1.  What issue does Bob Williams address in his commentary?

2.  What level of government has the primary responsibility to deal with emergencies?  From where do they get their authority? (para. 4)

3.  How many people might need to be evacuated, according to detailed written emergency plans already in place in Louisiana? (para. 5)

4.  What did officials do to prepare to execute the emergency plans, should the need arise?  When did this preparation take place? (para. 6)

5.  After failing to use available buses to help people evacuate prior to Hurricane Ivan in 2004, what did the Governor and Mayor both acknowledge?  What type of corrective actions did they take? (para. 7)

6.  What problems were encountered in 1998 when 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome prior to Hurricane George?  (Governor Blanco was serving as Lt. Governor at that time.)

7.  What parts of New Orleans' evacuation plan were not enacted prior to Hurricane Katrina? (para. 10)

8.  The city's evacuation plan warned of specific problems.  What were they? (para. 11)

9.  What responsibility does the mayor have in the event of an emergency? (para. 12)

10. What did Governor Blanco need to do to receive help from the federal governement? (para. 13)  What did the Governor fail to do? (para. 14)  According to the state plan, how many people might possibly need to evacuate? (par. 14)

11. The information in this article leads to some questions:
*Why weren't the problems with evacuation (some known of in 1998) solved by 2005?
*The plans were in place.  Why weren't they implemented?
*Specifically, why didn't the Mayor use city or school buses (with the ability to evacuate 12,000 each fleet run) to evacuate people who needed assistance/transportation?

12.  In your opinion, did the mayor and governor fail in their responsibilities, or do the best they could?  Explain your answer.
In your opinion, did the federal government wait too long to intervene, or did they assist in a timely fashion?  Explain your answer.
Should anyone/any level of government be blamed for the loss of life and suffering? Explain.

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