I know I'm not the only one who is under the impression that the levees broke well after the storm had passed. It seems that this may not actually be true. If you read this web diary of the storm from the New Orleans Times-Picayune it seems pretty clear that the levees had failed before 9am on the Monday, that is just as the eye was passing New Orleans.
So, why the lack of panic? Why did everyone seem so at ease on Monday evening? I watched NBC Nightly News that night and the sense was that New Orleans had "dodged a bullet".
It may be because the city authorities initially thought the levees had been "topped" and not breached. Although, they had confirmed a breach by 2pm on the day of the storm.
I've seen two interviews with Michael Chertoff in which he said (maybe only implied, can't quite recall now) that he only learned about the breaches the following morning. How did this happen? How did so many people in the government (& in the media based in New Orleans) not know what was happening in the city?
The Times-Picayune reported that the two US Senators for Louisiana had issued press releases by 3pm, both of which give the impression that nothing all that serious has happened. Hmmm.
You know, all the executive branches of government were busy on the day of the storm. Reading this account you realize that the federal, state & local governments were all doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. They were trying to manage a very bad situation.
However, here you have a couple members of Congress who have nothing better to do than issue self-serving press releases. I wonder if this fed the media's complacent response on the evening that nothing much happened here. And, the nonchalant media reaction may have had the effect of taking away the urgency that the state and federal authorities needed to focus on New Orleans.
Congress never investigates its own role in a foul-up. Maybe their part in this fiasco is only minor, but I don't see why it should be too much to ask them to shut up until a crisis has passed.
Oh yeah, the Times-Picayune also reported spotting looters at 2pm that day. I hardly think that those people were desperate for food and water at that stage.
