Keystone Kops

Why were we so unprepared?

A day after Hurricane Katrina dealt a devastating blow to the Big Easy, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on Tuesday night blasted what he called a lack of coordination in relief efforts for setting behind the city's recovery.

"There is way too many fricking ... cooks in the kitchen," Nagin said in a phone interview with WAPT-TV in Jackson, Mississippi, fuming over what he said were scuttled plans to plug a 200-yard breach near the 17th Street Canal, allowing Lake Pontchartrain to spill into the central business district...

According to the mayor, Black Hawk helicopters were scheduled to pick up and drop massive 3,000-pound sandbags in the 17th Street Canal breach, but were diverted on rescue missions. Nagin said neglecting to fix the problem has set the city behind by at least a month.

"I had laid out like an eight-week to ten-week timeline where we could get the city back in semblance of order. It's probably been pushed back another four weeks as a result of this," Nagin said.

"That four weeks is going to stop all commerce in the city of New Orleans. It also impacts the nation, because no domestic oil production will happen in southeast Louisiana."

The first 48 hours after a crisis are always going to be the most important. It seems like utter chaos down there. Refugees (yes, in America; REFUGEES) don't know where to go; federal, state and local officials are engaged in pissing contests; thousands are set up in the Superdome, of all places, which is 30 years old and not structurally sound.

We're four years out of a major terrorist attack, one in which emergency personnel performed admirably to minimize the loss of life. Unlike that one, everybody knew this was headed to New Orleans at least a few days out. Why were we so unprepared? The levees were built to withstand a Cat 3 hurricane; Cat 5 hurricanes have been in the area before. This scenario should have been played out.

I'm sure we've all thought at one time or another that we've become so consumed with worry about terrorism, that we turn a blind eye to other potential disasters. That really seems to be exactly what's happened here. Homeland Security can't have such a single-minded focus. I'm afraid that we'll end up seeing more casualties as a result of this than 9/11. The impact to people's homes and livelihoods, and the economy as a whole, will certainly be greater.

As I've written throughout this, give if you can. It's just a terrible tragedy.