WASHINGTON — Bracing for a storm that could surpass 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, President Bush said Sunday he would skip the Republican National Convention and head instead to Texas to be with evacuees and emergency responders. He warned a jittery Gulf Coast that it could face “significant flooding.”
“The message to the people of the Gulf Coast is, this storm is dangerous,” Bush said after a briefing on Hurricane Gustav’s path and power. “There’s a real possibility of flooding, storm surge and high winds. . . . Do not put yourself in harm’s way or make rescue workers take unnecessary risks.”
The swift, hands-on level of engagement comes after his White House was blistered for a sluggish response to Katrina. The debacle helped damage Bush’s presidency.
Bush has had a visible role in responding to disasters in person, especially after Katrina, but heading to the site even before the storm hits is highly unusual. The president sought to assure the nation that the federal government was ready this time and working well with state and local leaders.
“There’s a lot of preparations that have gone in, in anticipation of this storm,” Bush said.
He has called governors, declared emergencies in the likely affected states, talked to the New Orleans mayor and thanked emergency workers for their long hours. He made the comments after a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters.
Bush said local leaders should get “everything they need from the federal government to prepare for what all anticipate will be a difficult situation.”
As for the people of the Gulf Coast, Bush said: “They’ve made it through great challenges in the past, and they’re going to make it through this one.”
Still, he was careful not to be rosy.
Even though the president said levees are “stronger than they’ve ever been,” he said people throughout the Gulf Coast “need to understand that in a storm of this size there is serious risk of significant flooding.”
Bush planned a visit today to an emergency-operations center in Austin, Texas, to inspect coordination among levels of government. He planned to go to San Antonio, where relief materials are stored up and people who fled the storm’s path have found shelter.
Bush said he was not traveling to Louisiana now because he did not want to interfere with emergency workers but hoped to get there soon.
The president had planned to speak at the Republican celebration in St. Paul, Minn. He is still considering taking part, perhaps by video feed.
