New Orleans Mass Murder By US Delay
By Gideon Polya09 September, 2005
Countercurrents.org
Hurrican Katrina struck the Gulf States on Monday 29 August 2005. Systematic door-to-door searches by military and emergency services to find the New Orleans survivors started early Monday 5 September 2005 ie 7 days after Katrina hit [1, 2, 3].
On Monday 5 September 2005 Mayor Nagin estimated that out of a pre-Katrina New Orleans population of 500,000 about 100,000 had remained behind, 50,000 were specifically located and 50,000 were unaccounted for and at great risk [3].
The remaining inhabitants of New Orleans faced a dire threat from lack of drinking water. We typically excrete, sweat and exhale about 2 litres of water daily and this must be compensated for by drinking about 2 litres of water each day.
The fundamental and deadly New Orleans dilemma has been that of Coleridge's Ancient Mariner: "Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink".
Indeed this is the key survival problem for lone yachtsmen. Thus the Vendée Globe is a solo, non-stop, round the world yacht race and competitors are forbidden from receiving any sort of assistance [4] (tragically relevant to 100,000 New Orleans residents left flood-bound for a week without clean, fresh water or assistance and indeed with official armed prevention of aid from the Red Cross and others).
Vendée Globe race organizers offered the following advice to yachtsmen: "The equatorial episode early in the race stresses the fundamental element required for the survival of the solo yachtsman and of man in general: water. You can’t survive for long without water. When the temperature outside is 30°C (86°F), you cannot last for more than 3 days without drinking. At 15°C (59°F), you can last a fortnight, as long as you stay in the shade and don’t move" [5].
Survival without water obviously depends upon other circumstances e.g. temperature, body size, exercise, food, stress and health. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimated average survival time without water at 10°C (50°F) as 10 days and only 1-2 days in hot desert conditions [6]. However at 30°C (86°F) average survival time is only about 3 days. Indeed a "rule of three" simplifies average survival times as follows: in acute emergency (3 seconds), no oxygen or massive bleeding (3 minutes), excess heat or cold (3 hours), no food (3 weeks) and no water (3 days) [7,8,9].
The BBC gave the following estimate for current New Orleans weather: Thursday 8 September - Monday 12 September 30-35°C (86-95°F) daytime and 23-26°C (73-79°F) night-time with relative humidity 40-79% [10] - indicative of an average survival time without water of only 3 days.
Competent and humane Americans realized the urgent need for clean drinking water. Thus by 2 September (5 days after Katrina struck) the US International Bottled Water Association was able to report the dispatch of 4 million containers of bottled water but also reported trouble with officials as to whom and to where these supplies should be delivered [11]. Others reported volunteers with supplies being forbidden entry to New Orleans [12, 13] and fresh water supplies being turned back by FEMA [13].
New Orleans Mayor Nagin has predicted thousands will have perished, telling NBC's "Today" show, "It wouldn't be unreasonable to have 10,000 [deaths]" [14]. Indeed the latest reports are of FEMA having 25,000 body bags on hand [15]. Let us hope that they are wrong - but the FAILURE of the Bush Administration and FEMA to provide assistance for ONE WEEK and the average 3 DAY SURVIVAL WITHOUT WATER at 30°C (86°F) suggest otherwise.
The World has been watching a dishonest, incompetent, violent and racist US government passively killing thousands of its own elderly, infirm, poor and Afro-American citizens.
[1] Channelnewsasia
(http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/166775/1/.html)
[2] Yahoo
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/hurricane_katrina)
[3] ABC News On-line
(http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1453566.htm)
[4] Vendée Globe solo, non-stop, round the world yacht race (http://sailing.about.com/od/vendee_globe/a/vendeeglobe.htm)
[5] Vendée Globe advice to solo yachtsmen: (http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:zOmSn0VjxKcJ:www
.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/magazine/1213.html+official+survival+
temperature+%22without+water%22&hl=en)
[6] FEMA advice on survival water needs
(http://www.fema.gov/pdf/usr/appen_b.pdf)
[7] Adventure sports online - survival advice
(http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/survival.htm)
[8] Safety Central survival advice:
(http://www.safetycentral.com/preptosur1.html)
[9] Our Health Magazine survival advice (http://www.ourhealthmagazine.com/articles/simple-habits-for-healthy-life.htm)
[10] BBC estimated New Orleans temperatures (http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=0274)
[11] International Bottled Water Association Press release 2 September 2005 (http://www.bottledwater.org/public/2005_Releases
/Bottled_Water_Industry_Provides_Assistance.htm)
[12] Democrats report on 1,000 volunteers blocked
(http://www.democrats.com/node/5948)
[13] CBS News 5 September 2005 - FEMA turns back volunteers & water supplies (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/05/katrina/main816611.shtml)
[14] CBS News - Mayor predicts thousands dead (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/04/katrina/main814703.shtml)
[15] Optusnet News - 25,000 bodybags on hand (http://www.optusnet.com.au/news/story/abc/
20050909/09/international/1456414.inp)
