New Orleans, plans and disaster

Most people who have access to any sort of news at all must be wondering what the US has been doing. It seems incredible that the US had not planned for the disaster in New Orleans given that:

• ... they had five days notice before the hurricane
• ... a quick search of the internet shows that the chance of New Orleans flooding was known about for years
• ... the US is the first world country

It is positively disgraceful that there are people still in need of evacuation FIVE DAYS after the disaster!

It is despicable and evily unforgiveable that people are looting for non-food items and shooting rescue craft and attempting armed invasion of hospitals. Just watching the pictures of the rescue efforts and the disaster unfolding makes any normal observer angry, sad and dismayed in equal measure. It is difficult to imagine the civil unrest happening anywhere else in the world including the north of the US. The infamous events of 11th of September 2001 and 26 December 2004 were not met with such ridiculous behaviour.

I want to give to charity to help the people that the US seems incapable of helping, but I am not convinced that they can help during what looks like an apocalyptic civil war. The police have the most horrendous job I can imagine, and the people who suffer are the poor of New Orleans.