A couple of interesting facts.....
Almost a year ago, (Oct 2004), National Geographic did an article on the Delta, that almoost exactly described the effects a hurricane would have there. The problems are not new, were not unknown- and now we have no choice but to deal with them.
As for sending in the Coast Guard...I have been told that Coast Guard vessels have relatively little room for people. Ratherm instead the US Navy has dispatched at least three amphibious assault ships; there are ships wit bunks for thousands of troops, enormous well decks, and stuffed with landing craft- vessels ideal for shallow waters. The USS Comfort, a hospital ship, is also on scene.
This is not a little mess confined to New Orleans. Major parts of the Gulf, an area roughly the size of Great Britain, has been devastated.
