SPRINGDALE : Katrina general finds poor planning typical
Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/237099/
SPRINGDALE — Retired U. S. Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore was in town Thursday to deliver a simple message — be prepared.
Honore, perhaps best known as the commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, spoke at the behest of the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the American Red Cross at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Springdale.
Referring to the developing drama along the Texas Gulf Coast, toward which Hurricane Ike is heading, Honore said plenty of Houston evacuees will not be equipped with a survival pack with a battery powered radio and food and water for three days.
Though Arkansas is not susceptible to hurricanes, Honore said, it is vulnerable to tornadoes and floods, and an industrial accident could force families to flee at a moment’s notice.
He urged attendees to develop emergency plans for them- selves, their families and their neighbors.
“You do not evacuate with an empty seat in the car,” he said.
A native of Lakeland, La., Honore was commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry in 1971. In addition to Katrina, Honore commanded the military response to Hurricane Rita, which hit the Texas coast in September 2005. Honore, whose specialty is homeland defense, helped coordinate the military response to hurricanes dating back to 1999. He retired in February after 37 years of service.
Honore spoke of a “culture of preparedness,” and said the culture can be created through sound governmental policy and practicality among the public.
It was clear that Ike, which threatens to land near Houston as a Category 3 storm, was on his mind.
“We’re on the verge of a very mean storm, Ike, bearing down on Houston,” he said.
Honore was critical of officials in Houston and Harris County, which contains Houston. As of Thursday evening, their officials had urged only those in low-lying areas to evacuate, even though the storm appeared to be covering the Gulf of Mexico from Corpus Christi to the Louisiana coast.
“They’ll be sorry,” Honore said. “I don’t think they’re being nearly as aggressive as they should be with the evacuation.”
He predicts a 14-foot wall of water, tornadoes, no electricity for millions for up to two weeks, and extremely hard times for those who stayed in their homes.
Looking back on the American past, Honore recalled a tough breed of people who could grow their own food, repair their own vehicles and survive disasters with a mix of patience and practicality. Honore does not see those qualities in the modern population.
“We have to restack the value deck, folks,” he said.
Before Honore spoke, Rose Sparrow, a New Orleans native who relocated to Siloam Springs in the wake of Katrina, gave a stirring rendition of the national anthem. She recalled the harrowing journey from Louisiana to Fort Chaffee then to Benton County.
Though the road to her new home was fraught with fear, Sparrow said she found her strength and learned to trust that God was leading her to the right place.