The qualifications of those leading the Hurricane Katrina relief effort have been called into question.
It has emerged that many of those at the top of the US agency charged with managing disaster relief had no relevant experience but did have political ties to President Bush.
In addition, embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) director Michael Brown had less experience in disaster relief than described in his official agency biography and cited during his confirmation hearing, Timemagazine reported.
A report in The Washington Postclaimed that five of eight top Fema officials had come to their jobs with almost no experience in handling disasters. The agency's top three leaders, including Mr Brown, had links to Mr Bush's 2000 presidential campaign or the White House team that lays the groundwork for presidential trips.
Mr Brown's biography on the agency website said he had once served as an "assistant city manager with emergency services oversight," but Timequoted an official in Edmond, Oklahoma, as saying the job was actually "assistant to the city manager," with little responsibility.
"The assistant is more like an intern," a city spokeswoman told the magazine. "Department heads did not report to him."
In response to the report on Time's website, Fema issued a statement that took issue with elements related to an unofficial biography, and described his job in Edmond as "assistant to the city manager".
Critics, including some Republicans, have blasted Mr Brown for delays and mis-steps in the federal government's response to Katrina's deadly and devastating assault on New Orleans and the US Gulf Coast last week. Some have demanded his resignation.
The official death toll surpassed 300 in the two hardest hit states when Louisiana officials said they had confirmed 118 deaths, on top of 201 in neighbouring Mississippi.
Along the US Gulf Coast, teams are continuing to search for the dead and are trying to evacuate the few remaining citizens.
Administration officials were busy rushing fresh aid to the region following what may be the costliest natural disaster in US history - at $100 billion to $200 billion.
A poll carried out by the Pew Research Center found 67 per cent of Americans thought Mr Bush could have done more to speed up relief efforts; just 28 per cent believed he did all he could. The president's approval rating fell to 40 per cent, down four points since July to the lowest point Pew has recorded.