Haha, I'm not a New Orleans resident, and was still at home in Philly when the storm wrecked the city.
I didn't get down here until March of '06.
Damn, that was so long ago...
Anyway, I hope it was clarified that FEMA's purpose is only really to manage the logistical side of a disaster. And while they did fail miserably, nobody was ready for what happened. Did they touch upon Mayor Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco?
New Orleans at that time had a "shelter of last resort", which was the superdome. There is no longer a shelter of last resort. You might also be happy to know that the evacuation for Gustav last year went very smoothly.
But after experiencing that for myself I have to say, I can understand why people stay. They live here, they want to protect their property, what they work for. And evacuating is expensive, and very stressing.
People were running out of gas during the contraflow (both lanes of the highway opened up). And gas stations everywhere were selling out. You better have food with you because all the stores will be closed.
Imagine driving miles without finding a drop a gas. And the gas you do find has a line 3 blocks long with police managing the traffic. People are stressed out and desperate. Suddenly you feel a little lax about gun control ideals.