According to a report just on CNN ..FLOOD EXPERTS were there BEFORE

[SoCalDem]

the hurricane hit.. Someone KNEW this was a real possibility, and yet nothing was prepared in advance.. These were flood experts from Missouri (I think) ..The little girl reporter tossed that tidbit in at the end of her report.. Kind of offhand..like the FEMA guy saying that they were in NYC on 9-10-01 (and later was said to have "misspoken".)

[liberaliraqvet26]

1. they ordered a mandatory evacuation...

which was right. It's true that some people would't leave no matter what. I do think they could've used Greyhound buses and other means to get people out though.

[SoCalDem]

2. Didn't he announce that on Saturday?

They should have shut off all power & gas 6 hours after the mandatory announcement.. That act would prevent gas leaks/fires and exploded transformers, and it would also spur people to GET OUT.. If you knew you would be sitting in the dark, sweating while waiting for the hurricane, you might just get the message to bug out ..

[Drewskie]

4. cat 5

announcement was'nt made til it went from a category 3 to 5 hurricane on sunday.

[Drewskie]

3. of course

They anticipated an initial storm surge flood; not levee break floods 12 to 24 hours later. Regardless, the evacuation was ordered sunday and many people who did'nt could have gotten out.

[11cents]

5. Of course they knew it was a possibility

The likelihood and implications of the levees failing have been discussed for years. I heard an hour-long NPR documentary about this very subject some time ago.

[stillcool]

6. it cannot be repeated enough....

that the hurricane itself was one of many factors that brought us to this level of catastrophe. Insufficient or eradicated funding for shoring up the levees...work that was known to be crucial to avoiding a potential disaster for years and years, and, as we are all still very aware...a total lack of emergency response on the state and federal level.