Holy Hurricane, Batman!

[Mercutio]

Given that they couldn't even provide public transportation out of the city for the poor, I'd say they didn't have very much of one.

 

[Pradeep]

Many of the people wouldn't have left even if transport was available.

Hell, some of them won't leave even now when their house is friggin underwater and there are no jobs left.

 

[sechs]

A contingency plan would include federal and local officials, including the Mayor/City Council of New Orleans. What sort of plan did they have in place?

If you'll excuse my Acadian...

The mayor said, "Oh, shit! Call the governor!"
The governor said, "Oh, shit! Call the feds!"
The feds said, "Please fill out a 3945672 stroke 734 in triplicate with your emergency request, and we'll get back to you right away."


The mayor said, "Oh, shit! Send in everything!"
The governor said, "Oh, shit! Send in everything!"
The feds said, "We can't go there. We'll get wet! And no one else can go there because we're not already there."

 

[ddrueding]

Many of the people wouldn't have left even if transport was available.

Hell, some of them won't leave even now when their house is friggin underwater and there are no jobs left.

Good to know Darwin is still with us.

 

[ddrueding]

It's not that I'm not criticising their lack of planning, but I heard many people (perhaps elsewhere) go off about how this could have been prevented if adequate steps were taken. Those steps would have cost a fortune.

 

[mubs]

It's not that I'm not criticising their lack of planning, but I heard many people (perhaps elsewhere) go off about how this could have been prevented if adequate steps were taken. Those steps would have cost a fortune.

You think so? Bush to Seek $40B in More Katrina Relief

President Bush intends to seek $40 billion to cover the next phase of relief and recovery operations from Hurricane Katrina...

Emphasis mine. Must have already spent a fortune on the botched ops so far.

 

[Fushigi]

Found cross-posted to Bruce Schneier's blog:

Guess Who Castrated FEMA?
from Henry Breitrose

CHRONOLOGY.... Here's a timeline that outlines the fate of both FEMA and flood control projects in New Orleans under the Bush administration. Read it and weep:

January 2001: Bush appoints Joe Allbaugh, a crony from Texas, as head of FEMA. Allbaugh has no previous experience in disaster management.

April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the Bush administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work. In May, Allbaugh confirms that FEMA will be downsized: "Many are concerned that federal disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement program...." he said. "Expectations of when the federal government should be involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is an appropriate level."

2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the three "likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country."

December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh announces he is leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management.

March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded into the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is refocused on fighting acts of terrorism.

2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and Response. FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery.

Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: "You would think we would get maximum consideration....This is what the grant program called for. We were more than qualified for it."

June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish emergency management chiefs Walter Maestri comments: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay."

June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million. One of the hardest-hit areas is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes.

August 2005: While New Orleans is undergoing a slow motion catastrophe, Bush mugs for the cameras, cuts a cake for John McCain, plays the guitar for Mark Wills, delivers an address about V-J day, and continues with his vacation. When he finally gets around to acknowledging the scope of the unfolding disaster, he delivers only a photo op on Air Force One and a flat, defensive, laundry list speech in the Rose Garden.

A crony with no relevant experience was installed as head of FEMA. Mitigation budgets for New Orleans were slashed even though it was known to be one of the top three risks in the country. FEMA was deliberately downsized as part of the Bush administration's conservative agenda to reduce the role of government. After DHS was created, FEMA's preparation and planning functions were taken away.

Actions have consequences. No one could predict that a hurricane the size of Katrina would hit this year, but the slow federal response when it did happen was no accident. It was the result of four years of deliberate Republican policy and budget choices that favor ideology and partisan loyalty at the expense of operational competence. It's the Bush administration in a nutshell.

Henry Breitrose
Professor of Communication
Department of Communication Stanford University
Stanford, California USA 94305-2050
+650-723-4700

 

[jtr1962]

Bush to Seek $40B in More Katrina Relief

$40 billion?! Well, I really hope they have a good system of accountability on how and where it's spent. Louisiana and Mississippi are the 3rd and 1st most corrupt states in the union. You think the looting in New Orleans was bad? Well, you ain't seen nothing yet!

On another note, I don't see how the damage could cost so much to fix. The majority of houses I see on TV look like they were made of matchsticks. Straw huts would have held up better. You could probably rebuild them for $10K each given how cheap labor is down there (bring in a few hundred thousand Mexicans on temporary work visas for, say, a buck an hour). Of course, if they want to rebuild the houses right this time so the next hurricane doesn't destroy them it's money well spent but as i said people don't like to plan for unlikely scenarios. I'd say probably half the money will end up going in the pockets of corrupt politicians and their cronies.

 

[Fushigi]

GWB's Photo Op Trip

 

[mubs]

Net beats Feds in hurricane response. How bloggers, ham radio operators, tech-savvy people swung into action while the powers that be fiddled.

Thank you for that post, Fushigi. It's amazing what 5 years can do to the country.

 

[Tannin]

Seen elsewhere, can't resist quoting it:

"You can't predct a natural disaster like Katrina. But why the hell did you elect one?".

Beautiful ....

 

[mubs]

jtr, you answered your own question, and Fushigi's post explains it as well.

Fushigi, your photo op link made me sick to the stomach. I actually turned green. Don't want to puke...

In it the author says "You are being lied to, and lives have been lost because of it." It wouldn't be the first time, would it?

The guy ought to be impeached and his pension cancelled. Impeached for lying (war), for causing the death of so many American soldiers and Iraqi civilians, for his incompetence in handling the NOLA situation. Hang him by the gonads.

Tannin, that was brilliant! What can I say. A few posts ago you said not to take a holier than thou attitude. But I can certainly say we are stupider than you for putting this moron in office.

 

[Tannin]

We have our own moron, Mubs. But (so far) he hasn't been able to do so much damage, for two reasons: (a) all the state governments are the other party so they cancel each other out to a fair extent, and (b) until July he didn't have a senate majority and could only get legislation through by fixing it up enough to get the approval of one or other of the opposition parties. Unfortunately, he now (woe for my country) has a senate majority and is planning all sorts of stupidities which will probably happen.

 

[sechs]

It's amazing how much better things can be when the legislative and executive are held by different parties. Something about accountability....

 

[Mercutio]

Sweet, Sweet Hurricane Irony:

Venezuala, governed by popular leftist Hugo Chavez, the man Rev. Pat "What Sixth Commandment?" Robertson wants to assassinate, was one of the first nations to offer the US aid after the Hurricane.

Pat Robertson's "Operation Blessing" was listed as the FIRST charity on FEMA.gov's donation page as the storm hit. Not the Red Cross. Not the Salvation Army. Nope. A charity run by a televangelist. It was moved into third place later in the week, and when I looked yesterday, they finally alphabetized the list.

Barbara Bush, a person who apparently can't see reality from where she's sitting, had some wonderfully enlightened things to say when she visited New Orleans:

"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality, and so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

I heard this on the radio a few days ago. I couldn't believe it until I dug up the text.

Mexico is sending a water purification system to New Orleans.

George Bush has said that he'll personally lead the investigation to find out how the disaster relief became its own disaster. This is 1.) The first time George Bush will have personally done any "leading" during his time in office and 2.) Gonna be really funny when he remembers that he is, in fact, the seniormost representative of the executive branch and therefore responsible for FEMA and Homeland Security. Whoops.
Something else I found out: George Bush makes time to exercise three hours a day, on to of his busy scheudule being the vacationing-est president in our history.

Anyone want to guess which large, private contractor was given responsibility for the New Orleans cleanup? Anyone?

I swear that I gag every time I listen to the news these last few days. I can't stand it. I am choking back bile to even type these things.
Please tell me I'm not the only person feeling this shit! It's just galling.

 

[mubs]

No you're not, Merc.

Todays' L.A. Times Editorial starts off thus:

NOW WE KNOW HE'S SERIOUS: President Bush has taken the most important issue facing his administration, the Katrina relief mission, and kicked it upstairs to the vice president's office.

Bolding mine. I like the way they skewered him on leadership.

 

[Buck]

New Orleans Zoo status: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4223288.stm

 

[mubs]

Apaprently after Miami Zoo anilams wandered around after a recent hurricane, the NO zoo upgraded its precustions. That's good.

The sad news is that along ith the human suffering, up to 50,000 pets are slowly dying from starvation and lack of potable water in NO.

 

[Santilli]

It's really funny, at least to me, that people blame presidents for domestic events. The presidents PRMIARY RESPONSIBILITY, under the Constitution, is foreign affairs. Try pulling up the first couple articles, and read what the president is SUPPOSED TO DO.

I think the founders really intended the president as a figure head, inhibiting his ability by the tremendous amount of time required to communicate with foreign governments.

We seem to use our president, Bush OR Clinton, as a repository for all that's wrong with the world. MOST of this needs to laid at the feet of congress, or, really, state governments.

GS

 

[Tannin]

Greg, even from here, on the other side of the world, i can see the nonsense oozing out of that comment. Remember one of your greatest-ever presidents, one of the three of four that will still be famous in 500 years time? Remember the plaque on his desk?

The buck stops here

Fella by the name of FDR.

Or think of it another way. Just imagine that you had a different president and ask yourself what that other man would be doing right now (as opposed to frantically trying to cover his arse and chase more photo opportunities).

What would FDR be doing?
Or Abe Lincoln
Or, for that matter, Truman, Eisenhower, LBJ, even Richard bloody Nixon would have emerged from his tranquiliser-sodden haze for long enough to actually do something

 

[Santilli]

Greg, even from here, on the other side of the world, i can see the nonsense oozing out of that comment. Remember one of your greatest-ever presidents, one of the three of four that will still be famous in 500 years time? Remember the plaque on his desk?

The buck stops here

Fella by the name of FDR.

Or think of it another way. Just imagine that you had a different president and ask yourself what that other man would be doing right now (as opposed to frantically trying to cover his arse and chase more photo opportunities).

What would FDR be doing?
Or Abe Lincoln
Or, for that matter, Truman, Eisenhower, LBJ, even Richard bloody Nixon would have emerged from his tranquiliser-sodden haze for long enough to actually do something

Certainly intresting that to you, FDR was a great president, and, to me, he was one of the most long lasting, and distructive. A brief view of his accomplishments:

He destroyed the 10th amendment.

He threatened the Supreme Court, saying if they didn't stop vetoing his illegal, and contrary to the intention of the Constitution, Federal welfare handout creations, he would expand the court to 12 judges, and pack the bench.

FDR CREATED our welfare state, and, while it was perhaps, neccessary at the time, it created a gigantic federal government system that's only current goal is self-perpetuation. These constructs were exactly the reverse of what the founders intended, a limited federal government, with states.

He expanded taxation, and helped us to our current level of socialist tax systems, both federal, and following the federal, states.

He may very well have covered up the incoming bombing of Japan, to create positive public opinion to get into WW2, and create outrage.

A great president? Certainly not MY opinion.

FDR took his vast popularity, and used it to sludge hammer the judicial system, and congress, into doing what HE wanted, regardless of what the Constitution says. He rode rough shod
over the very principals he swore to uphold, the balance of power in the US Constitution.

Overall, the list you provide are people that took advantage of huge majorities, and abused, and overstepped the powers defined in the Constitution for the president. Certainly a strange way of evaluating the success of a presidency.

As residents of a country created as a penal colony, by the same monarchy that our founders abhored, you can certainly understand why they would design a system to minimize the power of their figure head, a president, yet still believe the position to be neccessary, to interact with other states.

I was responding in general, to critiques of our presidents. I would go after Clinton for supporting the Muslim side in Bosnia, against the Christians.
Also, his desire to grant Haitian refuges assylum, when they in fact average 95% aids, in their country, are not high on my list of proper actions by a president.

Bombing Afganistan, because he got caught for getting a BJ from Monica is also not on my top ten list of presidential actions.

However, Clinton's desire to screw up our country was mitigated by a republican congress.

Really, this kind of stuff, New Orleans, is up to the states, and, about the only action a president should do is one, send in the national guard, which he did, since a friend I know was called down there, and, two, allocate 'stolen' federal tax dollars to aide in the relief, which I'm not sure if he did.


Also, much like Bill Clinton, I think everyone got caught with their pants down, not realizing the strength, and devastation possible with Katrina.

We've had a LOT of super strong hurricanes, Ivan comes to mind recently, that have done tremendous damage. Also, I suspect, the reason NO has survived so long is hurricanes usually soften, and die, over cold water. The Mississippi river provides a LOT of cold water, and, I think that's why NO hasn't been hit, for a long time. Also, hurricanes generally seem to avoid high pressure areas, such as pillars of high pressure created by heated land, like the Hawaiian Islands, and move over the warmer water, that isn't protected by the build up of high pressure over land. Even so, most hurricanes going into that area seriously weaken when they go towards land, thanks to the cold water from the MRiver. Katrina did that, a bit, but, she still had a tremendous punch, and, the levy system wasn't in the greatest shape.


GS

 

[Santilli]

A fellow furball to keep Tannin's other half engaged...

GS
:wink:

 

[Mercutio]

It's really funny, at least to me, that people blame presidents for domestic events. The presidents PRMIARY RESPONSIBILITY, under the Constitution, is foreign affairs. Try pulling up the first couple articles, and read what the president is SUPPOSED TO DO.

FEMA, Homeland Security, and all the Armed Forces are part of the executive branch.

George W. Bush is currently CHIEF EXECUTIVE.

Regardless of what you think about what he is or isn't supposed to do, he DOES have the authority to make direct orders to those regulatory agencies and military forces. He could've said "Go" three days before the storm hit (we knew it'd end up somewhere along the gulf coast, even 72 hours before the storm hit), and there would've been communication guys, engineers, medical support and whatever other civil defense types were at least in the right part of the country and ready to go to work.
NO ONE ELSE IN OUR GOVERNMENT HAS THAT LEVEL OF AUTHORITY, NOR RESPONSIBILITY. The motherfucker can delegate all day long (and look who the motherfucker delegated TO), but at the end of the day, he's the only one who could've made everything come together. THAT is his job, THAT is why he is a failure as a leader (well, not the first reason, but the most recent).

 

[Mercutio]

Go fuck yourself, Mr. Cheney, live from MSNBC.

 

[Santilli]

Sorry Merc, but, I believe it's the part of the city, then the county, then the state agencies involved to anticipate, and ask for possible help.

Bush WAS ready to go, but, he respected states rights, and waited until asked, which in this case, looks like partisian politics affecting the gov of Louisiana, or, just stupidity on her part.

I have a different perspective, since one of our friends is in the national guard, at a very high level, read Bird Col. and was called up a couple days before the storm hit. Bush was ready to go, but, following the proper protocols, waited until the state officials FINALLY ASKED FOR HELP, and, we have a reactionary system. First disaster, then government aide moves in.

All of those government agencies are designed to work protecting the US against invasion, and, do actions in other countries, not function on American soil. Likewise, the CIA is concerned with affairs OUTSIDE the country, that may affect the country. The FBI's jurisdiction is what happens inside the borders. The problem is, the INS is responsible for
invasion from the south, and they do not have an enforcement arm, or presence, capable of dealing with the invaision. If they did, the impact of
this castatrophe would have been far less...

I also think this is payback time for a leaving president, to screw the states that didn't vote for him. He's under no obligation to send in the national guard, etc. even though he did, and was well prepared prior to the event to do so. Withholding Federal aide to states ravaged by a national disaster is something he may have learned from the democrats.

Kind of reminds me of the Princess Feinstein and Princess Boxer wanting to get rid of the bay area military presence, and then whining about the lost revenue, and protection, when the Presidio, and Oakland Naval bases are closed, and 9/11 occurs. Then they squak, worrying about targets such as the bridges, and the city, with no military protection, even though they advocated cutting funds, and cutting presence.

P. Feinstein has a concealed weapons permit. YOU try getting one
in the Peoples Republic of San Francisco. I interned in the DA's office, and I had no hope. But, Feinstein has her permit...

What this entire thing is really about is getting rid of the poor in New Orleans, and the poverty, and the mayor, and the gov using it to do that.

Withhold aide, don't ask for it, and the vagrants, and the low lifes that are still in NO will be driven out. In other words, all the people that FDR put on the Federal, and state created wellfare shit will either drown, or starve, leaving a much better situation for people that have money to live through the storm.

It's sort of the nuetron bomb approach: get rid of the low income, welfare state folks, and, the city becomes a better place.

Don't blame Bush for the gov dragging her feet. He WAS READY.

I know. Our friend was ready for deployment, the weekend before the hurricane hit...

GS

 

[sechs]

Wasn't that Truman, not Roosevelt?

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/buckstop.htm

At least, that's what his library says....

 

[jtr1962]

What this entire thing is really about is getting rid of the poor in New Orleans, and the poverty, and the mayor, and the gov using it to do that.

Withhold aide, don't ask for it, and the vagrants, and the low lifes that are still in NO will be driven out. In other words, all the people that FDR put on the Federal, and state created wellfare shit will either drown, or starve, leaving a much better situation for people that have money to live through the storm.

It's sort of the nuetron bomb approach: get rid of the low income, welfare state folks, and, the city becomes a better place.

Funny, the exact same thought occurred to me, and the more I read about it the more I think this is exactly what they had in mind but will never publicly admit. And it seems like they succeeded in doing just what they wanted. Most of the poor in New Orleans are spread out among other states now, and will likely not be returning because they can't afford it. As many as 10,000 may have drowned. Most of those remaining at this point are looters who will eventually end up being shot. The few diehards still in their homes may likely die of starvation or disease. It looks like Katrina really was a neutron bomb for the poor.

 

[Fushigi]

And now Bush wants to under-pay the reconstruction workers, hurting the NOLA-area economy even more.

Bush also issued an executive order on Thursday allowing federal contractors rebuilding in the aftermath of the hurricane to pay below the prevailing wage

 

[mubs]

The unbelievable has happened!

FEMA Chief replaced

Embattled Brown Taken Off Katrina Duty

WASHINGTON - Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown, the principal target of harsh criticism of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, was relieved of his onsite command Friday. He will be replaced by Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, who was overseeing New Orleans relief, recovery and rescue efforts, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced.

And only a few days ago, Bushie publicly said "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job".

 

[mubs]

Republican Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record), whose Pascagoula, Miss., home was destroyed in the storm, said he, too, had concluded that FEMA "was overwhelmed, undermanned and not capable of doing its job" under Brown's leadership.

"Michael Brown has been acting like a private, instead of a general," Lott said.

 

[mubs]

Barbara Bush: It's Good Enough for the Poor

 

[sechs]

Barbara, don't you think it's time take that silver spoon out of his mouth?

 

[mubs]

We pay again for the ineptitude of his royal screwball-dunceheaded-self-enriching-idiotness.

Disaster costs are estimated at $200 billion and beyond. Al Hubbard, director of Bush's National Economic Council, said, "It's coming from the American taxpayer."

What was that saying, again? An ounce of prevention.....

 

[CityK]

On this historically interesting Orleans anniversary date, and while most other traders pussied out (likely because of an abundence of sense), my greedy twitchy index finger has sent me long Texas tea into the weekend.

I hope you can forgive my opportunistic behaviour. If you can't then perhaps you can take comfort in the fact that the uncertainty of Gustav's path also means that I also stand a significant chance of being on the wrong side of any move in CL.

In any regard, consider yourself fairly warned -- those residing along the Gulf coast should get the @&$% out of Dodge now, as I will be doing my utmost best rain dancing over the course of the weekend in an attempt to conjure up an oil-infrastructure-bashing-category-8-behometh-of-epic-proportions huricane (and to think you thought they only went up to cat.5 -- ha! shows you how much you know).

Actually, in truth, what I would like Gustav to do is, after crossing western Cuba and entering the Gulf, grow immensely in intensity but come to a standstill, just swirling and being a general menace for a few days (like Sun, Mon, Tues), before stalling out or coming ashore as a much diminished TS.

We shall see. In the meantime, you can have some fun tracking along at these sites:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters
http://www.theoildrum.com/

Oh, and in regard to Katrina, this might have already been posted in this thread, but what the hey -- the images are just too amazing not to see again (just to bad about the crappy sound and visual quality...nonetheless, an absolutely most fitting song):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Ny9_CrUVY

Cheerio, yours truly, CityK .... bringer of destruction to America's dependence on oil!

 

[Stereodude]

Did someone forget their meds today?

 

[udaman]

Did someone forget their meds today?

Could be....or just CityK's Academy Award winning portrayal of Rain Man???

Idiot savant...clairvoyant, psychic! Deja vu?

New Orleans gets ready as Gustav strengthens


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080830/ap_on_re_us/gustav_gulf_coast

Forecasters warned it was still too soon to say whether New Orleans would take another direct hit, but residents weren't taking any chances judging by the bumper-to-bumper traffic pouring from the city. Gas stations along interstate highways were running out of fuel, and phone circuits were jammed.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said they were surprised at how quickly Gustav gained strength as it charged toward Cuba. It went from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in about 24 hours, and was likely to become a Category 5 — with sustained winds of 156 mph or more — by Sunday...

Residents were streaming out of the city even though a mandatory evacuation order had not yet been issued for New Orleans. Hotels closed, and the airport prepared to follow suit. Mayor Ray Nagin, saying the danger to the city was growing, told tourists to leave. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff planned to travel to Louisiana on Sunday to observe preparations.



"I don't like it," said Joseph Jones Jr., 61, who draped a towel over his head to block the blazing sun. "Going someplace you don't know, people you don't know. And then when you come back, is your house going to be OK?"
Jones had been in line for 2 1/2 hours, but he wasn't complaining. During Katrina, he'd been stranded on a highway overpass.
Others led children or pushed strollers with one hand and pulled luggage with the other. Volunteers handed out bottled water, and medics were nearby in case people became sick from the heat.
Unlike Katrina, when thousands took refuge inside the Superdome, there will be no "last resort" shelter, and those who stay behind accept "all responsibility for themselves and their loved ones," said the city's emergency preparedness director, Jerry Sneed.
Yet the presence of 2,000 National Guard troops that were expected to join 1,400 New Orleans police officers patrolling the streets following the evacuation — along with Gov. Bobby Jindal's request to neighboring states for rescue teams — suggested officials were expecting stragglers.
Standing outside his restaurant in the city's Faubourg Marigny district, Dale DeBruyne prepared for Gustav the way he did for Katrina — stubbornly.
"I'm not leaving," he said.
DeBruyne, 52, said his house was stocked with storm supplies, including generators.
"I stayed for Katrina," he said, "and I'll stay again."

 

[jtr1962]

It looks likely to hit west of NO this time, but it still won't be a picnic. Radar shows the storm to be nearly the size of the entire Gulf. And yes, it may become a Cat 5 or even Cat 6 (sustained winds > 175 mph) before it makes landfall.

 

[sechs]

5 is the highest category for a hurricane....

 

[jtr1962]

5 is the highest category for a hurricane....

I heard on a special on hyperhurricanes that they're planning to go up to 8, probably using 20 or 25 mph increments:

Category 6: 176 mph to 200 mph
Category 7: 201 mph to 225 mph
Category 8: > 226 mph

Under the revised system Katrina was very briefly category 7. So far there has been no recorded category 8 (thank goodness).

 

[sechs]

Well, the NOAA says otherwise. And they are the law.

To be honest, is there a meaningful difference between 200MPH and 225MPH winds to your average person? Category five is really bad, and that's all you need to know.