Questions For New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin

Much blame has been laid at the feet of FEMA concerning the recent humanitarian disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana. However, a recent interview between NBC's Tim Russert and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on Meet the Press has raised a few questions in my mind concerning why the local authorities are not being held to account.

Hurricane Katrina was predicted to come through on a Monday. According to the Mayor's own words, the New Orleans SuperDome was supposed to be a shelter for "two or three days", after which "the cavalry" was supposed to be coming. (See source, below.)

Question Set 1 - Hurricane contingency:

If, as widely known to have been planned, the evacuation of New Orleans was to begin no later than 72 hours (three days) before the hurricane was to strike, how exactly was "the cavalry" going to come in, in "two or three days"? Had the evacuation gone according to plan, it would have had to have been called and under way on the previous Friday. This meant that food and water would have had to be available for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (three days). Did the mayor believe that "the cavalry" was going to come in during the hurricane on Monday?

Question Set 2 - Flood contingency:

If the SuperDome had always been planned to be a shelter in case of flooding as well as hurricane, why was it expected that "two or three days" was going to a sufficient timeframe when it was clear that flooding (1) was a semi-permanent condition that would occur and continue (2) after a hurricane approached and passed? What "cavalry" could arrive in "two or three days" if the entire New Orleans area was flooded after a hurricane? Did the disaster plan contemplate the possibility that flooding would add an additional two or three days to this timeframe? If not, why not?

Question Set 3 - Organizational failures:

How, logically, could the arrival of the "cavalry" deal with the urgent needs of the evacuees inside the SuperDome? Again, let's keep in mind that under the plan, the evacuation was supposed to begin three days before a hurricane, leaving a three day period in which the distribution of food, water, and medical supplies, the provision of medical care, and basic sanitary needs would be essential. It would be logical to assume that hurricane relief could not arrive during the occurrence of the hurricane itself, in which case an additional day would be added during which essential supplies and services would be necessary. In the worst case scenario, it would be logical to believe that no fewer than three or four days would pass before any "cavalry" could even begin to deploy. Where was the requisite organizational and security structure inside the SuperDome during this time?

Question Set 4 - Evacuation errors:

Why did the Mayor not call for a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans 72 hours before the estimated arrival of Katrina, but instead, according the source cited below, called it less than half the time before it struck? Why was the unavailability of bus drivers not anticipated? Why were citizen drivers not recruited?

Question Set 5 - Planning deficiencies:

Why did the Mayor say on a previous occasion that evacuees were going to be "on their own"? How is this consistent with any defense of disaster planning and execution in connection with the hurricane and flooding? How is this consistent with claims that "racism" caused putative neglect of the people of New Orleans?

I would like to know why Mayor Nagin is not held accountable for these apparent issues. Only then will his complaints of racism, also cited in the interview, be taken seriously by a great many people.

See:

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46271