Were was FEMA?

We have been having dire warnings on New Orleans for decades, the Army Corps of Engineers knew that the levees had serious problems. My questions is were was the pre-planning? We hear that FEMA and the Dept. of Homeland Security have been planning for years for the big one in the Gulf.

National Geographic magazine wrote in an article published in October 2004 about a possible hurricane scenario for New Orleans:

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency lists a hurricane strike on New Orleans as one of the most dire threats to the nation, up there with a large earthquake in California or a terrorist attack on New York City. Even the Red Cross no longer opens hurricane shelters in the city, claiming the risk to its workers is too great.

So everyone know that the situation was untenable there. When they knew that they had to evacuate the city consider the opening paragraphs of a July 24 story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune that for saw this situation.

"City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give the poorest of New Orleans' poor a historically blunt message: In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own."

And they sure have lived up to these words. Now even in these areas, days later people are complaining that they see no federal response. I thought we learned are lessons from the problems of homestead.

Now days later, FEMA has found found 475 buses to help with the belated evacuation effort, where were they in the days before when it looked as if they would have been the most good. They knew that over 135,000 people had no good way out. They should of provided it before hand, giving the poor at least the option to get out of the way. And this goes for all of these areas in the Gulf. I keep hearing on the TV, " I would of left if I had a way or the money."

If your going to have evacuations give the poor , elderly and disabled more of a chance.

Related article: Updated 2:35 pm PST
No plan ever made to help New Orleans' most vulnerable
Destroying FEMA
A Diminished FEMA Scrambles to the Rescue