JoAnna - very well said.

I remember in the 1994 earthquake. I lived 2 miles from the epicenter. It took 3 or 4 days before we had government help. The fire and police department had it's hands full. My house was on the lower corner of a large condominium nad all of my walls were cracked through, my door frame so bent you couldn't open/close it. Gas lines were broken so no hot water or cooking. Fire hazard, actually. Continual aftershocks too.

We had a lot of people go and live in the parks after the earthquake waiting for the government to bring them food etc. There were stores that were open. I didn't get that - why? We just went and bought stuff that didn't need cooking. We did not want to deplete our emergency supply when we didn't have to. The water trucks (Arrowhead/Sparkletts) we literally on corners giving cases away.

Anyway, it took time, even with a disaster plan, The most needy got services first. We had pretty strong civic leadership then. They called for help right away. They instructed us what to do to avoid panic.

But the day after Katrina, I saw the governor interviewed and all she did was say that the residents should pray. She never gave any kind of orders. She never said she called on the Feds to come and help. She never made a plea for help from unaffected surrounding government agencies.