Disaster Preparedness
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.

.

  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.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0509040369sep04,1,4144825.story?page=2&ctrack=1&cset=true

 

R. J. MacLachlan, Manchester, CT  06040

 

     

 

Water Purification Detachment

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/10-115/Ch4.htm

 

Higgins Boats

http://www.higginsboat.org/

 

Quonset Huts

http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1278.htm

 

 

History Tells Us So
Topic: Katrina

The reason I wrote this because of a conversation I heard on CNN between two Senators, Joseph Biden D of DE and Jon Kyl R of AZ, talking about how to pay for Hurricane Katrina. The question was asked if we should stop sending money to Iraq, and use that money to pay for Katrina, and both agreed that the mission in Iraq was too important. Republican Sen. Jon Kyl from AZ said we should pay for Katrina like many Municipal Projects, because the buildings and Highways will last as long as 70 years. So if we put it in long range Municipal Bonds then the people 70 years from now will still be using them, therefore should help pay for them.

  My question to Sen. Kyl is what about the next disaster? How many generations of the future shall we burden with expenses of projects that no one will remember, just so we can keep paying for a war that never should have happened in the first place?

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

  I am sick and tired of listening to The Bush Administration and virtually all of the politicians of  both parties claiming that, “Maybe we shouldn’t have gone to war in Iraq, but as long as we are there we must stay till it’s over”.

 

  My feelings are that no matter how long we stay, no matter how many lives are needlessly lost, and no matter how much money we spend, as soon as we finally leave there will be a Military Coup and Iraq will become a Dictatorship again. That is the way the people of that part of the world are accustomed to living, and they will not change.

 

  History Tells Us So

 

Going back over a Century to the Spanish American War when The United States intervened and freed Cuba, Puerto Rico and The Philippine Islands from the domination of Spain, and Puerto and the Philippians became US Territories instead of Spanish Territories. We made Cuba a Free Democracy, even though the government was evil and stealing from the people, (Much like the Bush Administration). Until a Military Coup by Fidel Castro (supported by the US Government), overturned the government. Then Fidel Castro became Dictator and Cuba became a Communist Country and remains so till today.

 

  A good part of WWII was spent to protect the downtrodden country of China from being  captured by the Horrible Imperial Japanese, so they would be free from domination and become a free Democracy. But as soon as we left, China became a Communist Country.

 

  The other part of WWII was to free Poland and Czechoslovakia from the domination of Evil Germany, but as soon as the war was over we submitted  those countries into the domination of Evil USSR. And it took over 50 years and the downfall of the USSR before they were actually free.

 

  Then we were involved in a conflict (We weren’t supposed to call it a war) to keep Southern Korea from being absorbed by the Evil Communist Northern Korea, and unite both countries into one United Democracy. So after untold millions of dollars and thousands of young American and Korean lives, that one didn’t work either.

 

  Then of course there was the war to prevent the southern part of Viet Nam from being overtaken by the Evil Viet Cong from the northern part of Viet Nam and unite them into a United Democracy. But after fighting an un-winnable war for a Decade, with more millions of dollars and thousands more of young American and Vietnamese lives needlessly wasted, we slithered away, and it remained Communist.

 

  So I wonder why the Bush Administration and many politicians of both parties really think that Iraq is any different? Unless we stay there forever and make that country a territory of the United States, as soon as we leave, no matter how much money we send over there and how many lives are needlessly wasted, the people that live there will form the type of government they want.

 

  Look at Israel, a country that was formed 58 wears ago because everyone in the world believed it was the correct thing to do. The Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting about it ever since. Look at Ireland, a country that has not been at war with any other country since the Second World War, but they continue to fight among themselves.  Look at Sudan, Bosnia Herzegovina and other countries that have internal problems, and are fighting civil wars almost constantly. No person that lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue can resolve that the world must live as peaceful Democracies, and have that resolution come to pass.

 

We should not have gone into a war with Iraq in the first place as Saddam Hussein and Iraq were not a threat to The United States because they had no Long Range Missiles, No Long Range Bombers, and no Navy to speak of,  so even if they did have any Weapons of Mass Destruction, they had no way they could have delivered them to the North American Continent. And of course we now know that there were no WMDs in the first place, and the intelligence that indicated that they existed at all was fabricated by the Bush Administration because George wanted to go to war. And we should not continue to be there trying to make it into a democracy. Because whatever we try to do, it will not happen.

 

   History Tells Us So.

 

  R. J. MacLachlan, Manchester, CT 

The main body of this letter was written in Nov. 4 2005

Fixing New Orleans
Topic: Katrina
I have a simple plan on how we can get through the legislative Red Tape and the Political wrangling and infighting that is preventing and delaying the fixing of New Orleans.
We should temporarily shut down the US Senate Building and The Congressional Building in Washington DC, and move the US Senate and House of Representatives to be quartered for the next eight months (During the Hurricane Season) into the Louisiana Superdome, and have all the Senators and Representatives move their families to be housed and schooled within the City Limits of New Orleans. Then we should move Homeland Security and FEMA into the other sections of that same building, and have all their families also living and eating within the City Limits of New Orleans.

It would probably be the first time that four different segments of the United States Government worked together toward the same goal since WWII. And after a few weeks it would not surprise me if they were to start working 10 to 15 hours a day and forego their Memorial Day, Forth of July and Labor Day vacations, and eliminate all of the meaningless bickering and concentrate on the task of what we all know must be done, just to get the job done. It would not surprise me if many of the spouses and children were to start volunteering to work on the afternoons and weekends cleaning up the trash that is littering up the area they are living in. I would not be too surprised if the Congress, FEMA and Homeland Security started to work feverishly to build the levees Higher and Stronger, knowing that their spouses and children would be in peril if another Category 4 or 5 Hurricane were to strike the Gulf Area this year and New Orleans flooded again.

Golly Gee! Isn’t it strange how your reaction to a dangerous situation changes when it is your family and loved ones that are in danger!