| What part did American soldiers play in handling Typhoon Katrina? | |
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| May 21, 2008 03:09 |   |
| guestquake | Having seen Chinese soldiers react so actively to the Earth, I am wondering how the American soldiers react to the natural disaster. More broadly, how did Americans cope with natural disaster? In China, soldiers played an important role in rescuing people from the natural disaster? How about the situation in the western countries? Who played an important role in relief work? I heard that Non-governmental organizations (NGO) played a crucial part in rescuing? |
| May 21, 2008 21:52 | #1 |
 | From what I've seen and heard, the NGO did. The military did get involved in the rescue operation but they were slow in reaction time though no fault of the individual soldier. Some security was provided by "Blackwater" a private contractor but don't think they were involved in rescue operations. In my opinion, the New Orleans and surrounding area relief program was a disaster in itself. The law of "eminent domain" may be applied to certain portions of New Orleans and coastal property for the benefit of business interests. I hope the Govt. of China will not allow it's citizens to be victimized by outside interests during this natural disaster. |
| May 26, 2008 04:48 | #2 |
| GUEST3012 | Bush administration reacted slowly to the typhoon. NGOs did a better job than Bush's government. |
| May 27, 2008 17:24 | #3 |
| The Unites States is different from most countries in that the individual States elected representatives are responsible for matters in their State. The Federal Government is mostly for interstate matters and international relations. The Governor of a State must ask for assistance from Federal Authorities. If the U.S.Army were to send in troops without permission of the State authorities it would violate States rights. Each town, each county and each State has prepared their own emergency plans and has designated teams and procedures. This system failed during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina because of the poor behavior of local authorities. To ask of help from higher levels of Government makes the lower levels look incompetent. In this case they were. Disaster plans remained in books on a shelf while flood waters rose. When the Governor of the State of Louisiana relented and asked for help from Federal agencies some people blamed the Federal authorities for not acting on their own and just sending in help. If the Governor had asked for help in advance ( they knew it would be a bad storm) some lives and property would have been spared. One major difference between the U.S. and Rural China is that all homes and businesses are insured against damages. No one could get and maintain a loan for money to buy a home (a mortgage) without "Homeowner's insurance". People who rent apartments can buy cheap insurance but very few do. With insurance, if your property is damaged, you can file a claim and get the money value of the damaged property. Those who rely on free government benefits even in times of calm were very vocal about getting their free housing, food and cash without interruption. These people tend to wait for others to help them while most others will get up and start rebuilding. Some however, will take their insurance money and move to a new community. Every person in the New Orleans area knew that they lived in a flood prone area. Some chose not to move back. New Orleans was known as a high crime city with corrupt officials but as long as the politicians kept handing out benefits to the poor people they were reelected. Katrina was the result of years of local mismanagement. The Federal Government was not lazy in helping the victims. It has never before been considered the job of the Federal authorities to override local authorities. In fact, the Federal agencies consult with the locals and act in conjunction with them. Remember, we have no Federal police force and there is a law against using U.S. troops in civil matters. I grieve for the victims of May 12 in China and a tear comes to my eye when reading of the children. My wife is from Xinjiang and my daughter is adopted from Jianjiang. China will rebuild and continue to grow strong. All China has to do is ask for help and the world will be there ready to do what they can. Private and public money is already flowing from the U.S. to China. I hope it is spent wisely. |
| Jun 2, 2008 14:08 | #4 |
| Very good write-up, YINDUFFY. Allow me to correct or clarify one thing. People who live in New Orleans proper do not live in a flood prone area, they live BELOW SEA LEVEL. Without dikes and pumps, New Orleans would not exist. |
| Jun 2, 2008 20:43 | #5 |
| China and USA have different systems. China is more of a centralized country. The central government impose strict control over the individual provinces. In handling the natural disaster, the centralized system may be more efficient. |
| Jun 2, 2008 20:55 | #6 |
| I agree with Griz, that was very well put YINDUFFY. It's very easy (and a natural reaction) for people to point the finger at one person or group of people, to find the "scapegoat" in a disaster. The truth is that during Katrina the local, state and federal government had in some way or another broken down long before the levees did. |
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