51 Fired from New Orleans Police Force

New Orleans Police Fire 51 for Abandoning Their Posts Before or After Hurricane Katrina

Amid the chaos that ensued as Hurricane Katrina struck the city, dozens of police officers and civilian employees left their posts unexpectedly and were not heard from again. On Friday, the New Orleans Police Department fired 51 of them 45 officers and six civilian workers for abandonment.
"They either left before the hurricane or 10 to 12 days after the storm and we have never heard from them," acting police superintendent Warren Riley said.
Police were unable to account for 240 officers on the 1,450-member force following Katrina. The force has been investigating them to see if they left their posts during the storm.
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The mass firing was the first action taken against any of the missing officers. Another 15 officers resigned when placed under investigation for abandonment.
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Backpack generates its own electricity

New design may offer way for relief workers to power crucial equipment.
In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, radio and phone communication suffered, in part, when rechargeable batteries died and could not be recharged due to widespread power outages. A new backpack design may offer a way for first responders and disaster relief workers to generate their own electricity for communications devices, night vision goggles, water purifiers or other crucial, portable electronics.
All the person wearing the backpack has to do is walk — the backpack does the rest. The backpack captures energy from the up-and-down movements of its heavy contents and converts this energy to electricity.
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Gaps remain in government strategy for handling natural disasters

Despite the billions of taxpayer dollars spent every year on emergency preparedness and disaster cleanup, the United States lacks an overall strategy for reducing the number of lives lost and the amount of property destroyed when Mother Nature unleashes a wildfire, earthquake, flood, hurricane, tsunami, or other calamity.
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