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| Living after Katrina - Rebuilding the Gulf South: Forums |
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Living After Katrina Forum Index -> Katrina Aftermath Information
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AWE
Newbie
Joined: Sep 02, 2005
Posts: 18
Status: Offline
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 Posted:
Fri Sep 02, 2005 12:15 am
Post subject: President Bush Visits Louisiana to Survey Damage |
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| Quote: | Bush Views Katrina Devastation From Plane
August 31, 2005
Courtesy of Associated Press
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
President Bush flew over areas of the Gulf Coast devastated by Hurricane Katrina after holding a video conference Wednesday with top aides to discuss federal relief efforts. "It's totally wiped out," he told aides at one point during the hastily-arranged inspection flight.
As he flew home to Washington, Bush prepared to meet with a White House task force on recovery efforts and make remarks later in the Rose Garden.
On his flight from Texas, Air Force One flew over New Orleans at about 2,500, and it descended even further, to about 1,700 feet, over Mississippi. The plane flew over New Orleans and saw the Superdome, downtown areas and outlying neighborhoods, then traveled along the coast to Mobile before turning north toward Washington.
Bush peered through a window from a couch where his security detail usually sits. Both of his fists were clenched and his face grim. White House spokesman Scott McClellan quoted Bush as saying, "It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground."
Among other things, the president saw an amusement park with the tops of wrecked rides protruding over bridges covered by water. McClellan said that after viewing one particularly hard hit coastal community, the president noted: "It's totally wiped out."
The spokesman, describing the rare scene aboard the president's plane, said that aides were with Bush, pointing out various sights and that the president was hearing commentary on what he was seeing.
"There wasn't a whole lot of conversation going on," McClellan said. "I think it's very sobering to see from the air. I think that at some point you're just kind of shaking your head in disbelief to see the destruction that has been done by this hurricane."
"This is a major catastrophe," McClellan said earlier. "We are certainly going to do everything from the standpoint of the federal government to make sure the needs are met. This is a time when all Americans need to come together and do all we can to support those in the Gulf state region."
McClellan said the government was declaring the hurricane an "incident of national significance," a designation that triggers a recently developed national emergency plan for the first time and will allow better coordination among government agencies. McClellan said he expects the administration will request a supplemental appropriation to pay for disaster relief and recovery efforts.
Under the national response plan, which was finalized in January, the federal government intervenes only when emergencies exceed what state and local capabilities can handle. Though state and local officials have not formally declared that they can no longer manage the disaster on their own, that is the case, said Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke.
The president decided he should be in the nation's capital given the magnitude of destruction and death caused by Katrina, one of the most severe storms to ever hit the United States.
Katrina left thousands homeless in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and many more without electricity or fresh drinking water. The storm also caused the closure of oil platforms and pipelines in the Gulf Coast. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Wednesday the administration will release from the federal petroleum reserves to help refiners affected by the hurricane.
The president, upon his return to Washington, planned to chair a meeting of a White House task force set up to coordinate the federal efforts to assist hurricane victims across more than a dozen agencies.
Bush was expected to visit the ravaged region by week's end, but details on that trip were in flux as the White House worked to make sure a presidential tour would not disrupt the relief and response efforts.
"These are trying times for the people of these communities. We know that many are anxious to return to their homes. It's not possible at this moment," the president said Tuesday during a speech in Coronado, Calif. "Right now our priority is on saving lives, and we are still in the midst of search and rescue operations."
The hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. |
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