He went ahead without them. He called them twice ahead, they said they had it under control. He went on TV and issued a state of emergency for two of the states and asked for mandatory evac... he stopped waiting for them to do something. FEMA (not in NO) had already met with him on it and they couldn't get in yet. I am telling you neither this mayor (who I heard was really a good guy, but totally out of his element...who knew, I didn't see it) or Blanco had no clue about SOP. After Nagin's rant a reporter asked him if he knew the governor of the state has to ask for assistance... he was totally blank and shocked. Too much.
If I voted in New Orleans or Louisiana, I would be looking at ways to initiate referendums asking the both the governor and the mayor to resign. If they refused to resign, I would begin initiating efforts aimed at recall or impeachment. There are months to years of rebuilding ahead that are still going to require substantial leadership for the City and the State. These two individuals have clearly demonstrated their incompetence to lead or organize.