Scenario #3 NEW ORLEANS

[RICHFL]

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Scenario #3 will be a returning nightmare. We will deal with two sets of families.

Family (1) is visiting for the celebration of Fat Tuesday Father, Mother, 2 Sons, 1 Daughter, and Grand Parents. More later on make up health/age, experience levels, etc.

Family (2) lives in the 9th district which was just rebuilt 2 years ago. Many buildings still need to be taken down. Father, Mother, 3 Sons, 2 Daughters, 2 Live in-law Sisters, with 1 baby girl each. Family is struggling due to fact father was laid off 6 months ago, still looking for work. Mother is a teacher at the local high school, (1) Sister has night job down town (Bar Maid) Other Sister is stay at home. More later on make up health/age and experience levels.

As of September 2011 the Federal government has stated "...that all repair work is completed and that the flooding of the past will never happen again. They expect the levees to last even in a category 5 Hurricane..."!

Today is Sunday the 12 of February 2013. Fat Tuesday is in 2 days, and both families will be ready to celebrate.

Family (1) has arrived at 5pm from Boston Ma. This is the first real vacation for the family in 5 years. They will stay in a downtown hotel (Hilton) for 10 days. They want to explore all of the surrounding areas experiencing all that can be experienced.

Family (2) has two family members in the parades scheduled Tuesday night. The one Sister will be working overtime starting tonight till Wednesday. 12 hour shifts.

Weather report shows a Cloud formation and wind changes in the gulf. Oil companies are starting to bring crews in and tying everything down. Local political figures including the Mayor states "...that we may have a little rain late Tuesday but all it will do is cool us down..."

National weather agency will update their reports on Monday morning at 8am.

ARE YOU READY TO PARTY

[RICHFL]

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It is Sunday night and the TV news is reporting a major storm is brewing in the Gulf. Most oil rigs are now without crews and are shutdown. A warning order is out about the storm for East of New Orleans to the Southern Texas coast as the main areas that will be hit by the storm late Wednesday morning. Winds are gusting to 35 mph.

Family (1) making no changes for tomorrow since they will be at the beach all day with a dinner cruise after wards.

Family (2) making plans if 2 things happen:

a. If winds go over 75 mph will board up house and move family to Dallas Texas. (Have family living there)

b. If winds stay below 50 mph store up additional foods and fill water bottles Monday morning.


GOVERNMENT

Hurricane center will update at 6:am Monday with follow up reports as needed. US Coast Guard flying aircraft to penetrate storm front to get new data at 4: am. New Orleans Mayor's office puts all Departments on alert - all leaves cancelled. All Department representatives report tomorrow at 8am for briefing by Federal FEMA and State Officials.

[RICHFL]

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It is *:30 am and the weather reports have not been updated via either the news stations nor the National Hurricane Center. No one knows or will say why. Outside there is a change in the weather. The clouds cover is over 50% and it looks like rain sometime today.

Family (1) Goes to the beach expecting to have fun in the sun and maybe some surfing lessons from a resort that the Hilton hotel has contacts with. So off they went.

Family (2) is starting to wonder why no reports. The TV and Radio station are receiving increase in calls about the weather and the storm. They continue to fill water containers and went out to purchase some tarps, candles, and propane tank for the gas grill. While at their Wal Mart they saw a Hugh increase in shopping with some shelves going bare. They starting hear rumors about the storm and a panic buy beginnings in the canned goods section followed by other foods, water, and camping equipment. They had gone to purchase a few items and ended up spending over $500.00.

Time is now 12:15 A news reporter comes up with 3 different news stories about the hurricane called Henry.

Story (1): The Coast Guard released a report that the 2 aircraft that they sent into the storm front have not returned. Search and rescue teams are moving to the area they were last seen. Names have not been released.

Story (2): Via satellite and the Space Station the weather center can now declare that the Hurricane Henry is at a category 2/3 and may build up from there. Next up date will come at between 4 and 6 pm if the Coast Guard can get a plane into the storm front, They still do not know where it will land in the USA; but if it goes like the last 5 hurricanes, then LA and Texas are primary targets..

Story (3): A Terror alert has been put to RED for the New Orleans area with the (#1) known terrorist, is in the city limits. All trains, autos, trucks, buses, and aircraft will be searched before leaving New Orleans. This is causing a major backup for any traffic leaving the greater New Orleans area.

Next up date sometime before 8pm tonight.

[RICHFL]

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It is time for the 8 pm news:

We have a continuing story about hurricane Henry and what to expect over the next 24 hours;

We can expect the storm front to hit the shore line sometime Wednesday morning. The storm is moving to the west so Texas must start emergency procedures. The Storm is still a Cat 1 but is expected to grow into a cat 2/3 by land fall. Locally we can expect rain showers starting late Tuesday night.

A continuing story is about the amount of buying that is on going within the city. Almost all food and water has disappeared off the stores shelves. With the tie-up of traffic by Homeland Security no shipments are reaching the stores in the city limits.

Homeland security is continuing their road blocks trying to capture this terrorist that is hiding in our fair city. Major traffic jams still exist throughout the greater New Orleans area. 3 lawmakers have taken homeland security to court because of the massive traffic tie-ups that have occurred. They are asking the Federal courts to force removing these road blocks since they are interfering with road, rail, and air traffic across state lines. Additional security has been placed at all electrical power stations, water facilities and the main pump stations for this city.


More information to come later this evening.

[RICHFL]

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Tonight the members of both families are not getting much sleep:

Family (1) after the beach they went on a large ship that was to give them a night time crews on the Mississippi River. They did not dock until 1 am. Once back in thee Hotel they went straight to bed. tomorrow is a down day just local shopping and such. Night night

Family (2) stayed up for the latest news report.

The 11:30 pm news:

Good evening: the latest on Hurricane Henry as the Coast Guard updated their information. The storm has come to a complete stop about 150 miles off the coast. It continues to build. We have no idea as to why this is happened. We have sent 4 aircraft into the storm in the last 48 hours and none have returned. We do not have any answers as to why this has happened also.

Our second story tonight Home land Security has blocked all roads and water ways around the city. They have officially asked President Obama to declare a state of Martial Law for the greater New Orleans area to help locate the terrorist and support group known to be hiding in this area. If the request is granted all citizens would be required to remain in their homes until further notice.

Local news continues now: Local families and business boarding up for hurricane Henry. with this delay even more stores are now empty of all manner of goods. Soon there will not be a piece of loose bread available to be had.

Family (2) members try to call to family members in Texas. All communication lines are now down or under control of the government. The older members of the family decide to review the situation again in the morning. They have prepared themselves, and their property as best they can, and all they can do now is wait.

Next up date about 10 am Tuesday which will be known in future history as X Day.

[hawkcrewchief]

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One of many reasons not to go to New Orleans during Hurricane Season. An also bugging out as soon as a threat has been identified. Not living in a location that is below sea level and within 300 miles of the coast. Setting up your life so that you can more control your decision making, like bugging out as soon as they predict a hurricane landfall.

I live in Tornado Ally, and every time there is a severe storm warning I bug-out too my basement. This is a small example of practicing your plans every time. I don't care if its 3am I move to the basement even though I know that most likely wont do any damage to my house. I also do a complete bug-out at least once a month varying time of day and conditions to test every avenue of my plan.

The scenario's are great by the way. Just think people need to consider bugging out as soon as any threat presents itself.

[RICHFL]

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ALERT- ALERT - ALERT -ALERT - ALERT -ALERT -ALERT


THE PARTS OF THE DECREE OF MARTIAL LAW

Part I of the Decree states that a state of Martial Law exists within the greater New Orleans Area and that General S. A. Smallberry USA is the General in charge. This decree will take effect at 12:01 am Monday morning, and will remain in effect till further notice. Any additions to this decree will come from his Headquarters only.

Part II of the Decree allows local Law enforcement backed up by federal Forces to confiscate any and all firearms with-in the greater New Orleans ares.

Part III of the decree allows the Federal Government to limit any and all communication within and out of the Greater New Orleans area.

Part IV of the decree allows the Federal government to stop all movement of people, vehicles, ships, trains, and aircraft of all types within the Greater New Orleans area.

Part V of the decree allows for the arrest and detainment of any person who fails to follow the orders of any Law Official or Service personnel.



This is all that greater New Orleans sees as of 8 am Tuesday Morning.

The government at 4 am took over all communication with the greater New Orleans area. This included TV , radio, and news print. Information started being passed out via internet until 8:15 when all internet connections went down. This is what came across the internet via individual stories:


5:15 am Family (2) The Smith family writes to their family in Texas, via internet. "... Yo Cus whats the low down? We got Cops and Military types walking down our block telling everyone to get off the street or be arrested. We have no news. What is happened to the Hurricane..."! Texas (Smith family) writes back "... the hurricane is started to move again in the last hour it is now a cat 5 and it is heading right for you. Get out now..."!!!!!.

At 6: am the Smith family start loading their cars to move to Texas. While doing this they were noticed by a National guard Platoon who stopped them - forcing all but 2 adults back into their house. They placed the 2 adults under arrest per the martial law decree. (failure to follow orders)


8:am Family (1) The Jones Family get on the internet to family and friends in Boston: "...Hello family in Boston We need help. Our family is stuck in our hotel room here in New Orleans, because the Federal government (Homeland Security) is restricting any movement in our building. We cannot get any information from any source here. Please tell us what is going on..."??? They try for 15 minutes until---- they go off the air at 8:15am.

At 9:am room service delivered a light breakfast and told the Jones that all room service will stop at 4 pm that day. The father starts calling the front desk asking for information. told that all residents within the hotel will meet at lunch in the ball room with representatives from the Federal government. They will have all the information and can answer questions at that time. The meeting is at 12:30pm and please bring proper identification with you.


It is now 10:am the wind has picked up and rain is constant. rumor is going around both at the hotel and the city as a whole that the Hurricane is headed right for it and no one can get away any more.

GOVERNMENT ACTIONS:

Unknown to all but a few security types the reason they are trying so hard to capture this terrorist is that he has control of a bio weapon (A new Super Flu) and that he planned to release it on fat Tuesday in the quarter. Homeland Security will not remove the Martial Law decree even for the hurricane until they have captured him and the bio weapon..



The Coast Guard has final gotten a plane into the storm front. It is now a very strong Category 5 storm and has picked up speed heading for New Orleans with in 10 hours. This information is passed down from the Federal to State to Local levels.

[RICHFL]

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Time: 12:30 noon The Jones family goes to the ball room with their id cards they used to fly down from Boston.

A number of tables are lined up with letters listed in the front of each table A-D, E-H, etc.
As they entered the ball room they were given a 1 page document. It gives the Martial Law decree, and requires all people in the hotel to give proper ID at the designated table. Families will stay together until the documents have been reviewed by MP's from the National guard. By now Mr. Jones a lawyer in a large law firm in Boston is hopping mad. He wants answers and nothing is going to stop him from getting it. His family is third in line so he holds his temper hoping to get some answers here. It's now his turn. The MP ask for the ID papers, copies down Driver License Numbers and ask "... What are you doing in New Orleans at this time? Have you had any contacts with people who are foreign to this country? Do you have somewhere else that you can go to if given the OK to leave?..." As the questions continued Mr. Jones voice continues to get louder. The MP starts asking even more personal questions about the families travels out side the USA and contacts while overseas, until finally Mr. Jones explodes stating "...that he is not going to answer any question and that you have violated my Constitutional rights and that I will personally sue you and ensure that you never have a paying job again..." this went on while the MP asked him to be quite. This only made Mr. Jones worst until he pushed the MP away from him and picked up his families papers tell them they were leaving. That is when he heard the sound of a M-16 being loaded and locked, followed by him being tackled by three other MP's. The whole family is handcuffed and lead out of the hotel to a waiting van. More later.......

6m Announcement on radio. Still no TV. To the citizens living in low lying areas, you shall leave your homes and proceed to the nearest pickup point where transportation (School Buses) will pick you up, to move you inland away from the storm. All you can carry is a small carry on bag and must have proper identification. People with handicaps will be picked up at their homes by van again only a small bag and proper ID is required. A phone Number is given for the handicap at this time:

You are the adults left at the Smith house what will you do?

[RICHFL]

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On Wednesday morning at about 2:20am Hurricane Henry; a Cat 5 storm landed 14 miles SSW of the greater New Orleans area. Over 2500 people died most while traveling in school buses away from New Orleans. Clocked wind speed maxed out at 256 MPH. Flooding was as bad as Katerina.

The Federal Government never found the terrorist nor his bio weapon. The government feels they were lost in the storm.

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I would like to discuss items found in this scenario that has never been seen before.

Possible abuse of power by the Federal Government: After the failure of all levels of government, to handle the disaster from Katerina; and the years wasted afterwards blaming each other, at all levels of government, no one drove the plans and forces needed to ensure such a disaster never happen again:

(1) Only twice has the Federal Government called for use of Martial Law (During the Civil War, and Dec 8th, 1941 Hawaii). Both times were to ensure the safety of the citizens within specific areas of the country.

(2) The decree broke 4 major US Constitutional amendments:

a. Right to free speech -this could save lives by the free passage of information.

b. The right to bear arms. Does not need to be explained!

c. The right to due process. when a government places people under arrest without due process

d. The right to free movement of people and goods. when the government restricts the peoples movement especially during what should have been an all out effort to evacuate, The government is at fault.


TODAY THE CURRENT STATUS OF NEW ORLEANS IS:


The government fixed the levies to the same level of protection that was found before Katerina, They did not improve them (Cost too much).

(2) The government at all levels failed to stop rebuilding in the low lying areas that will be flooded again. (Cost too much to buy out owners)

(3) The local government never reviewed or change procedures to ensure that a evacuation could be processed at a safe rate and ensure people are not left behind (Hospitalized victims). They instead placed all blame on the federal government.


Will this disaster repeat it's self? Yes within the next 30 years I expect it will happen again with the number of dead, injured or missing to increase in the thousands.

[rocktropolis]

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As a New Orleanian I feel compelled to respond to this thread as there are several issues with this scenario but it's hard to know even where to start...

Sunday:
Family 1 is staying downtown at the Hilton, but they didn't get there at 5pm because Bacchus rolls on Sunday and nobody is driving anywhere close to the hotels in the Central Business District. They take the airport shuttle from the airport and don't arrive at their hotel until after midnight.

Family 2 in the 9th District has family members in parades on Tuesday night... Only, it's the 9th Ward (and I'm assuming you're talking about the Lower 9th) and there aren't any parades on Tuesday night. Mardi Gras parades roll Tuesday morning. Also, there's 11 people living in Family #2's house? That's just implausible for the Lower 9. Also, any family that can't afford separate housing for family members probably cannot afford the $1000 per rider it costs to ride in a parade.

Sunday night:
Family 1 makes plan to go to the beach... A day trip to the beach on Lundi Gras? What beach are they going to? Any beach with a resort and 'surfing lessons' is hours away. Not sure what kind of surfing they're going to do on the Gulf, but I guess they can learn to paddle out. Also, they don't leave on Lundi Gras because Tucks and Orpheus are rolling on Monday and nobody wants to miss two of the big krewes especially since they're paying $300 a night at the Hilton. The kids want beads.

Family 2 is making plans? Family 2 doesn't even watch the news or pay attention because they have been partying since Friday.

Also - there is no storm because Mardi Gras IS NOT HURRICANE SEASON. It's mid February and it's cold and damp and the warm waters of the gulf that a hurricane needs to grow do not currently exist. Cold fronts are coming down from the north hitting the relatively warmer air of the Gulf and cause intermittent rain.

Monday:
Family 1 was going to the beach, instead they are stuck in New Orleans because it's Lundi Gras and they decided to stay at a downtown hotel and now cannot move their rental car or find a taxi. Instead, the mom and grandma and kids go to Canal Place for shopping. The dad and grandfather(s) go to Pat O'Brien's and start drinking.

Family 2 goes to see the Lundi Gras parades and some indians practicing on Claiborne. There's no cellphone communication because IT'S MARDI GRAS TIME and cell networks are overwhelmed as they are every year by Mardi Gras revelers posting images to Facebook and trying to call each other. They don't try and buy propane because nobody has had any in stock since Saturday because it's Carnival time and all the propane is in the grills on the neutral ground on St Charles. Nobody is expecting shipments from any supply trucks because it's Carnival time. There will be no restocking in any grocery stores or Walmarts until at least Wednesday.

Monday 8pm news:
Maybe there's some rain? Nobody cares. The kids from Family 1 are in their hotel rooms watching PPV. The parents and grandparents are now drunk in the Quarter at Johnny Whites and thinking about dinner at Bubba Gumps (just like that movie!). The dad wants to go to Hard Rock Cafe because he saw some girls from LSU showing their tits. Tomorrow is a 'down day'? TOMORROW IS MARDI GRAS. Partying began in earnest on Friday and has continued around the clock since. There will be no reprieve until Ash Wednesday.

Family 2 in Lower 9 - nobody is home except the father and two baby girls. The father has passed out drunk.

ALERT ALERT

A terrorist is loose in New Orleans. The Federal Government toys with the idea of shutting down New Orleans, but ultimately realizes they don't care what happens to the city and so they don't do anything. They alert local authorities. At 3:10am the terrorist dons a harlequin mask, bikini top, puts a sock on his johnson and roams unnoticed through the Mardi Gras crowds. At 4:00am he bumps into a 15yr old kid, the kid backs up and shoots the terrorist 4 times, point blank. The kid is immediately arrested, the body is removed and revelry continues. The body is never identified because of multiple mixups in paperwork.

Aftermath:
Multiple hangovers and multiple vows that they won't drink that much again. Family 1 has breakfast at Cafe Du Monde and after waiting an hour for a seat they complain that they have nothing but beignets and cafe au lait. Family members from family 2 immediately go back to life as usual.