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As we all know, Hurricane Katrina was one of the
worst natural disasters ever to hit the United
States, with an almost unimaginable magnitude of
devastation and loss. The scale of the destruction
is difficult to comprehend unless one is able to see
it firsthand. I had the opportunity to do just that
recently when I toured the Gulf region and was
appalled at what I saw. Pictures and T.V. footage
cannot do justice to the horrendous ruin of the
region.
I was accompanied on my visit by the Commandant
of the Coast Guard, Admiral Tom Collins and we were
guided by the Eighth District Commander, Admiral
Robert Duncan. As Chair of the Commerce subcommittee
on the Coast Guard, I was delighted to see the
positive results of the Coast Guard’s hard work.
Incredibly, the Coast Guard, as of September 20th,
has saved 33,544 lives– more than eight times the
number of lives saved during a typical year. The
Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, which I
visited, under the incredible leadership of Captain
Bruce Jones had saved 6471 lives, almost double the
3,689 lives the station had saved over its previous
fifty years of operation.
The bottom line is that the members of the Coast
Guard did not wait to be told to conduct their
mission They knew their mission, and they refused to
let anything – including red tape – get in their
way. When they needed fuel for the helicopters, they
found fuel when they needed water for their crews
and for those they rescued, they found water.
Indeed, the results are a living testament to the
services’ efficiency and organization, and the
superlative leadership of Admiral Collins.
I met with countless other people, including many
Mainers, who are also diligently working as part of
the relief effort and I witnessed firsthand the
effort they are making to help some of the most
devastated areas in the region. I am so proud of all
that Maine and the nation has done – and continues
to do – to contribute to the relief efforts.
I had the opportunity to meet with the Maine
Coast Guard maintenance and assistance team from
South Portland, which is currently constructing a
dining hall facility in Gulfport, MS, and with the
101st Air Refueling Wing of the Air National Guard
unit from Bangor, also known as the ‘Maineiacs’,
which is airlifting supplies to the region. I also
met with Coast Guard enlisted personnel at Air
Station New Orleans.
I visited the Harriet Lane, a 270-foot cutter
based in Portsmouth, Va., which usually conducts
drug interdiction and search-and-rescue missions.
The ship now serves as a communications center and a
makeshift dock for other boats. I also flew over New
Orleans by helicopter and also saw the devastation
wreaked in Gulfport, Mississippi. A path 3 miles
wide and 80 miles long was cut through the area and
everything was just completely leveled. It was
astounding to see it in person.
While in the Gulf region, I got to see the
enormity of the task on the ground - the pollution,
the contamination, the houses lying in ruins- in
short, the destruction of an entire city. People
sorting through their belongings were wearing masks
because of the mold and the fumes and houses and
other buildings were completely destroyed.
The heroic efforts of our nation’s enlisted
personnel and civilian volunteers during this time
of crisis have not gone unnoticed. Their acts of
bravery and selflessness have been truly inspiring.
What I saw and heard on that day is a story of
heroism and a relentless “can-do” attitude that is
nothing short of miraculous.
We've got to learn the lessons from this
emergency and we've got to prepare for the future.
We can not allow such a national tragedy to play
itself out the same way again. We must provide the
necessary resources and planning so we can avoid the
same problems we witnessed with Hurricane Katrina.
Doing otherwise would be nothing short of a
catastrophe. |
