In this particular city, New Orleans, a combination of circumstances led to this being the worst natural disaster in US history. The question is-could it have been prevented?

Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 storm hit the Gulf Coast, and changed that region forever. Some projections put the estimated dead at 10,000. Homes, businesses and an entire way of life are gone forever.

In this particular city, New Orleans, a combination of circumstances led to this being the worst natural disaster in US history. The question is-could it have been prevented? The answer is yes. At the very least, this region might have been spared the enormous suffering we see now.   To place the blame on this Administration is not only specious but false. For over 25 years, the region around New Orleans, and the state of Louisiana, have applied for Federal funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to come and revamp and shore up the existing infrastructure surrounding the levee system. And each time, have had requested funding cut.     In addition Louisiana's own government has not been proactive in dealing with projected disasters. They have had the projected models of what would happen for years. The reality is, swamped by bureaucratic indifference, an extremely high poverty level, and ineptitude, nothing concrete was done. From the simplest things, like coordinated efforts at mobilising help, to a sheer lack of effective leadership, all contributed to what we see today.        Contrast the efforts in Alabama and Mississipi to that of Louisiana, and it becomes clear that no one's home at the levels most needed in such an emergency.          The question then becomes-how do we prevent this type of nightmare scenario from happening again? We need to streamline the process of activating help. We need to become much more proactive, rather than reactive. A model for how things should work under highly stressful conditions is to be found during 9/11. Even though there were chaotic moments, The NYPD/FD performed with consummate professionalism, and dedication. People knew their roles, and in many instances, exceeded them, recognizing the scope of the disaster required thinking outside the box.             FEMA failed miserably. I agree with President Bush that their response was unacceptable. People trapped on freeways for days, with no food or water,  the Superdome, rank, foetid and lacking workable plumbing. Rapes, and murders on top of the appalling conditions, made this a hell on earth. It shouldn't happen here, and it won't again.                1 in 9 people live below Federal poverty guidelines in New Orleans. Amongst the very poorest, there were opportunists, who, like the sewer rats they are, took a calculated risk in staying, in order to carry out the crimes we've seen. These animals increased the fear and hardship already burdening our peoples down there. Because of this, many people stayed hidden in homes and empty places, too afraid to come out and seek help. Many died...waiting. There should be enhanced criminal penalties attached to anyone caught committing crimes of advantage.                  New Orleans sits in a shallow basin of land, like a soup bowl. A soup bowl now containing a decaying putrid mix of chemicals, rotting flesh and bacterium. I am hoping that a long careful look at New Orleans is taken, with an eye to either moving it from it's present location to higher ground, or an infilling of that bowl, along with a highly sophisticated levee/pump system, to ensure this never happens again.                     I find it sad, that yet again, a high toll was extracted, in terms of human lives and suffering, to finally get this region what it needs.