Nbadan
09-12-2005, 01:47 AM
HOUSTON -- Louisiana had a "well thought-out exit plan," in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina and many more lives would have been lost without it, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Sunday.
"There was not a single individual taking a slow step in our state," Blanco said at the Reliant Center, where more than 2,000 evacuees are still living after fleeing the devastation in New Orleans.
"I personally, and everybody I knew, begged people to leave before the storm came in. We had a very systematic, well thought-out exit plan. Hundreds of thousands left," she said. "We simply didn't have the infrastructure."
Government officials on the city, state and federal levels have been criticized for delays in evacuations and delivery of supplies, communications problems and law enforcement problems that led to looting and violence. Blanco, a Democrat, refused to blame President Bush, who is a Republican.
"He committed help to me," she said. "Help in those critical moments was slow in coming, not through any fault of the president."
In a tense 14-minute answer to a question asking her to elaborate on her comments about Louisiana's storm plans, Blanco insisted state officials had an evacuation and rescue effort that prevented thousands more deaths.
"Were there lessons learned? You bet," she said. "We did a massive evacuation and if we hadn't we would have had thousands of deaths. Right now the numbers are minimal when you consider the amount of damage."
Blanco came to the Reliant Center to meet with evacuees and say thank you to the state of Texas for its hospitality toward those who fled the storm.
"So many states reached out to us," Blanco said. "But no state took as large a number, as heavy a burden as this state."
Blanco got a warm welcome from many of the storm victims she visited Sunday with several giving her hugs and asking for autographs. She spent a lot of time talking to children.
She also pledged that destroyed areas will be rebuilt, but cautioned that it could take a long time before some residents can return to the areas where they lived. Texas officials estimate that some 240,000 Louisiana residents fled to Texas.
Blanco warned that moving home too early could be dangerous.
"We don't have an easy answer," she said. "This is day by day."
She said political forces are trying to find someone to blame for the death and destruction.
"Everybody becomes a scapegoat. The president becomes a scapegoat, the governor becomes a scapegoat. The mayor becomes a scapegoat," she said. "We each take our turns."
KATC (http://www.katc.com/global/story.asp?s=3834945&ClientType=Printable)
While it may be politically expedient to do so, attempting to provide cover for the WH could come back and haunt Governor Blanco later. Mayor Nagin has had choice words to describe the States slow reaction to the Hurricane, clearly his dislike for Blanco is showing, but then again, he never liked Blanco anyway endorsing a opponent in the last election. MY guess is that everyone in LA wants her to "GET THE JOB DONE' no matter what she has to say to get the money out of the Feds.
"There was not a single individual taking a slow step in our state," Blanco said at the Reliant Center, where more than 2,000 evacuees are still living after fleeing the devastation in New Orleans.
"I personally, and everybody I knew, begged people to leave before the storm came in. We had a very systematic, well thought-out exit plan. Hundreds of thousands left," she said. "We simply didn't have the infrastructure."
Government officials on the city, state and federal levels have been criticized for delays in evacuations and delivery of supplies, communications problems and law enforcement problems that led to looting and violence. Blanco, a Democrat, refused to blame President Bush, who is a Republican.
"He committed help to me," she said. "Help in those critical moments was slow in coming, not through any fault of the president."
In a tense 14-minute answer to a question asking her to elaborate on her comments about Louisiana's storm plans, Blanco insisted state officials had an evacuation and rescue effort that prevented thousands more deaths.
"Were there lessons learned? You bet," she said. "We did a massive evacuation and if we hadn't we would have had thousands of deaths. Right now the numbers are minimal when you consider the amount of damage."
Blanco came to the Reliant Center to meet with evacuees and say thank you to the state of Texas for its hospitality toward those who fled the storm.
"So many states reached out to us," Blanco said. "But no state took as large a number, as heavy a burden as this state."
Blanco got a warm welcome from many of the storm victims she visited Sunday with several giving her hugs and asking for autographs. She spent a lot of time talking to children.
She also pledged that destroyed areas will be rebuilt, but cautioned that it could take a long time before some residents can return to the areas where they lived. Texas officials estimate that some 240,000 Louisiana residents fled to Texas.
Blanco warned that moving home too early could be dangerous.
"We don't have an easy answer," she said. "This is day by day."
She said political forces are trying to find someone to blame for the death and destruction.
"Everybody becomes a scapegoat. The president becomes a scapegoat, the governor becomes a scapegoat. The mayor becomes a scapegoat," she said. "We each take our turns."
KATC (http://www.katc.com/global/story.asp?s=3834945&ClientType=Printable)
While it may be politically expedient to do so, attempting to provide cover for the WH could come back and haunt Governor Blanco later. Mayor Nagin has had choice words to describe the States slow reaction to the Hurricane, clearly his dislike for Blanco is showing, but then again, he never liked Blanco anyway endorsing a opponent in the last election. MY guess is that everyone in LA wants her to "GET THE JOB DONE' no matter what she has to say to get the money out of the Feds.