Waiting for Fitzgerald

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
Wal-Mart, at the beginning of hurricane season, started stockpiling water all over the Gulf Coast in containers at their distribution centers. All they needed was the truck to back up to the containers and they were ready to deliver water to hurricane affected areas. Their communications system never went down, so they could figure out where water was needed most, and they could direct the trucks to the right places. They were on the road by the Thursday after Katrina, and the only problems that they had were when FEMA wouldn't let them through at some points. Additionally, their distribution network is sophisticated enough that they were able to get several thousand cots from Canada in a matter of days.

Very impressive (I read the Fortune article Gatti linked to also). Logistics fascinate me.

[Sparklehorse]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
Very impressive (I read the Fortune article Gatti linked to also). Logistics fascinate me.

The Newshour on PBS did an interesting piece on cities' evacuation plans last night:

Link

[Spanky]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
You may have heard me say this, but it's not what I said. This routine of yours is getting tiresome.

When we said Roosevelt lied, and Penkse even cited that speech, you demanded more cites. In other words questioning the validity of our assertions. In addition, you argued against the fact that lend lease was a sweet heart deal for the british and also questioned whether my other assertions like the destroyer escorts really happened and whether such acts were really a provocation. Such arguments, demands for cites and assertions would only be made by someone who wanted to dispute the fact that FDR misled the American people.

Am I wrong?

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
Very impressive (I read the Fortune article Gatti linked to also). Logistics fascinate me.

My favorite blurb from the article:

• There was little guesswork involved. Wal-Mart has studied customer buying patterns in hurricane-prone areas. Some of the company's findings are obvious: When a storm is on the way, customers stock up on bottled water, flashlights, generators, and tarps. Afterward, they buy chain saws and mops. But there have been surprises too. Customers also load up on Strawberry Pop-Tarts. Why is that? "They are preserved until you open them, the whole family can eat them, and they taste good," says Dan Phillips, Wal-Mart's vice president, information systems division.

[Spanky]

Originally posted by Gattigap
My favorite blurb from the article:

• There was little guesswork involved. Wal-Mart has studied customer buying patterns in hurricane-prone areas. Some of the company's findings are obvious: When a storm is on the way, customers stock up on bottled water, flashlights, generators, and tarps. Afterward, they buy chain saws and mops. But there have been surprises too. Customers also load up on Strawberry Pop-Tarts. Why is that? "They are preserved until you open them, the whole family can eat them, and they taste good," says Dan Phillips, Wal-Mart's vice president, information systems division.

Maybe we should contract out FEMAs responsiblities to WalMart? After we get the school voucher program into full gear.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by Sexual Harassment Panda
I've been wondering about this. I could imagine you could contract to a consulting firm for an evacuation plan, and I even imagine it happens, but when the shit hits the fan, in the specific case of running an evacuation, how is business going to outperform the government? Are you going to pay more attention to a WalMart greeter waving a flashlight than a state trooper?

Dunno, but it's clear that Wal-Mart had more of its shit put together than anyone on the government level getting ready for Katrina.

Obviously there's a lot of self-interest there, and that may very well be why they're so good at it. They know what stuff people need, and they know how to react quickly to get people what they need if for some reason there's a run on the store. It's what they do, disaster or no disaster, and they're very, very good at it. That it was their customer base that was the most impacted by the storm probably went a long way towards their decision to give over 20 million in help.

The thing is, getting stuff from point A to point B quickly is only one part of disaster recovery. It's an important part, but certainly the medical personnel (and don't get me started on the physician that FEMA kicked out of the New Orleans airport while he was trying to recussitate someone because he wasn't on the approved list of credentialed physicians), search and rescue, housing, etc. need to be coordinated and considered, and I'm not sure that a private company or foundation can/should accomplish that.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
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.

Rush hour in any major city should tell you all you need to know about the possible sucess of any "evacuation plan." And Houston had days over which to do it. Contrast a terrorist stike. "There's been a dirty bomb. Everyone leave NOW!" We can't evacuate a city. Besides what happened in NYC when there was a strike? All traffic was shut down in and out of the city.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Rush hour in any major city should tell you all you need to know about the possible sucess of any "evacuation plan." And Houston had days over which to do it. Contrast a terrorist stike. "There's been a dirty bomb. Everyone leave NOW!" We can't evacuate a city. Besides what happened in NYC when there was a strike? All traffic was shut down in and out of the city.

So your saying governments should just say "fuck it"?

Houston got something like 2.5 million people out of the city in about 36 hours. Sure, it doesn't mean shit if a nuclear bomb explodes, but that could significantly reduce casualties in the event of a dirty bomb (where length of exposure matters in addition to intensity).

And anyway, hurricanes are much more likely than terrorist exploding dirty bombs, especially now that Bush invaded Iraq and got rid of terrorism.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Rush hour in any major city should tell you all you need to know about the possible sucess of any "evacuation plan." And Houston had days over which to do it. Contrast a terrorist stike. "There's been a dirty bomb. Everyone leave NOW!" We can't evacuate a city. Besides what happened in NYC when there was a strike? All traffic was shut down in and out of the city.

Alien invasion - we're all toast.

[Spanky]

Originally posted by baltassoc
So your saying governments should just say "fuck it"?

Houston got something like 2.5 million people out of the city in about 36 hours. Sure, it doesn't mean shit if a nuclear bomb explodes, but that could significantly reduce casualties in the event of a dirty bomb (where length of exposure matters in addition to intensity).

And anyway, hurricanes are much more likely than terrorist exploding dirty bombs, especially now that Bush invaded Iraq and got rid of terrorism.

Captain Stubing was pretty cool but you still have the best Avatar. I miss the big enchilada.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Sexual Harassment Panda
Are you going to pay more attention to a WalMart greeter waving a flashlight than a state trooper?

Outsourcing doesn't have to be all or nothing.

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Outsourcing doesn't have to be all or nothing.

Of course not. If my post led you to the conclusion that I thought that was the case, I apologize for my lack of clarity. I just think it's interesting WalMart did such a great job getting stuff into the affected area, but I can't think of a way they or anyone else could have done the same getting people out.

Wait, I just did - where the hell were the PLANES?

[Captain]

Originally posted by Sexual Harassment Panda
I've been wondering about this. I could imagine you could contract to a consulting firm for an evacuation plan, and I even imagine it happens, but when the shit hits the fan, in the specific case of running an evacuation, how is business going to outperform the government? Are you going to pay more attention to a WalMart greeter waving a flashlight than a state trooper?

Isn't there a difference between getting water delivered and traffic control?

While the military is pretty good at logistics, too, and I'd say has more experience with logistics in situations where the infrastructure is essentially taken out first, the military is also accustomed to a lot of lead time.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by baltassoc
So your saying governments should just say "fuck it"?

Houston got something like 2.5 million people out of the city in about 36 hours. Sure, it doesn't mean shit if a nuclear bomb explodes, but that could significantly reduce casualties in the event of a dirty bomb (where length of exposure matters in addition to intensity).

And anyway, hurricanes are much more likely than terrorist exploding dirty bombs, especially now that Bush invaded Iraq and got rid of terrorism.

You weren't watching. Houston could have done better. It took Houston a day to relaize it should let people drive out on both sides of the freeway. You are old enough to have gone to games at the old Oreiles (sp?) stadium aren't you? They had all lanes gone in before the game and all lanes going out after. I could have told Houston to do that from the start.

But the point is, a city's ability to get empty quickly is tied to population density and arteries. We aren't changing either.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Spanky
you still have the best Avatar.

Do you have any idea what this does to your credibility generally?