Topic: Katrina
This was originally written Sept 27 2005, Right after Hurricane Katrina
They should be using Higgins Boats. The Landing Craft of WWII LCVP that were manufactured in New Orleans Louisiana.
There should be people around that were familiar with building them that could assist today’s workers to build more today and It should not take any longer than one day to build them. After all during WWII they were building “Liberty Ships” which were full sized ocean going Welded Metal Cargo Ships in a matter of days, So for the government of today, and the high speed manufacturing capabilities they should be able to produce at least 50 Higgins Boats per day
With the Higgins Drop Ramp, they could transport the cattle to better locations.
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R. J. MacLachlan Manchester CT 06040
That goes with an e-mail that I sent out right after Katrina
Being prepared for Natural and Man Made Disasters
We in The United States of America have a number of disasters almost every year. Some are Man Made, but Mother Nature thrusts many upon us. But for some reason we never seem to be prepared to cope with them till after they occur.
Hurricane Katrina was an example of the lack of preparedness that has caused many unnecessary deaths. Now it should not happen that way, as there are plenty warnings that these disasters will occur. There will in the next few years be Earthquakes, some of them very destructive, mostly on the Pacific Coast. There will be Town Flattening Tornados, generally on the Plains States. There will be Killer Hurricanes in Florida, The Gulf of Mexico States and on the Atlantic Coast. And there will be floods along most of the great rivers in the country. Now I am not claiming that I have special powers to forecast these events, it is just that following the past history of this great nation, they will happen.
The five most important things needed after any disaster is: Fresh Drinking Water, Communication, Transportation, Temporary Shelter, and Auxiliary Power and lighting.
All of these needs could be taken care of by the manpower and resources that are available to us in the different branches of the United States Military and The National Guard.
Let us take each of these needs item by item. The first item is fresh drinking water, and back during WWII this was accomplished by putting a pill into your canteen to kill all the bacteria. But in today’s military there are Water Purification Detachments that are capable of providing up to 600,000 gallons of drinking water per day from a fresh water source, and 400,000 gallons per day using a salt-water source. And every US Naval Vessel has water purification facilities on board, so that one or both of these sources of water could easily supply the fresh water needs of any stricken community. The Army or Air force could easily off load the necessary equipment near any lake or river near the stricken area using Air Force Hercules C130’s Cargo Planes or Helicopters. And during the Hurricane season there should be a small fleet of US Naval Vessels cruising in the mid Atlantic out of the area of hurricanes. But as soon as the path of a hurricane was determined and they had designated a specific area of landfall, these ships could follow in the wake of the storm, and pull into port an hour after the storm passed, with fresh water, Medical Facilities and Food Preparation Facilities if needed. If it happened to be a small storm and the help was not needed, then chalk it up as a Training Exercise.
The second item in my list was Communication, and this was a great problem during the hurricane Katrina. It was also a serious problem during the 9-11 disaster. Back during WWII they used Walkie Talkies, and during the 70’s and 80’s it was CB Radio, but now it is Cell Phones. But Cell Phones will not work unless there is a Satellite Tower somewhere nearby. And during Katrina many of the existing towers were flooded, destroyed, or lost power. My idea to correct this problem would be to have vehicles preferably like the WWII Military Duck which are amphibious, travel to various locations around the stricken area and erect a temporary Satellite Tower and power it using a temporary Generator. That way many of the survivors that were trapped in attics would have been able to phone for help, because the regular telephone lines were unusable.
The third item in my list is Transportation. I noticed that many rescue crews during Katrina were using V Bottom, Outboards that appeared to be about 16 to 18 feet in length. And it appeared to me that these boats seemed to be carrying a five-man crew. The problem there is that is about all the people that a boat of that size can safely carry, so my question is where were they going to put the seven people that they might find in a house? My idea to fulfill this task also would use Amphibious vehicles like the WWII Duck as these can travel on land and water interchangeably and carry many more people and equipment that than a small outboard boat. Another option would be a craft like the WWII Landing Craft LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel) that could go right up to a house or rooftop or the shore and lower the ramp in front for easy loading of Beds and Wheelchairs and capable of carrying up to 50 people as during the war it normally carried 36 fully equipped Soldiers or Marines. By the way these boats were also known as “Higgins Boats” and were manufactured in New Orleans LA.
The other part of my idea on transportation would be to have part of the Naval Fleet made up with a few Helicopter Carriers which could anchor a few miles off shore and their helicopters could be used to transport potable water, Medical Supplies and Food to areas on shore, transport injured people to the medical facilities on board. The Helicopters could also be used to assist in rescue operations if necessary.
The Ducks (DUKW) (Amphibious version of a Military 2 ½ Ton Truck) I mentioned earlier could be stored and maintained at an army base in a place like southern Tennessee where they would be far enough from the shore so they would not be damaged by the hurricane, but would still be within one days drive to any point on the Gulf Coast where they might be needed. They can easily travel on land or water and can carry a lot of cargo or many people.
The fourth item on my list Temporary Shelter again goes back to the WWII when they set up temporary Quonset Huts. These are buildings made out of corrugated metal that was curved like the top half of a circular tube. These were very strong and could endure virtually any weather conditions. They could be erected in a matter of hours, last for years, and when they were no longer needed, be disassembled in a matter of hours. They could be used for housing, Hospitals, Warehouses, Stores or any other use needed. There is one in Manchester CT that was built right after WWII and served as Barrett’s Plumbing Supply till a few years ago. I used to shop there often, as I knew the family. It iis now being used as a Gift/Novelty Store.
The last item on my list was temporary power and lighting. These things would go hand in hand with the erection of the Quonset Huts as each of them could have a generator, or one generator furnishing the electricity to a group of buildings. After the dire emergency had subsided the Quonset huts could be used as temporary locations for the companies and construction workers while they rebuilt the city.
Another thing that should have been addressed was the breeches in the Levees around New Orleans. The leaks could have been plugged so there would not have been the extensive flooding that occurred. As the New Orleans area is so involved in oil production and Oil Transport, it is highly probable that there was an empty or partially empty Oil Tanker somewhere nearby. And since these tankers are fairly long and their sides are fairly flat, It would have been simple to position an empty tanker at the site of the breech and partially put enough sea water in it to partially sink it, or lower it till it blocked or at least slowed down the flow of water till the levee was repaired. It would have probably saved hundreds of lives and prevented at least half of the flooding that occurred. My Son suggested using a Submarine for the same purpose, as he served on the SSN Sam Houston and saw the beauty of my idea but noted that the Sub’s hull is much stronger and would not be damaged as easily as a Tanker. He also mentioned that that sub has two water purification systems, and over 10,000 gallons of fresh water on board.
Below are a few Web Sites to verify some of the data I used. There is another article that I found after I wrote this letter that shows that even the resources that were available were not used.
R. J. MacLachlan, Manchester, CT 06040
Water Purification Detachment
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/10-115/Ch4.htm
Higgins Boats
Quonset Huts
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1278.htm
