New at Reason: Jeff Taylor on Kentucky's Katrina

February 6, 2009

The ice storm that slammed the American mid-south in the last weekend of January and then moved onward to the East Coast left an estimated 1.3 million people without power and resulted in 24 deaths. Yet President Barack Obama only declared the state a major disaster area this week. Jeff Taylor wonders what took so long.

Read all about it here. 

Comments

Channeling Ann Richards|2.6.09 @ 12:57PM|#

Where Was Barack Obama?

He was born with a silver coke spoon up his nose.

Etc.

Gilbert Martin|2.6.09 @ 1:06PM|#

"Yet President Barack Obama only declared the state a major disaster area this week. Jeff Taylor wonders what took so long."

I don't need to wonder how the media would have reacted to this if it happended while Bush was still in charge instead of Obama.

I already know.

|2.6.09 @ 1:07PM|#

Enter David Strange, the enterprising figure the Associated Press calls the "generator man." Strange drove the hills and hollows of backwoods Kentucky delivering and setting up generators to those without power-at a $50 to $100 mark-up over retail.

Somebody will complain that he's profiteering. Count on it.

|2.6.09 @ 1:07PM|#

The fewer government disaster declarations the better, as far as I am concerned.

I'm pissed about the stimulus bill too, and Obama's retarded "failed ideaologies" bullshit. But don't let that suck you into criticizing him when he's doing it right.

|2.6.09 @ 1:08PM|#

Great, now we get to hear NutraSweet and robc tell us about their experiences.

robc|2.6.09 @ 1:09PM|#

My insurance adjuster guy just left my house wrt the damage. In Louisville, it was just damage and a week without power. Out in the state though, there are entire counties where they just told the people to "move south, we have no idea when power will be back".

robc|2.6.09 @ 1:09PM|#

Heh, Epi, good call.

robc|2.6.09 @ 1:11PM|#

For Epi's benefit

|2.6.09 @ 1:13PM|#

"Barack Obama doesn't care about rednecks!"

Somebody had to say it.

|2.6.09 @ 1:17PM|#

Doesn't look so bad, robc. We had an ice storm a couple months back here in Upstate NY that looked way worse. Actually it looked pretty friggin sweet. Ice on everything does look cool.

I never lost power, but neighboring communities lost it for up to a week. I don't think anyone even thought of asking for a declared disaster. Everyone was at work the next day.

Waldo|2.6.09 @ 1:17PM|#

They hysterical thing. Even the Amish are able to cope with this stuff, and cope easily. People are far too dependent on things to live. Ya, its tragic, and it sucks, But people need to have warm clothes, and be ready for potential disasters. Put one of those people up in NY for a weekend in winter and they would freeze to death too.

Ben|2.6.09 @ 1:17PM|#

Obama doesn't care about white people!

|2.6.09 @ 1:20PM|#

For Epi's benefit

Do you have horses, dude? Your fencing looks like horse fencing.

And you sissies can't even handle one ice storm? We get at least one every winter.

Kanye East|2.6.09 @ 1:21PM|#

Obviously, he hates white people.

Alan Vanneman|2.6.09 @ 1:24PM|#

"Katrina quickly progressed from natural disaster to human tragedy to political hot potato, landing in the lap of the hapless Bush Administration."

The disaster known as Katrina did not "land in the lap" of the Bush Administration. George Bush simply refused to pay attention. If Katrina had been headed for Miami, Bush would have been ahead of the curve, and not just because his brother was governor. Louisiana is small, poor, black state. It wasn't on George's radar.

In addition, the flooding of New Orleans was the most predicted disaster in the U.S. The fact that the Homeland Security boys, with days of advance warning for Katrina, did nothing, says a lot about them. How would they handled a terrorist attack, with no warning at all?

|2.6.09 @ 1:26PM|#

I don't think anyone even thought of asking for a declared disaster. Everyone was at work the next day.

Put one of those people up in NY for a weekend in winter and they would freeze to death too.

Yes, 24 people died because they were wimpy and have smaller cocks than you guys in the north.

Perhaps we just aren't as civilized down here.

Franklin Harris|2.6.09 @ 1:28PM|#

"Barack Obama doesn't care about rednecks!"

Somebody had to say it.

I was going to say he doesn't care about crackers, but whatever.

|2.6.09 @ 1:29PM|#

Louisiana is small, poor, black state. It wasn't on George's radar.

Oh, it was on his radar, as he used our secret weather control facilities to direct the storm to hit Louisiana and Mississippi.

Florida takes hurricanes seriously, which is why we can recover from multiple storms. New Orleans decided to play Russian Roulette, then blame everyone else when the chamber came up with a bullet in it.

BDB|2.6.09 @ 1:30PM|#

"Florida takes hurricanes seriously, which is why we can recover from multiple storms. "

As does North Carolina. And Texas. And...

Anna Graham|2.6.09 @ 1:32PM|#

President Barack Hussein Obama = A Democrat speaks inane rubbish

yandus yillib|2.6.09 @ 1:36PM|#

ICE vs the ice storms

While momma nature was responsible for the storm, big bro is responsible for the lack of power.

Anyone remember the ICE raid last August in Laurel, Mississippi?

ICE raided Howard Industries, the company that makes the transformers. They are currently out of stock. Sort of like the shortage of kosher meat.

Unless FEMA can shit transformers, the folks in Kentucky are better off without the "assistance" of the Leader Obama and his gang in DC.

Zeb|2.6.09 @ 1:39PM|#

A disaster area declaration is not the sort of thing that needs to be done immediately. Declaring a disaster will not make the storm less damaging. It mostly releases money for reconstruction and a week after the storm is a fine time for that.

"Yes, 24 people died because they were wimpy and have smaller cocks than you guys in the north."

I'm glad some one gets it.

Seriously, though, I wonder how they died. WE had a similar even here in NH in December and the only people I heard of dying were geniuses who thought it was an OK idea to install a generator in the basement.

|2.6.09 @ 1:41PM|#

I just wish FEMA would be defunded.

|2.6.09 @ 1:41PM|#

Apparently what Kentucky calls "a major disaster", we in the upper Midwest call "winter".

BDB|2.6.09 @ 1:42PM|#

Zeb--

Kentucky, especially the eastern part, is much poorer than New Hampshire.

Neu Mejican|2.6.09 @ 1:43PM|#

How many of those deaths are car accidents resulting from people who are not used to driving in these kinds of conditions?

Orange Line Special|2.6.09 @ 1:47PM|#

Jeff Taylor, Reason's newest attempt to be absolute scum. While the $50 markup isn't much, it isn't far from that to price gouging and profiteering.

As for FEMA, if anyone doesn't think they should be charged with what they're charged with, then call for a law to reduce their responsibilities. But, while they're charged with doing something, they should be able to do it.

|2.6.09 @ 1:50PM|#

And if overnight, power in NH went out, temperatures climbed into the 120s, and people were physically unable to leave their homes or reach any place that did have power, there would be no deaths? Not even among the ultra-poor and the elderly?

Because you're all just that hardy?

kinnath|2.6.09 @ 1:53PM|#

Two years ago, Feb 07, we had major ice storm in Iowa. Thousands of utility poles and hundreds of steel towers went down from the weight of the ice -- not from trees falling on them. Power was out for up to 3 weeks for some people. I don't recall anyone dieing.

Rev Joseph Lowery|2.6.09 @ 2:00PM|#

"If the white man can get some lights man"

|2.6.09 @ 2:01PM|#

Kinnath,

That storm left approximately 46,000 without power.

In KY, 1,000,000 lost power.

That doesn't mean the storm was worse, but it does mean the deaths v no-deaths comparison isn't accurate.

Elemenope|2.6.09 @ 2:06PM|#

Are we including in the twenty-four deaths any "guy who slipped on the ice and whacked his head" fatalities? I don't mean to be flippant, but that's not the sort of thing that quick response from FEMA would have made any sort of difference.

robc|2.6.09 @ 2:12PM|#

Do you have horses, dude? Your fencing looks like horse fencing.

I have .15 acres. That isnt even enough room for a dog, IMO [1 acre per ft of dog length is my minimum, so if you own a weiner dog, you need at least 2 acres :)].

That was the fencing when I bought the place - however, horse fencing is painted either white or black (in KY).

And you sissies can't even handle one ice storm? We get at least one every winter.

We average 16.4 in of snow a year. Snow wise, this wasnt a deal. It was the biggest ice storm, however, in a long while (hence the trees crashing and burning). My Mom claims it the biggest since she moved to Louisville in 1991.

How many of those deaths are car accidents resulting from people who are not used to driving in these kinds of conditions?

Roads werent unusually bad. At least one set of local deaths was due to carbon monoxide poisoning because they moved their grill inside for heat.

|2.6.09 @ 2:12PM|#

The governor's office isn't giving details on the individual deaths. But one statement indicated several had to do with traffic accidents and at least four were from carbon-monoxide poisoning from generators.

robc|2.6.09 @ 2:14PM|#

1961, not 1991.

Louisville's big problem was with power lines. We had 11k down in the city, including 3 within sight of my house. Roads were in good shape, but trees took out way too much power.

JW Gacy|2.6.09 @ 2:14PM|#

Alan, you ignorant slut. Your points were mentioned and dismissed in Jeff Taylor's article.

Oh, I know. George Bush is a racist. Blah blah blah. *yawn*

JW Gacy|2.6.09 @ 2:21PM|#

OLS -- don't be stupid. Gouging and profiteering are Marxist bogeymen. Even under these conditions, it's entirely possible for someone else to provide the same service he's providing -- possibly for a lower price.

In fact, why don't you go door to door selling generators? I mean, you'd have to accept a certain amount of risk; it would take some capital to get started and buy generators; oh, and your time isn't free. After all, it's quite time intensive to run this sort of business.

But, yeah. Let's pretend that we know what the proper "markup" is and conveniently forget that it's a markup over the usual price at Home Depot, when demand is much lower and distribution isn't an issue.

I say this as someone who weathered an ice storm in VA. No power for 2 weeks. One woman tried to "gouge" customers at Lowe's. We laughed at her, and she was stuck with a generator that she wasn't willing to sell at the market rate.

|2.6.09 @ 2:24PM|#

If Katrina had been headed for Miami, Bush would have been ahead of the curve, and not just because his brother was governor. Louisiana is small, poor, black state. It wasn't on George's radar.

Bullshit! In a rare display of competence Florida has done just fine with hurricanes for the last 10 years and GWB was not needed in the slightest. Hurricane Katrina was a regional disasters in a region governed by corrupt and impotent politicians. The states themselves are far better equipped and prepared to resolve the problems of natural disasters than the federal government, regardless of who is President.

|2.6.09 @ 2:24PM|#

Yes, 24 people died because they were wimpy and have smaller cocks than you guys in the north.

You really shouldn't let us know it's that easy to rile you up. We'll just do it more. I try desperately to get under robc's skin and I just can't do it. He's not human.

ed|2.6.09 @ 2:24PM|#

Kentucky's Katrina

Except for all the looting, of course.

|2.6.09 @ 2:25PM|#

A breakdown of ice storm deaths in Kentucky.

It is super-sensationalized, but it appears most were house-hold mishaps and elderly deaths.

Federal money didn't get my lights on any quicker, and it won't do shit to help the next time they go off. The ice storm has finally convinced me to buy a generator, though, so consider the economy properly stimulated.

|2.6.09 @ 2:28PM|#

The ice storm has finally convinced me to buy a generator, though, so consider the economy properly stimulated

Broken window fallacy FTW!

robc|2.6.09 @ 2:32PM|#

He's not human.

Thanks.

robc|2.6.09 @ 2:32PM|#

I am human (maybe), I am just nearly impossible to offend. So much so, that I fail to notice when I offend other people.

|2.6.09 @ 2:34PM|#

You really shouldn't let us know it's that easy to rile you up.

The worst part is that I'm completely hypocritical too; I laughed all day at Santorum's children's tears.

Good advice. The wall is back up.

Stupid dead KY hillbillies.

JW Gacy|2.6.09 @ 2:34PM|#

The ice storm has finally convinced me to buy a generator, though, so consider the economy properly stimulated

Broken window fallacy FTW!

Is it? The ice storm is sort of a given. Unlike a vandal, these things happen from time to time and aren't preventable. So, it is rational for customers to have generators to add more flexibility, adaptability -- whatever you want to call it -- to the power grid. I could be wrong on that, but it sounds like improved economic efficiency for me.

robc|2.6.09 @ 2:36PM|#

I got to agree with Gacy. + to the economy for the generator purchase.

|2.6.09 @ 2:38PM|#

I'll get you one day, robc, when you least expect it.

I laughed all day at Santorum's children's tears.

You'd have to not have a heart of stone not to laugh. Or something like that. God damn, that was funny.

|2.6.09 @ 2:39PM|#

Two 6+ day outages within 6 years makes it a rational purchase. Considering we'll stay in a hotel next time, one more ice storm will practically pay for the thing.

There are some parts of Western KY that may not have power until March.

robc|2.6.09 @ 2:40PM|#

Two 6+ day outages within 6 years

2 6+ day outages in 5 months for me.

|2.6.09 @ 2:42PM|#

OK there's a fundamental difference between ice storm and Katrina. In the wake of Katrina, hundreds of thousands were without fresh water and shelter. Cleaning up after an ice storm can afford to be a more leisurely affair.

Jeff doesn't get to the salient point till the penultimate paragraph. The late response to Katrina could have been forgiven if the subsequent response wasn't so horrific. The Feds caused immeasurable suffering by taking charge of the relief. Trucks of fresh water and ice were turned away. People were arrested for "profiteering" and hundreds of generators stayed in warehouses instead of being put to use. etc. etc.

|2.6.09 @ 2:44PM|#

This is my third in 6 years, since I was in Lexington during the 2003 ice storm there.

|2.6.09 @ 2:49PM|#

The 2003 ice storm was 7 days without power for me. And it's not like I live out in the middle of nowhere. Of course, the 2003 ice storm was much more damaging to Lexington itself. In fact, it's widely speculated that the tree-struction of 2003 weeded out the weak members of the herd and lessened the overall of damage of the recent one.

|2.6.09 @ 2:56PM|#

:"OK there's a fundamental difference between ice storm and Katrina. In the wake of Katrina, hundreds of thousands were without fresh water and shelter. "

How many people actually died as a result of a lack of freshwater and shelter during Katrina? Damn few if any. People died in Katrina because of the storm and the levy break not the aftermath. In contrast, something like 40 people have died of the cold and CO poisoning as a result of being without power in the dead of winter.

It seems to me that the response to an Ice Storm in the middle of killing cold can't afford to be very liesurly.

|2.6.09 @ 2:57PM|#

Jeff Taylor could at least pretend to establish a link between the severity of Katrina and the severity of winter in Kentucky. Simply assuming similarity and throwing it in a headline doesn't count.

I don't have to agree with Reason's writers. But I can't stand shoddy journalism that assumes I'm stupid.

|2.6.09 @ 2:57PM|#

I was unfortunate enough to work in a Nich Rd restaurant that had power while most of Lexington did not. 3-hour wait from open to close. Even when people were done eating, they just hung out at their tables. What else was there to do?

robc|2.6.09 @ 2:58PM|#

SugarFree,

it's widely speculated that the tree-struction of 2003 weeded out the weak members of the herd and lessened the overall of damage of the recent one.

This is why this one was so bad in Louisville, IMO. We havent had a good weed out ice storm since maybe 1978? And even that was more blizzard than ice.

I was out of town for winter of 2003 and 2004, (and 1987-2002 too) but I dont think Louisville got it as bad as Lexington did.

|2.6.09 @ 3:01PM|#

"Jeff Taylor could at least pretend to establish a link between the severity of Katrina and the severity of winter in Kentucky."

Lamar don't you know that every weather event is the result of global warming?

|2.6.09 @ 3:07PM|#

robc,

The 2003 ice storm was pretty shitty and fairly localized. We got the same amount ice we got this time, except in 2003 it accumulated over about 8 hours, not two days. The sudden shock of it bought down a lot of trees fast. Our power went out at some point in the night and the wife and I listened to tree limbs crashing and echoing for hours. It was seriously weird.

|2.6.09 @ 3:15PM|#

Re: Generator Man. $50 - $100 over retail isn't that much of a markup when it comes with home delivery and installation. The installation is the tricky part, since you need a special cable (hard to buy for safety reasons, generally has to be fabricated), and need to avoid backfeeding generator power into the electrical grid which overloads the generator. Also, presumably, locating the generator somewhere with adequate ventilation to avoid carbon monoxide buildup.

So, STFU about the "gouging and profiteering." That guy was a hero, and certainly deserved $100 per service call to get the juice back on for those too dumb or too shortsighted to already have a backup generator in-place.

|2.6.09 @ 3:20PM|#

FrBunny, I think there would be deaths at 120 degrees with no power. Hell, Chicago has deaths WITH power every time the temp gets to 100 because some people don't have A/C. People can't do shit these days when they are out of their element. Hell, go back a few days and read how many people can't live without a friggin iPod. We're badasses and pussies, geniuses and retards all at the same time.

robc|2.6.09 @ 3:25PM|#

SugarFree,

Your description of 2003 sounds like last week here.

robc|2.6.09 @ 3:26PM|#

Nick,

It seemed that half of France died in a hate wave a few years back due to lack of A/C.

robc|2.6.09 @ 3:26PM|#

Wow, RC's law strikes hard. :)

|2.6.09 @ 3:37PM|#

I'm unfamiliar with RC's law. Does it have anything to do with hate vs heat?

Vines & Cattle|2.6.09 @ 3:41PM|#

Five weeks is my personal record for not having power due to an ice storm.

Colonel_Angus|2.6.09 @ 3:43PM|#

Every winter in Chicago a couple dozen people tend to die. Mostly homeless, elderly, car accidents, and people doing dumb shit like burning their house down with a space heater. These are the things that are just bound to happen in any weather event like this. So I don't really see any good reason for Kentucky to flip shit. This is really an entitlement problem plain and simple.

robc|2.6.09 @ 4:25PM|#

Nick,

I dont remember the exact wording, but I think it is something along the lines of typos being funnier than anything you could have meant to say.

Building a bridge to the 1930s|2.6.09 @ 5:13PM|#

There are some parts of Western KY that may not have power until March.

Thank the Republicans for killing the Rural Electrification Administration.

|2.6.09 @ 5:21PM|#

If Katrina had been headed for Miami, Bush would have been ahead of the curve, and not just because his brother was governor.

Ummm....What are you talking about?
Hurricane Katrina hit Miami (well S Florida at the Broward/Dade County line) four days before it hit Louisiana/Missisippi.

Difference, Florida prepares for hurricanes, New Orleans didn't. Even with that, Florida had fourteen fatalities.

|2.6.09 @ 5:36PM|#

Isaac,

Florida should've taken the hit, man, to protect Louisiana from itself. How did Florida deflect the hurricane, anyway? Did Jeb use the hurricane deflector that George gave him? Racist bastards.

|2.6.09 @ 5:41PM|#

After going through Andrew, Katrina and last year Gustav I think it is safe to say that when the shit hits the fan no matter where you are you had better be prepared.

I never counted or would count on the Feds or State to be there and I highly suggest no one else count on it either.

Count on them wanting to lock you up lickity split for years for some pot smoking but don't expect any emergency assistance if your house gets blown away. Count on them wanting your guns when you need them the most while they provide the least protection of all time.

Count on yourself as we all should all the time and then maybe, just maybe things will be ok. Fuck FEMA!

|2.6.09 @ 5:44PM|#

I've never remotely understood the issue. It was common knowledge in Florida and in other states that endure regular disasters that FEMA was (1) mostly useless and (2) not even close to a first responder. Honestly, can this be anything other than politics?

And I think Bush sucks hard, too, so it ain't that.

economist|2.7.09 @ 12:24AM|#

"New Orleans decided to play Russian Roulette, then blame everyone else when the chamber came up with a bullet in it."

Racist! Racist!

economist|2.7.09 @ 12:26AM|#

"Hurricane Katrina hit Miami (well S Florida at the Broward/Dade County line) four days before it hit Louisiana/Missisippi."

Racist! Racist!

economist|2.7.09 @ 12:29AM|#

"Kentucky's Katrina

Except for all the looting, of course."

Racist! Racist!

|2.7.09 @ 8:54AM|#

Yes, as everyone knows there are no black people in Miami-Dade or Broward Counties, Florida. Or Democrats. Just rich white Republicans.

Thank you, economist, for pointing out my error. :)

I now realize how unmutual I've been. ;)

EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy|2.8.09 @ 4:14PM|#

A number of years ago, I lived in Hampton Roads when a hurricane brushed past. Some flooding around the area, and a lot of power out.

My place was without power for a week. We got by on a charcoal grill (with 60 pounds of charcoal), a backpacking camp stove (with two gallons of fluid), and a stash of simple, nutritious, durable food. (And we had a gas water heater! Hot water is civilization.)
We bought the charcoal, coleman fluid and about half the staples in the week before the storm came our way.

Several of the local grocery store nearby had power before we did, so you could buy ice and keep perishables again. (For that matter the strip club across the street had power three days before we did...)

But that was in the summer. Would have sucked much more in the winter, not so much because we're pussies or didn't know what needed doing, but because late 20th century infrastructure assumes 20th century services, and doesn't have provisions for falling back on 19th century heating arrangements, etc...

Got to be better acquainted with some of the neighbors.

|2.9.09 @ 10:38AM|#

Count me in with NutraSweet and robc. We were without power for 5 days - same as when Ike blew through.

The house got down below 50 degrees, even with the generator running a couple of space heaters - one on our floor, one on my parent's floor.

My parents live in our walkout basement. What is that, like opposite stereotype?

Anyway, No power for a family with a 3 mo, a 22 mo and a woman undergoing chemotherapy... it sucked.

It particularly sucked because I was on my own with the babies most of the time. Gotta tell you, it's not fun tromping out in the ice to restart the generator when you can hear the babies screaming inside. And it's easy enough to keep the infant warm, as he stays put. The 22 mo, though. Poor thing had chapped cheeks and hands because I couldn't keep him bundled and still for 5 days. He slept with us or with a hot water bottle.

It was so much easier after Ike - at least we could open the windows then, and our grill was accessible. This time, the grill was walled up by an ice sandwich, and who wants to stand at a grill when it's -2?

Gripe gripe. Sorry, the anxiety and PPD made the whole thing worse for me :(

heshaojie|11.17.09 @ 6:31AM|#

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