Here's what the Bush administration and FEMA were doing to prepare for and in reponse to hurrican Ivan (during an election year)...



"And hurricane Ivan hit the gulf coast on Sunday, September 16, 2004 . This is from a September 16, 2004 Department of Homeland Security press release:

    . . .

    The following activities are taking place to prepare for Hurricane Ivan:


    Homeland Security officials are fully coordinating preparations and are in constant communication with our federal partners, governors, and other state and local officials in possible affected states.

    Currently, more than 5,000 FEMA personnel are in Florida and additional emergency response personnel have been deployed from the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Defense. FEMA�s Hurricane Liaison Team remains activated at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, to assist with advisories, information coordination and emergency evacuation activities. FEMA personnel continue to work with the victims of Hurricanes Charley and Frances while others have been repositioned to respond to state requests for assistance as a result of Hurricane Ivan.

    FEMA is positioned to send emergency management personnel, supplies and equipment to those areas impacted most to ensure a rapid and effective response as soon as Hurricane Ivan passes. Critical commodities such as ice, water, meals and tarps are staged and ready for immediate delivery to residents in affected areas. The Army Corps of Engineers is standing by with 100 refrigerator trucks of ice and 500 trucks of water to meet immediate needs as part of the Hurricane Ivan response.

    Two Urban Search and Rescue Teams are deployed in Florida with four additional teams en route to Alabama and Mississippi for immediate deployment if needed. Mobile Emergency Response Service communication units are also available to provide telephone, radio and video links in support of response and recovery efforts.

    Four Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) and Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams have been activated or deployed to sites in Florida, Georgia and Mississippi to support medical facilities and hospitals that are not fully operational following Hurricane Ivan. An additional seven teams have been placed on alert, assembling teams and loading equipment in case they are needed. The DMATs include doctors, nurses and medical technicians trained to handle trauma, pediatrics, surgery and mental health concerns. DMATs also bring truckloads of medical equipment and supplies with them.

    Preparations are being made for Disaster Field Offices and Disaster Recovery Centers to be established in the hardest hit areas within 72 hours after a federal declaration. This will allow impacted residents to receive disaster assistance as soon as possible.

    The U.S. Coast Guard has pre-positioned helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to support response activities, closed all ports from New Orleans to the Florida panhandle and has established a temporary safety zone extending the entire width of the lower Mississippi River from mile marker 88 to 106 to help protect people and vessels from the potential safety hazards associated with Hurricane Ivan. The U.S. Coast Guard is also broadcasting hurricane advisories and warnings to mariners along the hurricane�s projected path and coordinating area harbor safety committees to prepare ports and minimize potential damage. Following the storm, the Coast Guard will assist with post-hurricane response and recovery operations to aid navigation assessment and repair, marine pollution response, search and rescue operations, and support to other agencies and humanitarian aid.

    Aircraft from Homeland Security�s Immigration and Customs Enforcement will help transport FEMA officials to and from sites and will fly over the storm's path following landfall to collect high-resolution images for damage assessment. The remotely sensed data will allow FEMA to better target areas needing immediate disaster damage assessment.

    The Department's Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection unit is assessing the vulnerabilities and potential impact to critical infrastructure located in the storm's projected path. Based upon these assessments, Homeland Security will be prepared to work with private sector partners and state and local government officials during the recovery phase.

    Homeland Security is working with the American Red Cross and other volunteer agencies to ensure sheltering and critical needs are met immediately.

    Citizen Corps Councils and national Citizen Corps affiliate organizations mobilized more than 2,000 volunteers and representatives from 45 states to provide disaster support in Florida communities affected by Hurricanes Charley and Frances. In addition, Citizen Corps Councils and volunteer members already established within Florida are supporting state coordinated disaster relief efforts and preparing for response to Hurricane Ivan. Citizen Corps will also be recruiting an additional 500 people nationwide to support disaster recovery efforts following Hurricane Ivan.

    FEMA is working to provide multiple trailers full of generators at the request of Gulf Coast and inland states that will be used to provide power to critical facilities affected by the hurricane.

    All the National Processing Service Centers (NPSCs) are fully staffed and ready to register and process disaster assistance applications immediately, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."



The Bush administration even had FEMA hire a political consultant during last year's hurricane season...


    "But politics was foremost on the mind of FEMA consultant Glenn Garcelon, who wrote a three-page memo titled 'Hurricane Frances -- Thoughts and Suggestions,' on Sept. 2.

    The Republican National Convention was winding down, and President Bush had only a slight lead in the polls against Democrat John Kerry. Winning Florida was key to the president's re-election. FEMA should pay careful attention to how it is portrayed by the public, Garcelon wrote in the memo, conveying "the team effort theme at every opportunity" alongside state and local officials, the insurance and construction industries, and relief agencies such as the Red Cross.

    'What FEMA cannot afford to do is back itself into a corner by feeling it has to be the sole explainer and defender for everything that goes wrong," he wrote. "Further, this is not what the President would want. Plenty is going to go wrong, and his Department of Homeland Security does not want to assume responsibility for all of it.'

    Garcelon, a former FEMA employee, recommended that 'top-level people from FEMA and the White House need to develop a communication strategy and an agreed-upon set of themes and communications objectives.'

    'Communication consultants from the President's re-election campaign should be brought in," he wrote. "Above all, everybody's got to understand that no amount of flogging DHS/ FEMA will insure that the recovery will go perfectly. This is going to be a huge mess. The public needs to be prepared for it.' "



And this is what FEMA had to say for itself just prior to Katrina...

"In contrast, before Katrina hit, Bush declared parts of the gulf coast a federal disaster area to streamline claims for financial assistance from the government after the hurricane passed. I have been unable to find any information on the White House, DHS, or FEMA web sites concerning any other actions taken in advance of Katrina except for a press release stating that:

    'FEMA will mobilize equipment and resources necessary to protect public health and safety by assisting law enforcement with evacuations, establishing shelters, supporting emergency medical needs, meeting immediate lifesaving and life-sustaining human needs and protecting property, in addition to other emergency protective measures.'"


In this particular emergency, what FEMA will be most remembered for is how it turned away badly needed assistance and supplies (including water) while people were dying because of a lack of the basic necessities of life, including water, food, and medicines. If it couldn't see its way clear to providing these essentials itself, the very least it could have done was to not interfere with other people who were trying to provide these things. It didn't even do that.