Bush and others knew just how catastrophic Katrina would be

Seth Borenstein & Willima Douglas
Miami Herald
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Washington (US):
President Bush was warned about Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact on New Orleans' levees before the storm hit, according to transcripts of emergency briefings that Bush received. The transcripts appear to contradict his assertions that no one anticipated the failure of levees that flooded the city.
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See Also:
Transcript shows governments underestimated Katrina
New Orleans mayor 'shocked'
How the media are playing the 'Katrina video'
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Transcripts of the briefings, first reported by The Associated Press and also obtained by Knight Ridder, show that Bush was told in stark detail about Katrina's potential deadly impact and that he heard a top hurricane expert express ''grave concerns'' about the ability of the levees to withstand what turned out to be a catastrophic hurricane.
They also show that Bush asked no questions.Former FEMA Director Michael Brown said that before the storm slammed into the Gulf Coast, he and the nation's top hurricane scientist did all they could to convince Bush, the White House staff and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that the big one was about to happen.
''I don't know how he [Bush] couldn't understand how bad it was or bad it could be,'' Brown said in an interview with Knight Ridder.