Avoiding Another Katrina

Look at how Florida responds to Hurricanes.....storm hits, state responds then when FEMA finally shows, Tallahassee is like "Hey where ya been?"

SImple difference in personal and government responsibility... In the CA fires, no matter your race or economic status, it appears that people are taking responsibility for helping their neighbors and themeselves. In the hurricane and in LA and in New Orleans in particular, people and government waited for someone else to take resposibility. Its a socio-cultural thing... if you grow up expecting aid and one day it doesn't come, you are devestated. If you grow up knowing you have to make it on your own, you are grateful for whatever good comes your way.

Arnold didn't sit on his hands like Ray Nagin and Gov. Blanco.... he ordered response and THEN ASKED for Federal help not like these two boobs. Thats the way it works if you don't ask for the Fed help your not going to get it. Alot goes into decalring an emergency and if things aren't that bad nobody wants to look like the bad guy who ordered thousands out of an area, just for a couple drops of rain. But when Katrina came the state did NOTHING to prepare or respond and the FED only has resources, not real responses. You can't spend money when there is nobody using them.

Super Dome!!!! The stadium in New Orleans is the Super Dome!!! Just another example of CNN's lack of online editing....... this stuff happens all the time! How can I read you seriously if you can't even get the locations right.

The comparison is not that simple......
Don't forget New Orleans was flooded and
most communications were lost....

The comparison is not that simple.....
Don't forget New Orleans was flooded and most
communications was lost......

Why even do comparisons? Whether in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas or Southern California; whether rich, middle class, poor, white, black, hispanic, asian, young, old, married, single, etc.; whether natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita or uncontrollable wildfires or man-made disaster/cause like poorly built levees in New Orleans --- BOTTOM LINE: ALL WERE AFFECTED AND NEED PRAYERS AND ASSISTANCE FROM ALL SOURCES -- GOVERNMENT, COMMUNITY, VOLUNTEERS, FAITH-BASED .... WHATEVER. Let's all stop whining, complaining and get on with it ...

FYI: I'm a single mother living two blocks off the Gulf of Mexico in South Mississippi. Lost everything in Hurricane Katrina -- 6 feet of saltwater inside my home -- a regular fishbowl! Considered a flood because surge came from the ground up. No flood insurance. Homeowners ins. covered squat! The very next day, August 30, 2005, I started rebuilding and restoring, seeking and finding resources, volunteers from everywhere ... My home is now better than ever and while I have a little more debt (no, not everything was handed to me), I am grateful for what GOD has provided.

I don't really see the comparison between this event and Katrina, especially when it comes to comparing Qualcomm vs. the Superdome. It was 110 degrees in the Superdome with no ac, there was no electricity, there was no plumbing and the people coud not leave. Qualcomm has power, plumbing, ac and the people's cars are right there - they can leave whenever they want. California is doing a great job and kudos to everyone involved, but it is not the same situation to the Superdome.

I don't mean to split hairs, especially during a tragedy like the one in Califorinia, but can you tell your reporter that it's the Superdome, not the Superbowl! The Superbowl is the culimination of the NFL season and not a specific location or stadium. She obviously not a big sports fan, but can somebody fact check her article next time!

I don't eally see the comparision either, especially Qualcomm vs the Superdome. It was 110 degrees in the Superdome, there was no power, there was no plumbing, there was no ac, and the people could not leave. Qualcomm has power and plumbing and everyone's car is right there - they can leave and come back whenever they want. It is still great that California has handled this situation so well, but it is not quite the same as Katrina.

FEMA has changed during Katrina, but more importand is that local and state officials have changed as well. There has been a more proactive response from all parties and a willingness by local and stte officials to request assistance for things like transportation early. You can't request busses to evacuate 400 people and then wonder why they aren't picking people up 30 minutes later. A proactive response is being done in CA and that's why you're not seeing some of the evacuation and sheltering problems seen in Louisiana. . Race and economics don't matter in situations like this- everyone is affected equally and no amount of money will save you from loss and the pain of rebuilding. If in doubt of that, takea look at the fires in the hills of Oakland ,California back in 1992. Even people with money and insurance found it hard to rebuild homes and lives after loosing everything.

THERE IS NO COMPARISON. CALI RICH AND AFFLUENT. NEW ORLEANS VICTIMS POOR AND BLACK. A DOUBLE WHAMMY. TO COMPARE IS GOOD ONLY FOR CONTROVERSY

THERE IS NO COMPARISON. CALI RICH AFFLUENT. BIG EASY POOR AND BLACK A DOUBLE WHAMMY

There is no fair comparison between Katrina and the California fires. Katrina destroyed the infrastructure for many miles along the entire coast. If the fire isn't approaching your house in California, you're still in business. Only today have they begun to close roads. The sheer geographic area of the Katrina disaster dwarfs the fire problem. Many thousands of residents are in hotels...and not in Sacramento

Yes, the Governor was quick to respond. However, a lot of credit goes to the local community of firefighters, government officials, reporters, doctors and nurses, some of whom had lost their own homes, but still worked long hours and heroically to help the community. There has been an amazing outpour of support from the community in response to the disaster. The reverse 911 alert system which was tested for the first time in the nation, along with door to door calls and other news alerts, made it possible to mobilize one of the biggest evacuations in history. In spite of the extensive property damage, there have been minimal loss of life, both to humans and animals. There is an air of optimism and hope all around. It is a sad day for California but a proud day to be a Californian.

The victims in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast were the poor and the black; the victims in California are middle class, upper class, and white. Why wonder about the differences in responses? The governor of California did his duty and did it well, Perhaps the best thing he did was to wake Bush from his nap and show him how an elected leader is supposed to act.

The poor and the Black were the victims in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the victims in Callifornia are middle class , upper clas, and white. Why be shocked at the difference in the responses? The govvernor of California thankfully did see duty well. is best response was waking Bush up from his nap,

SOMEONE NEEDS TO DO A LITTLE EDITING ON THIS - "Perhaps it was the images of elderly patients who'd been abandoned on the baggage carousels at the New Orleans airport. Or the desperate parents cradling dehydrated infants at the Superbowl, or TV reporters shouting on the air at clueless government officials." SUPERBOWL NEEDS TO BE CHANGED TO SUPERDOME.