Jul 12, 2006 10:14 pm US/Mountain
Michael Brown In Boulder To Talk About Disasters
by Shaun Boyd
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) ―
Former FEMA director Michael Brown attended a conference Wednesday on natural disasters hosted by the University of Colorado.
Brown said he's moving to Boulder and has moved on since being blamed for the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina.
At the conference, Brown went before hundreds of the world's experts in emergency management and told them he finally has the freedom to say whatever he wants.
"So it's like this cathartic ability to be able to go out and speak your mind and tell the truth about everything," Brown said.
He said his biggest regret was not having gone public with how dysfunctional he believes the government is.
"And just saying to the American public 'this is one screwed up mess and it's not working,'" Brown said.
Brown warned that FEMA is a bureaucratic monstrosity destined to move slowly.
"That's why I'm out here fighting for that organization and fighting for emergency management because it's going to happen again," Brown said.
He founded a consulting company in Boulder that deals with emergency response. His clients range from American companies to foreign countries.
"Don't you want someone who's been through hell and back and knows all of the pitfalls, knows all of those things that are in the dark corners," Brown said. "I know those dark corners."
Brown hopes by shedding light on the "dark corners" that next time will be different, but he said the responsibility doesn't just rest on the government.
"There are men and women who are going to put their lives in danger to come and help you, don't you think that you owe them to be at least a little prepared," Brown said. "I want the legacy of Katrina to be not just about me but about the country waking up and really getting prepared."
The emergency responders at the CU conference predicted the next catastrophe will be a hurricane hitting the east coast, possibly as far north as New York City.
(© MMVI CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments