White House Situation Room Put on Alert Pre-Katrina about Levee Break
Congressman Thompson Writes The President Demanding Answers
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Today’s news reports identify a critical disparity between White House predictions of devastation and destruction from Hurricane Katrina and statements of surprise made by the President days after the storm made landfall.
“On September 1, President Bush told the world that the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina could not have been anticipated. Now, months later, we learn that the President and his staff had numerous reports forecasting exactly what would happen, including one received just hours before Katrina struck.
“The American people deserve honesty from this Administration because a revisionist history can’t bring back the 1,350 victims that perished in the storms or do anything to prepare us for another disaster,” said Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), the Ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee.
Congressman Thompson sent a letter to President Bush today, demanding an explanation for the contradicting messages emanating from the White House. In the letter, Rep. Thompson asks who saw these warning reports, where they went, and what was done with them.
News reports published today indicate that the White House Situation Room received a flash report from the Department of Homeland Security's National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC) in the early morning hours of August 29, 2005, the day of the storms, advising the President precisely of what the destruction and devastation might look like. The report’s predictions of power loss, stranded victims, and response difficulties were very similar to those that actually occurred once Katrina struck. This report followed other estimates that had been provided to the Administration for preparedness and planning purposes.
The receipt of these reports by the White House raises questions about the President’s comments after the Hurricane devastated the Gulf Coast, as well as the steps he took to deploy Federal resources before and directly after the storm. On September 1, 2005, the President was quoted as saying “I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees. Now we’re having to deal with it, and will.”
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For more information contact:
Todd Levett at (202) 226-8866
