Instead of using school buses to evacuate stranded citizens, the Mayor of New Orleans allowed the flood waters from Hurricane Katrina destroy them while they sat parked.  Ray Nagin corruption was not evident at the time, but his incompetence certainly was.

Former Mayor Ray Nagin (D) may have suffered a Public Relations hit because of that, but he just got a much bigger one in Federal Court.

On Wednesday, he was found guilty of 20 counts of corruption and could face decades in federal prison for his crimes.  The trial showed that Mayor Nagin was on the take starting early in his first term.  His objective was to line his pockets, not serve the people who elected him to office.  The result was a bungled hurricane evacuation plan that caused untold suffering and needless deaths.

This goes to show that during an emergency, you can’t count on incompetent, corrupt officials to save you.  The ultimate responsibility to plan and prepare for emergencies rests with individuals, not governments.  Keep this in mind when making your plans and remember the example of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin as a cautionary tale.