Lessons learned for the next time:
1) Martial law at the outset.
2) No looting. No exceptions.
3) Even BEFORE the expected hurricane hits, carriers with helicopters and other rescue ships will be ON THE WAY, and will wait just outside the storm zone.
4) Even BEFORE the hurricane hits, the national guard will be mobilized and stand ready just outside the storm zone.
5) Closed military bases will be designated as housing for evacuees.
6) All buses and other forms of transportation will be pressed into service (including mail trucks, ice-cream trucks, federal express, UPS, moving vans, etc.) to move people. All traffic will be one-way--OUT.
7) Those refusing the evacuation order will be told they will be considered criminals in violation of lawful orders, and treated as such. (That means jail time and big fines afterward, for anyone caught in an evacuation zone.)
8) All able-bodied evacuees will be put immediately to useful labor (filling sandbags, washing, cleaning, cooking, etc.), in order to free up others for rescue work, and to keep them busy at useful occuaptions.
9) Each city in the USA will receive a designated number of evacuees, to resettle. Evacuees will be cleared out of refugee centers and dispatched to these cities within days, if possible.
Well stated!