Sep 1, 2008 5:00 am US/Eastern
N.Y. National Guard Deployed In Advance Of Gustav
Paterson Sends Helicopters; More Troops At The Ready
Local Business Sets Up Charity For Gulf Coast Residents
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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National Guard helicopter (file)
CBS
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Julio Angel Diaz stares at the remains of his house, destroyed during the passage of Hurricane Gustav, in Paso Real de San Diego, Pinar del Rio province, 100 km west of Havana, on Aug. 31, 2008.
Adalberto Roque/Getty Images
Hurricane Gustav is reminding everyone of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, just three years ago. And the big question remains: Is the country better prepared to handle this crisis?
The preparations for Gustav have been profoundly different from Katrina.
Did local and federal officials really get the wake-up call three years ago? The answer appears to be yes, with an earlier show of unity that includes New Yorkers.
New York Gov. David Paterson outlined the State's Hurricane Aid mission late Sunday afternoon. New York is sending eight National Guard helicopters, a cargo plane and around 60 airmen and soldiers to assist in the response to Hurricane Gustav in the Gulf Coast region.
"We are honored to help out," Paterson said Sunday.
A day after New York City rescue and response experts rolled out and headed south, the state did the same, taking to the skies from Westhampton and Rochester. Various helicopters, like the ones that responded to Katrina, carrying National Guard soldiers, others with supplies including medicine, deployed for New Orleans and other areas.
"We are making more types of services and equipment available to the people of the Gulf Coast," Paterson said.
Comparing pre-Gustav to pre-Katrina there is a stronger show of federal and local planning and coordination. Another big difference: the residents there are getting out of the way sooner. They are not willing to wait around and see if this storm is a reincarnation of Katrina.
At Delta Grill on Ninth Avenue in Midtown the employees and customers always have New Orleans in their thoughts, more so now as they hope for the best, and also hope people are better prepared this time around.
"Everybody's very concerned," Delta Grill general manager Joan Gallo told CBS 2 HD. "They're concerned it's going to get destroyed again.
"I don't know if they're doing enough now, but hopefully they're more on the ball than they were then that's for sure."
If the people of New Orleans relive a nightmare, the people of New York will once again help. Next month the Midtown restaurant will sponsor a fundraiser for a school in New Orleans' Seventh Ward. That charity event, which was planned before the storm was even on the map, is likely to grow in the aftermath of Gustav.
Hurricane Katrina left 1,800 dead in five states. That sad reality is why concern about Gustav is being felt so strongly tonight from coast to coast.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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