well...we are at war, all of New Orleans is below sea level (seriously, it's shaped like a bowl), other states were hit by the hurricane I'm not saying those are reason, just some things to consider <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Not all of New Orleans is below sea level. The French Quarters is above sea level, actually. Not by much but it is. One of the only reasons why a lot of the flooding happened is because the floodwall broke (NOT THE LEVEE!). FEMA did not even plan to mobilize a large amount of personelle till after the storm left. They should have put things into motion the Saturday or Sunday before. Plus, it's the National Guard that is being used for much of the operations and they are mainly stationed around the US. This country had the resources and ability to be there by Tuesday. They could have atleast pitched up some mobile command tents in Baton Rouge to plan their operations. It was really really sloppy.