The mayor of New Orleans today demanded to know why President George W. Bush has failed to co-ordinate a successful relief operation for the city.
Mayor Ray Nagin, who had put out a "desperate SOS" appealing for help, angrily expressed disbelief that the situation in the city continued to deteriorate.
I need reinforcements, I need troops, I need 500 buses," he told local radio station WWL. This is a national disaster - get every bus in the country and get the f*** to New Orleans.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin
"We authorised eight billion dollars to go to Iraq, after 9/11 we gave the president unprecedented powers to take care of New York. You mean to tell me in a place that is so unique, a place that when it is mentioned eyes light up around the world, a place where there are thousands dying every day, we cannot figure out a way to authorise how to sort this out?" Mr Nagin said.
Mr Bush said that although a lot of people had been working hard, "the results are not acceptable."
He spoke on the White House lawn, just before departing for a tour of the devastated areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to assess the damage from one of the United States' worst natural disasters.
Law and order have evaporated in the city, which now resembles a Third World country.
The president will survey the Gulf coast by helicopter and address the nation from New Orleans. The White House is hoping the visit would temper criticism such as Mr Nagin's and boost the spirits of both officials and refugees.
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, who has appealed to Mr Bush for 40,000 national troops, announced the arrival of 300 soldiers who recently returned from Iraq, and warned that these soldiers would "shoot and kill".