Editorial: Hurricane Hyperbole Gives Way To Facts

Hurricanes, like other disasters, nourish hyperbole, some of which is reported early by almost everyone. As is the case with most disasters, cooler heads prevail as time passes and details become more clear. Exaggerations that came out of the Katrina and Rita devastation have been almost unbelievable at times. Some reports emerging now give cause for close examination as well. It may take years for some elements of truth to surface.

Among the most flagrant has been the televised appearance of U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) calling President George Bush a racist and comparing him with Eugene "Bull" Connors, a known segregationist and Alabama police commissioner, who in 1963 ordered fire hoses and police dogs be turned on African-Americans as they tried to attend meetings in Birmingham. Rangel argued that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not act swiftly to the hurricane disasters because 68 percent of the New Orleans area population is black.

Here are some of the things we are running into. Amid numerous reports that Louisiana and New Orleans officials were dysfunctional (a charge also levied by Michael Brown, recently removed director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency) we are reading that Brown was not up to the task himself. He challenged that charge, telling a special House committee last week that he had presided over 150 disasters during his FEMA tenure.

To do its job correctly we think our government should be an overseer, tweaking programs, passing laws and killing bad ones, whatever it takes to make the lives of our citizens reasonable if not easy. So when Brown complained that the Bush administration had removed millions of dollars in recent years from the FEMA budget, he might not have pleased the administration, but he was emphasizing important information. It has also been said that FEMA has been stripped of qualified leaders.

We have carried reports that the levee system in New Orleans was built to handle a Category 3 hurricane without a storm surge. As Rita directed water back into New Orleans, we were told repeatedly that the water was overtopping the floodwalls and that there were no breeches. Fact or fiction? We now have a report from Louisiana State University researchers that say there is no evidence to show that the water merely overtopped the walls. Further, researchers point out that the storm diminished as it came ashore. There are the repeated criticisms, including ours, that the government has dealt the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a skimpy budget for decades.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Eddie Compass—the latter has resigned—are being criticized for adding "fuel to the fire" for repeatedly emphasizing during the Katrina aftermath that there were beatings and rapes in the Superdome. Compass appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show and said babies were being raped. On the same show, Nagin told about people having been in the dome five days and watching dead bodies. The implication is that the deaths were violent. Investigations clarified that of 10 bodies found, four people had died outside and were taken in; one was a suicide; one was death by natural causes; and one was by a drug overdose, leaving three unexplained so far.

Among the confusion, it was earlier reported that some Gulf areas had dodged the bullet when Rita made landfall. Later it was found that these same areas were devastated. Oil refineries took a blow, but it is anyone’s guess how long it will take to get them back on line. (The hurricanes damaged about 25 percent of the U.S. oil-refining capacity.) One estimate was three to five days. Others have said weeks. But surely prices will rise, and we don’t think that is hyperbole.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the devastation from two hurricanes has demonstrated the need for the administration to expand energy development on public lands, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We heard of one proposal to allow oil drilling anywhere 25 miles off the U.S. coast as long as the wells are out of sight. Guess who is not happy over that.

Collecting from insurance companies will be a scrap. Those who built in floodplains usually are required to have flood insurance in order to secure loans. But many structures flooded that were not in flood plains and were miles from designated floodplains, leaving the question as to whether insurance companies should pay. One report said lawsuits may go on for years.

More accurate details about the devastation from Katrina and Rita will surface for ages. In the meantime, there are some lessons to be learned and some reminders. It is the responsibility of government to watch out for its people. It is the responsibility of the secular press to make sure government watches out for the people. Because we cover news related to flood control and other Corps activities, it is beholden to us also to call the shots as we see them.

More details about the New Orleans levee system will emerge as reports continue to be written. But there is no question that Congress and administrations dating back for decades have failed when it comes to the New Orleans levee system by under-budgeting the Corps. On the other hand, even when money was appropriated, it seems much of it was inappropriately spent for other things. Future reports will probably explain who, specifically, is responsible for that.

Unfortunately, government is always reactive. Instead of working to prevent, it fails to act in time, then hastens to repair. The neglect of the levee system in New Orleans is merely one example. Congress has never funded the Corps sufficiently to keep our river system modernized. Every effort to improve river systems and ports turns into a monumental struggle, much of it due to abused environmental law. No new refineries have been built in the United States since 1976, just a few years after environmental protection laws were enacted.

What new surprises must occur before Congress and the administration wake up to transportation-infrastructure needs of the country? Now we have new needs. Some are reporting that Louisiana is requesting $250 billion to rebuild. One final note: some meteorologists say another strong hurricane is likely to occur next month.

Stay tuned!

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