They should try surviving in a blizzard that shuts everything down for 2 weeks or being on constant alert for tornados....you get used to preparation for extremes.
>>They should try surviving in a blizzard that shuts everything down for 2 weeks or being on constant alert for tornados....you get used to preparation for extremes.<<
Yep, and the preparations needn't be elaborate. The most unsophisticated and inexpensive preparations can make a world of difference.
Imagine if only 50% of the people stranded in NOLA stowed four gallons of tap water, 12 cans of food, and some utensils. Throw it in a suitcase, large duffle bag, or sturdy trash bag (double and triple bagged if need be), in case a quick exit or moving to higher ground is needed. 30 minutes and $10.00!! What kind of difference would that have made?
Nope, no need. The National Guard will spend millions upon millions of tax dollars to airdrop us food, water, and anything else we might need...or else.
Personally, I think the response was freaking heroic - unprecedented! They evacuated at least 50,000+ people from a filthy sh-t hole of a city with almost no passable roads in or out, 6 feet of water in most places, thousands plucked from rooftops by helicopter, several hundred hospital patients and hundreds more people with critical needs, 500+ city busses operated on a daily basis sitting useless under water due to Nagin's incompetence, in five days! Plus the all the other assistance urgently needed between NOLA and Biloxi, which was hit much harder than NOLA with numerous communities completely leveled.
But to watch the news and the pundits, millions of people received the impression that Katrina landed on New Orleans then died out, resulting in no serious damage elsewhere. If I was under the impression that New Orleans was the only area suffering greatly and in dire straights, I sure as hell would question who bungled the response so badly that it was taking so long to get these people help.