Computer models accurately predicted what would happen if the levees gave way. Lavish exercises supposedly had agencies ready to respond when they did. But when Katrina slammed into New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the emergency response was almost as chaotic as the hurricane itself. Why?

[Via Wired News]

I read the LSU prediction that a direct hit from a hurricane would flood the city from the New Orleans newspaper website the day of the hurricane. I could tell from the article that the information in the article had been previously published in that newspaper. From the Wired article it is apparent that the city used this “hurricane causing flooding scenario” as an emergency response drill. The emergency response efforts by the city were catastrophic. There is a saying that “All politics is local”. Despite the finger pointing at global warming and federal budget cuts, it is apparent that emergency response is a local issue and the mayor and governor are at the center of the problem.