Hurricane Katrina: Lies

The following relates to lies surrounding Hurricane Katrina.

Also see the George W. Bush: Hurricane Katrina article for more information on many of the topics covered below.

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Eight Big Lies

"Eight Big Lies About Katrina" was posted September 9, 2005, by Jeremy Schulman and Raphael Schweber-Koren of Media Matters for America:

• George W. Bush

• "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

• Michael Chertoff

• "strained credulity in defense of Bush, claimed levee breaks and massive flooding came as a surprise -- more than 12 hours after local media reported them."
• "Apparently, some time on Wednesday, people started to go to the convention center spontaneously."
• "pointed fingers: 'New Orleans officials and the state officials ... called for the [New Orleans] Superdome to be the refuge of last resort.'"
• "falsely minimized federal government's role in Katrina response as subordinate to states."

• Newt Gingrich

• The Washington Post, Newsweek, Newt Gingrich "falsely claimed that [Louisiana Governor] Blanco did not declare a state of emergency."
• Gingrich "falsely claimed that [New Orleans Mayor] Nagin could 'have kept water pumped out' of city had he ensured that pumps worked."

• Michael D. Brown

• "We've provided food to the people at the Convention Center so that they've gotten at least one, if not two meals, every single day."

"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

In his September 1, 2005, interview with Paula Zahn on ABC's Good Morning America, Bush said "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. They did anticipate a serious storm, but these levees got breached and as a result, much of New Orleans is flooded - and now we're having to deal with it, and we will."

"Whopper: George W. Bush. They've been 'anticipating' a levee breach since 1832," headlined the September 6, 2005, article by Slate's Timothy Noah.

"John Breaux, the former Democratic Louisiana senator and close Bush ally, rejected the president's claim that nobody anticipated the failure of the city's levees, saying he talked to Bush about it last year."

Related SourceWatch Resources

• Bush lies and deceptions
• George W. Bush: Hurricane Katrina: Questions, Criticism and Commentary
• Hurricane Katrina: List of related pages

• Hurricane Katrina: FEMA
• Hurricane Katrina: Martial Law

External links

• Chris Conrad, "Mapping out disaster. From flood levels to demographics, a Medford firm’s 1985 map of potential hurricane effects forecast Katrina with eerie accuracy," Mail Tribune (South Oregon), September 11, 2005.
• Roger Simon, "A heck of a job," US News.com, September 12, 2005.
• Margaret Ebrahim and John Solomon, "In videos, Bush, Chertoff appear calm before storm. Meeting tapes, transcripts show others alarmed before Katrina hit," Associated Press, March 1, 2006 (posted by Houston Chronicle, March 2, 2006).
• Nicole Gaouette, "Video Details Stark Katrina Warning to Bush," Los Angeles Times, March 1, 2006.
• "Excerpts from Hurricane Katrina briefings," Knight Ridder Newspapers, March 1, 2006.