Burma on the bayou

by Will Bunch | Columnist

Published Sep. 17, 2008, 10:45 a.m. ET

No two hurricanes or cyclones are alike. The most notorious one of our lifetime, Katrina, was a perfectly cruel storm that toppled levees and caused catastrophic flooding in a densely populated city that was already grappling with an under-the-radar crisis of poverty.

Ike was a different kind of storm -- more spread out, leaving few casualties but causing damage across a wider area and leaving behind different problems but insidious ones none the less -- a heavily populated area that will be without power for weeks and as many communities also lack water and other necessities. If anything, as Richard Blair points out at Philly's All Spin Zone, the government response in one way resembles the reaction of the backwards junta running Burma.

They don't want you to know what's going on.

A no-fly zone has been established over the most devastated areas of the barrier islands on the Texas gulf coast, including Galveston, ostensibly "to provide a safe environment for disaster response and relief operations". The thing is, no one has been able to determine who issued the no-fly order. News organization helicopters and others have not been allowed into the areas, and no media has been allowed in on the ground on the Bolivar Peninsula. Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas has clamped a lid on any city officials (other than her and the city manager) speaking to the press. There is even an unconfirmed report that FEMA has restricted all cell phone communications on Bolivar Peninsula.

There's no indication as to why this media blackout is taking place - but it's pretty clear - DHS, FEMA and the Bush administration are trying to manage the story. They don't want another Katrina-style PR disaster on their hands, particularly in an election year.

As with the presidential election, some of this is on the media. With all the different news outlets that we have in this country, the short attention spans are stunning: With a crisis on Wall Street and Obama and McCain and Palin and that other guy, Ike is already yesterday's news, even as it remains a growing humanitarian disaster for thousands here in America. That should not be.

I want to be careful about jumping to a conclusion, but there's growing evidence that despite all the squawking about Katrina that FEMA, and the state authorities they work with, still have a lot of room for improvement -- another mess for America's spring 2009 cleanup.

Here's how you can help.