First responders for Rita were competent, Katrina's were not

First responders for Rita were competent, Katrina's were not: "As the Hurricane Katrina saga unfolded before us on television, we repeatedly saw suffering people wailing, 'Where's FEMA?' Such images, while emotionally moving, contributed to a false perception about the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We saw none of these images, however, following Hurricane Rita. Does anyone wonder why?

FEMA provides a single point of contact for local and state authorities to work with the Red Cross and 27 responding federal agencies such as the Departments of Transportation, Agriculture, Commerce, and so on. FEMA is simply an umbrella organization for all federal agencies. With virtually no resources of its own, and leaves emergency planning and execution to local authorities.

Nobody ever imagined an emergency where a total breakdown of civil authority would occur. Then came Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, knowing a Category 5 storm was coming his way and the levees in his city were built to survive only a Category 3 storm, waited until two days before it hit landfall to announce a mandatory evacuation. He then failed to provide transportation for those who needed it though he had hundreds of buses at his disposal.

We saw none of this incompetence by the mayors of Port Arthur, Beaumont, Lake Charles and Houston before or after Hurricane Rita hit. They issued and enforced evacuation orders early on. Admittedly, part of this is due to Katrina giving everyone a heightened awareness of the potential devastation as Rita approached."