9/11 caught almost everyone by total surprise. However, New Orleans should have been prepared for the possibility of a Katrian and now they had days of advance warning.
Not excusing for the incompetent leadership of the mayor and governor, but it is not fair to compair the scope of 9/11 to the hurricane. 9/11 was confined to a few square blocks..and the rest of the surrounding infrastructure was left intact. Rescue/relief workers could drive to within a few blocks of thir drop off points....in the Gulf area, 90,000 square miles have been wiped out...