Tape proves Bush was warned of Katrina threat

President Bush's slumping fortunes have taken another blow after the leak of a video in which he insists everything is under control ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Katrina–even as he was being warned by officials in the starkest terms of the devastating potential of the storm. The video, along with transcripts of other meetings of federal and state officials just before and after the hurricane struck New Orleans and the Gulf Coast last August, has emerged almost exactly six months after the storm. In a sense, the tapes add little to what was previously known. Bush has admitted mistakes in handling the disaster, and the White House has issued a 200-page report, containing 127 recommendations for improving disaster readiness. But, once again, the tapes raise the question of just how much the White House knew before the hurricane struck–and bolster the image of a president asleep at the wheel. Their very disclosure, moreover, is a sign of the weakening grip of an administration that has always prided itself on running the tightest of tight ships from which nothing leaks. "I want to assure folks at state level that we are fully prepared," Bush is shown saying at a videoconference, sitting in a windowless conference room at his Texas ranch on the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 28, as Katrina was taking final aim. But an official from the National Hurricane Center warns President Bush that the levees protecting New Orleans were at serious risk, giving the lie–and not for the first time–to Bush's previous assertion that "no-one could have predicted the levees would fail." Michael Brown, the much-mocked former boss of the federal disaster agency FEMA, is seen calling the storm "the big one." He raises concerns about the roof of the Superdome, the shelter of last resort for city dwellers, and wonders whether there are enough medical and mortuary facilities to cope with a possible "catastrophe within a catastrophe." Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center made the following statements during the video conference: "No one can tell you exactly where that landfall is going to be. But this hurricane is so large that no matter where it hits, it's going to have an impact over a very, very large area." "I don't think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not, but that's a very grave concern." "I mean, the storm-force winds are going to be there, you know, later this afternoon and this evening. So, you know, people are already running out of time. And, quite frankly, for the folks in Louisiana, if you can't get people out, you know, if you're ever going to, you know, talk about vertical refuge, this is the time to do it." "The big question is going to be: will that top some of the levees? And the track and the forecast we have now suggests there will be minimal flooding in the city of New Orleans itself, but we've always said the storm surge model is only accurate within about 20 percent. If that track were to deviate just a little bit to the west, it makes all the difference the world [sic]. I expect there will be levees over top even out here in the western portions where the airport is."