Quote:
Originally posted by AUSTIN316426808
True, but the heat he's getting from the shitty response is his fault.
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Actually...The chain of command for major disasters goes like this:
Mayor: It's the mayor's responsibility to assess the situation and act first, utilizing the police force, and other city agencies...Usually taking on the responsibilty of taking preventative measures...Levies should have been reinforced, cities evacuated (mandatorially), power stations shut down to avoid fires, electrocution, and more potential damage, etcetera...No preventative measures were taken in this case....SO, then it would be the mayor's responsibility to act AFTER the fact, helping to evacuate people, securing the city, etcetera...
When the task is too much for the mayor to handle, which understandably it CLEARLY was...The mayor then has to turn over the job to the...
Governor: The governor, once contacted by the mayor, would then have the SAME responsibilities as the mayor (before or after the disaster, depending on when he/she was contacted by the mayor)...But, he would have much more power and assistance (state agencies) at his disposal to do a more effective job...The governor failed to act appropriately, or he was simply contacted too late to be of much use...
If the governor cannot properly handle the situation...He then has to request help from the...
President/Government: The president is unable (by restriction of law, and the 'chain of command') to respond to a situation unless and until assistance is requested from the governor...His hands are tied, until a formal request is made...In this case, that request took way too long, and seriously delayed action...
Once the President/Government's assistance IS finally requested, the president has EVERY agency at his disposable...Including the military and FEMA, among others....In this case, FEMA was overwhelmed with the responsibility of handling the task, their 'assistance' was woefully inadequate...And again, much too little, much too late
The ONLY thing that the President CAN do without a request, is declare an area as a 'natural disaster' which is necessary to achieve funding for, and acquire assistance (including the military, FEMA, etcetera) for the area....In THIS case...Bush declared the area as a natural disaster BEFORE the hurricane even hit, so that when the time came, everything would be ready to send out forces, and try to do as much as possible as soon as possible...But, he still had to wait for that request from the governor before he could act...That HAD to be frustrating...Government red tape had SO much to do with the slow, ineffective response...
I'm not sharing any opinions here (except that it had to be frustrating, and it was all too little, too late)...I'm not bashing OR defending anyone....I'm only trying to inform everyone of the 'chain of command'