New Orleans escaped by a thread and prayer

With all the local, state, and federal resources – money and manpower – that were poured into Louisiana, especially New Orleans, it’s hard to think that anything more than prayer saved the city from being ravaged at least as bad, if not worse, than it was a short three years ago.

Despite all the money pumped into coordinating services and evacuations, an estimated 10,000 residents of New Orleans stayed in town despite the mandatory evacuation orders. It’s hard to imagine these people would test their luck and stay.

If New Orleans had been devastated by Hurricane Gustav, as it was in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, or worse, would those 10,000 residents who opted to look Hurricane Gustav in the face been screaming for help, demanding to be rescued, and telling the world no one was looking out for their best interests?

The answer to that question, fortunately, will never be known now that Hurricane Gustav has passed, barely more than a whimper, at least in comparison to the havoc the storm was projected to cause.

Sure, total costs to the federal government won’t be known for at least a few weeks, but thankfully, those costs will be minimal considering the rash of wasteful spending, fraud, and outright theft – by employees, contractors, and residents – that took place in the mayhem that followed Hurricane Katrina. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had its act together this time.

Residents of New Orleans, as they begin returning home on Thursday – as is being suggested by officials – should give a heartfelt thanks to all the federal, state, and local agencies that worked well together. A coordinated plan that was in-place for Hurricane Gustav’s arrival allowed for a more appropriate, let alone logical, approach to evacuation and oversight, provided for a smooth evacuation and for maintaining law and order.

Keep in mind, this was a major holiday weekend. During Hurricane Katrina, mass burglaries and looting occurred in the days that followed the storm three years ago. Officials did all they could in facing Hurricane Gustav, and for those efforts, they are to be commended. Things came off pretty much without a hitch.

Tagged as: best interests, burglaries, contractors, coordinated plans, coordinating services, devastated, evacuations, Federal Emergency Management Agency, federal government, federal resources, FEMA, heartfelt thanks, holidays, Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Katrina, hurricanes, looting, Louisiana, luck, maintaining law and order, mandatory evacuation orders, manpower, mayhem, money, New Orleans, prayers, storms, theft, total costs, wasteful spending