 FEMA Chief Sent Help Only After Storm HitFiled at 11:58 a.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top U.S. disaster official waited hours after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast before he proposed to his boss sending at least 1,000 Homeland Security workers into the region to support rescuers, internal documents show. Part of the mission, according to the documents obtained by The Associated Press, was to ''convey a positive image'' about the government's response for victims. Acknowledging that such a move would take two days, Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged. Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as ''this near catastrophic event'' but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, ''Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities.'' The initial responses of the government and Brown came under escalating criticism as the breadth of destruction and death grew. President Bush and Congress on Tuesday pledged separate investigations into the federal response to Katrina. ''Governments at all levels failed,'' said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. Aid from Canada -- three warships and a coast guard ship -- departed for the Gulf Coast on Thursday, more than one week after Canada first offered to send military support. Ottawa has been careful not to criticize the slow U.S. response and simply repeated their willingness to help when Washington finally accepted its offer of assistance. Several Sea King helicopters and about 1,000 personnel were aboard the Canadian ships, which will take several days to arrive off Louisiana. The ships were loaded with medical supplies, 1,200 cots, body bags, assault boats, lumber, pollution cleanup equipment -- even diapers, baby wipes and teddy bears. Navy divers were also dispatched to New Orleans from Halifax and British Columbia to inspect damaged levees and help U.S. officials clear navigational hazards. In the U.S., Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said Brown had positioned front-line rescue teams and Coast Guard helicopters before the storm. Brown's memo on Aug. 29 aimed to assemble the necessary federal work force to support the rescues, establish communications, and coordinate with victims and community groups, Knocke said. Instead of rescuing people or recovering bodies, these employees would focus on helping victims find the help they needed, he said. ''There will be plenty of time to assess what worked and what didn't work,'' Knocke said. ''Clearly there will be time for blame to be assigned and to learn from some of the successful efforts.'' Brown's memo told employees that among their duties, they would be expected to ''convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public.'' ''FEMA response and recovery operations are a top priority of the department and as we know, one of yours,'' Brown wrote Chertoff. He proposed sending 1,000 Homeland Security Department employees within 48 hours and 2,000 within seven days. Knocke said the 48-hour period indicated for the Homeland employees was to ensure they had adequate training. ''They were training to help the lifesavers,'' Knocke said. Employees required a supervisor's approval and at least 24 hours of disaster training in Maryland, Florida or Georgia. ''You must be physically able to work in a disaster area without refrigeration for medications and have the ability to work in the outdoors all day,'' Brown wrote. The same day Brown wrote Chertoff, Brown also urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments. Brown said it was vital to coordinate fire and rescue efforts. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said Tuesday that Brown should resign. ------ On the Net: Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov Homeland Security Department: http://www.dhs.gov The memo from FEMA Director Mike Brown to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is available at: http://wid.ap.org/documents/dhskatrina.pdf Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
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