FEMA's Hurricane Pam Exercise 2004: Perfect preparation!

[John Doe II]

ruperupe opened a thread on the New Orleans Files:
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/09/324381.shtml
here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4700110

I found the article interesting.
I was especially struck by the following and therefore permit myself to open a special thread:

Hurricane Pam brought sustained winds of 120 mph, up to 20 inches of rain in parts of southeast Louisiana and storm surge that topped levees in the New Orleans area. More than one million residents evacuated and Hurricane Pam destroyed 500,000-600,000 buildings. Emergency officials from 50 parish, state, federal and volunteer organizations faced this scenario during a five-day exercise held this week at the State Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge.

The exercise used realistic weather and damage information developed by the National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the LSU Hurricane Center and other state and federal agencies to help officials develop joint response plans for a catastrophic hurricane in Louisiana.

"We made great progress this week in our preparedness efforts," said Ron Castleman, FEMA Regional Director. "Disaster response teams developed action plans in critical areas such as search and rescue, medical care, sheltering, temporary housing, school restoration and debris management. These plans are essential for quick response to a hurricane but will also help in other emergencies."

"Hurricane planning in Louisiana will continue," said Colonel Michael L. Brown, Deputy Director for Emergency Preparedness, Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. "Over the next 60 days, we will polish the action plans developed during the Hurricane Pam exercise. We have also determined where to focus our efforts in the future."
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051

Ok. As a 911 and London bombing researcher excercises that plan for an scenario that will almsot precisely happen in the future of course makes me go Hmm.
But let's put this aside and consider this simply as good preparation.
But that exactly is the problem:
Good preparation!
Why didn't it work then?
Not at all?
On the contrary.

See also:
Virtually everything that has happened in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina struck was predicted by experts and in computer models, so emergency management specialists wonder why authorities were so unprepared.

"The scenario of a major hurricane hitting New Orleans was well anticipated, predicted and drilled around," said Clare Rubin, an emergency management consultant who also teaches at the Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management at George Washington University.

Computer models developed at Louisiana State University and other institutions made detailed projections of what would happen if water flowed over the levees protecting the city or if they failed.

In July 2004, more than 40 federal, state, local and volunteer organizations practiced this very scenario in a five-day simulation code-named "Hurricane Pam", where they had to deal with an imaginary storm that destroyed over half a million buildings in New Orleans and forced the evacuation of a million residents.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N02521178.htm

[Old and In the Way]

1. Depends how you define the word "success"

One man's success is another man's failure. All I know is Halliburton hit another Trifecta.

[John Doe II]

2. That's so

true.

[passy]

3. Why did they do the opposite of what they had trained to do?

[John Doe II]

4. and even worse

they were not only incompetent although they had a preparation that couldn't have been better. They even refused help entering NOLA. Even worse international aid is refused over and over again.

[John Doe II]

5. needs a

:kick:

[Old and In the Way]

6. Sure does.....

We ought to get very suspicious about any "training" exercises this government undertakes. Seems the more they train, the less prepared they are to deal with the situation.

[John Doe II]

7. And I'd love to see

their fnal emergency plan. Would be too interesting to compare it with what actually happened.

[John Doe II]

8. And

:kick: