EMERGENCY: A medical crew prepares to transfer patients from ambulances to a military aircraft in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 31, ahead of Hurricane Gustav

Critics blasted the local and state governments in Louisiana for failing to implement a proper evacuation plan and delaying the evacuation order, which caused needless deaths. The Bush administration, meanwhile, came under fire for neglecting levee maintenance and repairs. The accusations resulted in multiple investigations. Even today, however, New Orleans is still rebuilding and thousands of former residents remain scattered throughout the region, separated from their families and living in government-provided trailers.

The 2005 disaster raised public policy issues about race, poverty and emergency management that are still salient in this election year. Democrats repeatedly invoked Katrina during their party convention last month.

“We are more compassionate than a government… that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes,” Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said in his acceptance speech.

With Gustav, local and federal authorities weren’t taking any chances. Officials evacuated almost 2 million people from New Orleans and the Louisiana coast before the storm hit, and warned residents they risked arrest if they stayed.

Gustav’s U.S. arrival coincided with the Republican National Convention, which ran from September 1 to 4 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Although the convention was nowhere near Gustav’s path, Republican presidential nominee John McCain cancelled most events on the first day out of respect for Gulf Coast residents preparing for the hurricane. President George W. Bush skipped the convention completely, deciding to tour the affected areas instead.

“Phase one of the response to Gustav went very well,” Bush said during a visit to Louisiana on September 3. “We’re much better coordinated this time than we were with Katrina. State government, the local government and the federal government were able to work effectively together.”

Gustav killed 26 people in Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi and left more than a million households without power. A few days later Hurricane Hanna fizzled out along the eastern seaboard after causing further destruction in Haiti.

Last week, the United States was bracing for Hurricane Ike, which killed 80 people in Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Mandatory evacuations were under way along the Texas coast, while Louisiana residents still cleaning up after Gustav feared the storm would change course in their direction. People from Mississippi to Florida, as well as Mexico, also prepared just in case.

“These storms have a mind of their own,” Florida Governor Charlie Crist said. “There are no rules, so what we have to do is to be prepared, be smart, vigilant and alert.”