I didn't actually get on any of the highways, thanks to some preplanning a few months ago, but it was really, really bad getting out of Houston on Wednesday night/Thursday morning.
But apparently better than most places:
Quote:
WASHINGTON - Even factoring in the spectacular traffic jams, Houston was better prepared to respond to a major disaster than most major U.S. cities, experts said Monday.
"Houston has a better plan than many major cities I have looked at," said Paul Light, an expert on emergency response with New York University.
"Chicago doesn't have a plan that I know of. Los Angeles can't figure out how to evacuate, and New York just has too many choke points to get people out," Light said. "Conventional wisdom is that if Washington was forced to evacuate quickly, it would be a mess."
Light said Houston's plan worked about as well as could be expected, despite the glitches that developed. "Some things are going to occur under the 'stuff happens' heading, like failing to have tanker trucks stationed in the right place or reversing traffic flow," he said. "All you can do is learn from it."
James Carafano, a homeland security expert with the conservative Heritage Foundation, shared Light's assessment. "Right now, a lot of cities just improvise these things," he said.
The Homeland Security Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have begun an effort to learn the lessons of Rita and Katrina, officials said Monday.
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I heard on the radio on Monday morning that Bush was suggesting that the Pentagon take over these sorts of things. The thought horrifies me. It seems that the Administration either wants total military control or none at all on the Federal level and working
with local government and businesses isn't as much of an option.
ETA: I kinda agree with this guy:
Quote:
Light was skeptical that the military would be more likely than city officials to handle contingencies.
"In Iraqi Freedom, their logistics plan was very good, their plan of attack was good, but they ran out of tank treads," Light said. "Some of these contingencies can't be foreseen. But with the military, they have a supply system that would have required somebody to order the stuff three years ago."
Cities need more flexibility during disasters than federal control would allow, Light argued.
The best model for cities to emulate, he said, is the Rolling Stones' traveling tour.
"They move two 747s and five truckloads of gear every day with the flexibility to change venues and add concerts," Light said. "That is what is needed, the ability to hit the ground running and react to events."
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Seems that Wal-Mart's plan worked beautifully during Katrina, when it wasn't interfered with by FEMA. There are a lot of experts on logistics out there that don't specialize in warfare. It seems to me that we should look to them first and let the Pentagon worry about defending the country from enemies.
