They look like complete fools.
No Government diaster plan survives contact with a catogory 4+ hurricane.
There I made a new axiom. The real question is what to do next.
I say march the people out of New Orleans that want to be saved, the thugs won't leave their ill gotten gains and any of the marchers that have looted items will quickly tire of carrying them.
In the end we can save more by getting these people out of there then by leaving them to sit and wait.