NEWS: FEMA Official Tells Senate Panel He Was Horrified After Katrina, page 1

posted on Oct, 20 2005 @ 04:39 PM

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Marty Bahamonde, a FEMA public affairs officer told a senate panel that he was horrified at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response and lack of action following Hurricane Katrina which devasted New Orleans in August. He stated that he was haunted by the images of suffering and could not get images of children and babies watching him, helpless and hoping that he could make a difference. Mr Bahamonde was horrified at the response from the top down within FEMA when he tried to inform officials of the situation in New Orleans and tried to get supplies into the city. Further accusations made by Mr Bahamonde include being told by an aide of former FEMA head Michael Brown, that Mr Brown was busy at the time eating a meal in a restaurant in Baton Rouge.

www.news.com.au

Marty Bahamonde
He said he was the only FEMA official sent to the city ahead of Katrina and called the Superdome the "shelter of last resort that cascaded into the a cesspool of human waste and filth".

He was haunted by the suffering and horrified at FEMA's lack of action at the top when he tried to obtain supplies and inform senior FEMA officials of the seriousness of the situation in New Orleans as the city flooded.

"The leadership from top down in our agency is unprepared and out of touch," he said.

Michael Brown, initially praised by President George W. Bush, quit as FEMA director under a hail of criticism over his agency's slow response to the hurricane.

Mr Brown at a House of Representatives committee hearing last month blamed local officials and said his biggest mistake was not recognising soon enough that Louisiana officials were "dysfunctional".

"I just ate an MRE (meal ready to eat) and crapped in the hallway of the Superdome along with 30,000 other close friends so I understand her concern about busy restaurants," Mr Bahamonde emailed a colleague from the Superdome.

Photo By Marty Bahamonde - FEMA

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

This man was the only offical sent to New Orleans ahead of the hurricane. One FEMA official for a city of millions.

I really hope some lessons are learned quickly by FEMA and other Government departments on how to handle federal emergencies because in this day and age of global changes, no one knows when another "Katrina" is going to hit or where.

Michael Browns Answers Congress

[edit on 20-10-2005 by Mayet]

grimreaper797

posted on Oct, 20 2005 @ 04:51 PM

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only comment i can really make right now is that this makes me sick

Astronomer68

posted on Oct, 21 2005 @ 06:59 AM

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Mayet, my understanding was that New Orleans had a population of about 500,000. Thats still bad, but a lot better than "millions." Also, isn't it a bit unusual to send a public affairs officer all by himself into a hurricane site? I would sure like to see what orders he had to go there by himself. This story simply doesn't ring true to me, but if it is, then FEMA is even more screwed up than I imagined.

[edit on 21-10-2005 by Astronomer68]