Thoughts on Rita vs. Katrina

In his press conference yesterday, President Bush was asked about the differences between how the government responded to Katrina and how it is now responding to Hurricane Rita. (Note: you will see this theme very quickly cropping up in the mainstream media. Witness a front-page headline in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "This time, U.S. is quicker to act". But more about that later).

His response? He told the reporter that one of the major differences was that, this time, the order to evacuate was given and people were taking it seriously.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Although I consider myself fairly risk averse, I tend to ignore warnings. The last time there was a tornado warning and we were advised to seek shelter, my husband and I ignored it.

However, we called my son, who was babysitting at the time and advised him to take the kids downstairs for safety. We did nothing. In fact, had our son been home along with us, we probably still would have done nothing.

We were spurred to action by the sense of responsibility for someone ELSE's children.

I think, like me, most people can’t imagine that the worst could possibly happen to them. We’ve all been warned about so many things that we are becoming fear-immune. Constantly alerted to a new ‘crisis’ every minute by the media (cable news is one of the worst offenders)— catastrophes caused by global warming, brain cancer caused by our cell phones, death by terrorist attack—we start tuning them out.

The problem is that these catastrophes rarely happen, and when they do, they affect a relatively small number of people. Truth be told, we all are much more likely to die of natural causes than to be killed in a disaster, man-made or otherwise.

Unfortunately, in the case of Katrina, the ineptness of Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco sent the wrong message to their citizens--especially those most in need of guidance--the poor and the elderly. They reinforced the jaded skepticism of New Orleans residents who have survived multiple storm warnings in the past and thought they could ride this one out.

Regardless of the facts, the media will pat themselves on the back for 'exposing' the failures of the federal government and make it appear as though they (the media) are responsible for the change in behavior from the feds. From the AP this morning...

Stung by the relentless criticism of their faltering response to Hurricane Katrina, federal officials raced Wednesday to prepare for the devastation that Hurricane Rita could inflict on the Texas coast.

While the federal government is being somewhat more pro-active in preparing for Rita, it is ridiculous to suggest that in a matter of a few weeks that it has completely re-engineered its approach to disasters. Especially while everyone is still up to their eyeballs in the aftermath of Katrina..

The AP story never mentions one other important difference. The Mayor of Galveston and the Governor of Texas are not sending out mixed, ambiguous messages to their citizens. They are not ignoring their own disaster plans. They are not directing people to a facility that they know they cannot secure. They are clearly telling people to evacuate and making arrangements for people who need help.

While it may have nothing to do with it whatsoever, it is interesting to note one other difference. The Mayor of New Orleans and Governor of Louisiana are Democrats. The local Texan authorities happen to be Republicans.

I don't know about you, but I know which way I would vote in the next local elections if I lived in the Hurricane zone.

Don't hold your breath waiting to see THAT analysis in the mainstream media.