Tell that to the people floating in the street. Mandatory evacuations is what saved N'Awlins from unprecedented disaster.
I only meant to comment on the fact that N'Awlins was spared the worst case scenario of Lake P levees being breached and a filling up of the entire bowl.
I did not mean to belittle the massive damage that was done, nor to say that a complete and total evacuation was warranted-- it was, and if there is ever a similar situation they should act sooner than they did.
NOLA is uniquely vulnerable to a wind, water and flooding event due to its topography, coupled with its difficulty in evacuation, as everyone is aware. For that reason they should be more careful than other locales.
Sorry if my post was too short to convey my entire thought.