleans.
Federal sets up 10 medical shelters at DoD facilities throughout the Gulf region. (NOLA)

Biloxi, Mississippi shelter was closed after 20 residents got sick with dysentery, probably from drinking contaminated water (hundreds evacuated)

 
link to LA Times article excerpt

Complaints about the speed and tactics of the relief efforts persisted Saturday, with Louisiana's two Democratic senators saying the federal government should already have offered direct cash aid to flood victims.

And one state senator from Baton Rouge -- frustrated at seeing thousands of evacuees waiting to be taken from a camp on Interstate 10 -- hired three Greyhound buses to ship families to an Air Force base in the center of the state.

Sen. Cleo Fields said the evacuees would be delivered to England Air Force Base in central Louisiana and that he would demand that they be housed and fed.

OTTAWA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities trying to cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have asked Canada to send beds and a range of medical supplies, a government official said on Sunday.

The official told Reuters that the Americans had requested blankets, gloves, gowns, batteries, needles, surgical dressings, bandages, tongue depressors, bath towels and cloths.

Canada is planning to send four ships with emergency supplies and disaster specialists next week to help the rescue operation.

10am - FEMA press release

*  12 hospitals (all patients) have been evacuated to other medical facilities.
    * 90% of evacuees at New Orleans Superdome have been bused or airlifted
* people continue to come to the Superdome for evacuation.
    * Starting today, a 12-car Amtrak train will evacuate victims from Lafayette, La. to various destinations.
    * Twelve airlines are providing emergency airlift to more than 25,000 New Orleans residents.
*  Plans are to airlift approximately 10,000 victims each day Saturday and Sunday.
    * More than 30,000 response, rescue, recovery and law enforcement personnel are working around the clock
    * During the past week, the U.S. Coast Guard has saved 9,500 lives
    * Three Carnival cruise ships and one Scotia Prince will house and provide medical services to the elderly, disabled and infirm.
    * As of yesterday, 308 shelters in nine states had a total population of 94,000.
    * 4,000 active troops are on the ground in the disaster area
  * 7,000 additional troops have been deployed as announced by President Bush today.

2pm - US accepts United Nations (UN) offer for aid

Among those "ready to provide emergency staff and a wide variety of relief supplies as and when necessary" are the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

8pm - Mayor Nagin said slow response cost lives
   

Nagin again ripped the painfully slow response of state and federal authorities to the plight of tens of thousands of stranded New Orleanians in the days following Hurricane Katrina, saying their inaction cost lives and caused needless misery.

    "When the president and the governor got here, I said, 'Mr. President, Madame Governor, you two have to get in synch. If you don't, more people are going to die."

    Blanco and Bush met privately at his insistence, Nagin said, after which Bush came out and told Nagin that he had given Blanco two options, and she requested a full day to decide.

    Nagin singled out Gov. Kathleen Blanco for criticism, saying that the governor had asked for 24 hours to think over a decision when time was a luxury that no one, especially refugees, had.

    "It would have been great if we could have walked off Air Force One and told the world we had it all worked out," Nagin said. "It didn't happen, and more people died."

 

???? A proposal to detach the FEMA from Homeland Security is to be introduced this week in Congress. ????(TBD)

 

Committee members Waxman, Oberstar, and Thompson identify ten key questions about the inadequate federal response to Hurricane Katrina and ask the Government Reform, Transportation, and Homeland Security Committees to schedule a series of oversight hearings. All are worth reading, but key among the questions:

6. Why were federal relief supplies so late to arrive? FEMA director Michael Brown testified before Congress in 2003 that FEMA was taking steps to ensure that disaster teams could respond within 12 hours and that disaster relief supplies could be delivered anywhere in the country in 24 hours. Yet stranded residents in New Orleans went four days without deliveries of food or water.