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2005-09-03 Home Front: Politix

New Orleans Mayor DID NOT Deploy Available Buses to help Evacuation

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Posted by RG 2005-09-03 02:05|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

Nice to see the Mayor managed to save the School Busses from all the wear and tear of evacuating people.... can't have that!

Posted by CrazyFool 2005-09-03 08:56|| 2005-09-03 08:56|| Front Page Top

#2 Those busses still look usable. The water level is nowhere near the air intakes. Most of them still have the tops of their tire exposed.

Posted by ed 2005-09-03 16:46|| 2005-09-03 16:46|| Front Page Top

#3 Look closely. You'll notice the oil slicks on the water. Those engines are scrap metal. As are all the drivetrain and anything else submerges.

Mayor Nagin out to resign in disgrace. His own EMeergency Plan - publiched on the web by the State of La, years ago specifically called for the use of metro buses and school buses for transportation of evacuees.

Take in all the 350+ city buses, and the 350+ school buses in various depots (this one in the picture had over 100), so 600 buses at a minimum. Count 60 capacity - its people outbound or 150 lbs of cargo instead of a person inbound. Thats per bus. That works out (for the entire fleet) to 36,000 people evacuated per trip outboundHauling peopel out, supplies in. Block off one whole side of the highway (the side normally inbound to NO) specifically for the buses - one lane goes in the other out. Nobody but state police, EMS, Guard/military and the buses are allowed on that side. Outbound interstate stays in that direction for civilian traffic. (evac in Florida does that so ALL traffic is going in the one direciton it should). Make the location 7 hour radius from NO (Houston is 7 hours at 50 MPH) and allow 1 hour for unload/load. Buses can make 1 round trip Plus a final evac trip in a 24 hour period.

They could have evacuated 70,000 of the poorest people out, and brought in 2,700 TONS of food water shelter and clothing, as well as additional police and rescue from outlying areas to help the NO-PD and EMS. And the vehicles would have weathered the storm well out of the destruction path, and been available for use in the aftermath.

Here's the math:

60 people per bus, rated at 150 lbs per person load = cargo weight of 9000 lbs = 4.5 tons per bus. Assuming that approx 1/6 of the buses are out of service at all times for both fleets of 350+.

Thats being very conservative with the numbers. It could have in actuality been much more.

Here is the theoretical max:

There are more than 350 City buses and more than 350 School buses in the metro area. Allowing for a 5% down rate, thats still 700 buses.

School buses seat an average of 66, not 60, Metro buses 77 or more. And overall weight allowance on average is probably over 200 pound per passenger in the vehicle design limit.

That math give 700 buses, 66 pass/200lbs per bus.

Thats OVER 46,000 passengers per evac trip, 4,600 TONS of foods/water/suppiles per inbound. Meaning in 24 hours (trip out, trip in, trip out) over 90,000 could have been evacuated, and 4600 tons of supplies delivered for a total of 9,000 tons of supplies if you look at the first post-retun trip for the buses after the storm.

They screwed up BIG time - the Mayor and his Emergency manager should resign, and should face criminal charges of negligence and incompetence.

US Attny General, take a look at this. The math is there above, and the specifical legal reference for the buses is in the Louisiana Regional hurricane government guide, a document produced by the State and local governments of the region, to which the City of NO is a signatory.

The Mayor and Gov KNEW the storm was coming, they KNEW the levees were nto rated to suvive more than a Cat3, and the had a plan and authorization to take action. And they did NOTHING, and their citizens, the poorest of them, have DIED iun large numbers.

Arrest them now.

Posted by Oldspook 2005-09-03 17:44|| 2005-09-03 17:44|| Front Page Top

#4 OS, even given less than 100% efficiency or ridership out, you're on the mone. Explains why NAgin is getting out of control on interviews. Powerline notes that teh evacuation was urged on Blanco and Nagin by.......Bush....who'da thunk it? Evil Chimpy Bushitler tried to help the "coloreds" survive.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.

spread the truth

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2005-09-03 17:54|| 2005-09-03 17:54|| Front Page Top

#5 on the money, sorry...

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2005-09-03 18:32|| 2005-09-03 18:32|| Front Page Top

#6 It gets worse. Just heard on the radio here in Baton Rouge (now should be called West New Orleans) that a guy here organized a convoy of 25 buses and drivers, led them all the way to the New Orleans Convention Center to pick up refugees and haul them to Baton Rouge. When he arrived he was turned away by the authorities on the ground, with no reason given, and ordered to leave. He left. Empty. Has since been in contact with Gov. Blanco and supposedly will return tomorrow with an armed State Police escort and be allowed to evacuate people.
I am sure there is some kind of excuse, but it cannot be adequate for leaving 1000-1500 people to wallow and die in that filth another 24 hours.
All that said, I will defend Mayor Nagin - he is by far the best politician this city has seen in my 25 years here (there). Not perfect, but not bad in comparison with those before and around him.

Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore 2005-09-03 19:08|| 2005-09-03 19:08|| Front Page Top

#7 OldSpook - many thanks for that, I was going to do some maths with the numbers of school buses that I'd seen in photos, but you've gone way further than I would have.

It's obvious from that analysis, that a huge proportion of the population *could* have been shifted out in time, and that many more supplies could have been brought in for those still left behind.

Someone in authority really ought to swing for this.

Posted by Tony (UK) 2005-09-03 19:11|| 2005-09-03 19:11|| Front Page Top

#8 Glenmore, to many that sounds like an acknowledgement of how bad NO politicians are as a class. That seems sort of in the class with Saying Kimmie is the best leader North Korea has ever had.

Posted by Mrs. Davis 2005-09-03 21:14|| 2005-09-03 21:14|| Front Page Top

#9 Glenmore, Mayor Nagin should be sitting before a Federal Grand Jury Tuesday AM. I don't care if he is better than those before, just shows how bad they were too. This is a human and national disaster that didn't need to happen. His acts caused people to die that didn't need to. There are Parishes harder hit than New Orleans and Orleans parish. We are seeing nothing or hearing nothing about that, just me, me, me from that waste of human skin Nagin.

Posted by Sock Puppet OÂ´ Doom 2005-09-03 21:26|| 2005-09-03 21:26|| Front Page Top

#10 You'll notice the oil slicks on the water. Those engines are scrap metal.

Since the engines do sit a bit higher than normal vehicles, I'd have to guess that the visible oil slick is the gear oil in the differentials. Typically there are breather holes on the tops of the differentials, and they don't have valves to prevent entry of water in the event that the axles are fully submerged for any length of time.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2005-09-03 23:36|| 2005-09-03 23:36|| Front Page Top

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