As I have heard all the excuses for the inability of our government to execute emergency plans I find a familiar thread. We had C130s full, ready to go to on the runway in San Diego. Homeland Security has 9 I believe, stockpiles of food, water, and all the emergency supplies needed in an emergency and none were used. (When asked why they did not send anything they replied, "No one asked.") The Red Cross was told to wait and so was the Coast Guard who had a great plan to follow Katrina into New Orleans and were either not let in or told to stay put.
Here is an analogy I think fits perfectly. Your neighbor's house is on fire and you sit in your house and watch it burn while he desperately tried to stop the fire. The house burns down. He comes over and asks, "Why didn't you help and the answer is, "You did not ask." I don't have to be asked to help a fellow human being in trouble, why does the government?