Jim Henley discovers that FEMA “wargamed” a hurricane strike in southern Louisiana this past July. Among the findings was that a hurricane would “leave 300,000 people trapped in New Orleans, many of whom would not have private transportation for evacuation.” By now it’s been discussed ad nauseum why many people couldn’t just up and leave the city when the evacuation order came round: not everyone has private transportation, it was the end of the month and many poor people were out of savings, where would they go in any case, what if the hurricane changed course and they were docked for missing work, etc., etc. Nevertheless, Michael Brown, the head of FEMA, still insists on blaming those who “chose not to evacuate” New Orleans. Despite the fact that his own agency knew full well this would happen. Unbelievable. Meanwhile, former Sen. John Edwards looks at the possible bright side and thinks that, at the very least, the New Orleans disaster may actually get people to notice the reach and effects of poverty in the region.
