You’re right, we all have 20:20 hindsight.

It’s too bad that we as humans seem to have to learn from mistakes. The worse the mistake the bigger the lesson, and this was one hell of a big lesson.

yes there were alot of things that could have been done on the westbank, but to my knowledge the jefferson parish government was by themselves overthere with very little resources.

The westbank expressway and the CCC was the only route into the dry parts of the city in the days after Katrina. The westbank should have been used for alot of things.

Its a classic example of Would a, could a, should a.

But I must disagree with you that preventing damage to physical objects and protecting property on the Westbank was more important than evacuating people from extreme peril. Human life takes precedence over property.

The buses waiting to enter New Orleans could have been diverted to Airline Highway over the Huey P. Long bridge to the Westbank Expressway. People could have walked to the west bank to the mall parking lot and been evacuated on Tuesday and Wednesday before things got so bad. The buses could have come stocked with food and water as well.

Governor Blanco should have told FEMA where they could shove it and taken action herself. She could have gotten buses (with drivers), food and water from Baton Rouge to the west bank to pick people up very quickly since it was dry. The expressway was clear and deserted so buses could have gotten to the mall and out again easily. Many local volunteer organizations already had trucks stocked and ready to go Monday night. There is no reason people had to suffer the way they did.

The west bank expressway just after the Mississippi River Bridge could have also been used as an evacuee center and stocked with food and water by the State or National Guard quickly. But it wasn’t. Port-o-lets could have been located on the west bank and placed at the end of the bridge for people to use for a day or two while they waited to get on buses.

If we’ve learned anything, when FEMA shows up to help, we’d better be ready to help ourselves and the local government had better be ready to help its citizens without federal aid.

Another thing I don’t get is why the news crews weren’t bringing water and food with them when they came to report. They also could have gotten aid to suffering people quickly. They got there, they could have brought a lot of supplies in and kept them coming.