CNN and All Headline News are reporting some flooding in New Orleans’ as Hurricane Gustav pummels the Louisiana coast. Both the Lower Ninth Ward and Upper Ninth Ward have been named as flooding sites. In addition, the New York Times reports street flooding in the southern Louisiana parishes of Terrebone and Lafourche. Most troubling have been reports that some levees were breached.

The levees that have been breached are different levees than were breached during Hurricane Katrina when the Lower Ninth Ward was also flooded, according to reports. Although the levees that broke during Katrina were repaired, the levees that broke Monday morning were not repaired because they had not been damaged before. (All Headline News).

However, Army Corps of Engineers officials have said they do not think the levees will be overtopped (NYT). In any case, it is too soon to breathe a sigh of relief, as officials did when Hurricane Katrina moved past the city in 2005. As the storm moves inland, it will drop heavy rain on the Mississippi River valley upstream of New Orleans, and the delayed impact of floodwaters moving downstream to New Orleans potentially could breach levees already weakened by two hurricanes.

Government agencies appear to be doing a much better job of managing the human aspects of the emergency, helping to evacuate thousands of Gulf Coast residents to safer ground well in advance of the storm’s landfall.

For the most part, the evacuation appeared to go smoothly, particularly the official efforts to get the poor, elderly and infirm out of New Orleans, Port Arthur, Tex., and other cities that could be in the storm’s path. There was no sign that the disaster of 2005 — when thousands were left stranded in misery for days and 1,600 people were killed, many of them elderly — would be repeated. (NYT)

Considering that the new national emergency plan has never been fleshed out beyond a barebones framework, the official response so far is remarkably good. However, even a great response is a poor substitute for adequate prevention and mitigation (actions taken to reduce the severity of impacts).

Because New Orleans lies below sea level, floodwaters, regardless of their cause, must be drained by a network of pumps. However, the adequacy of those pumps has been questioned by a veteran engineer, who was promptly attacked for expressing her concerns. Two investigations failed to produce a solution. Now, as federal officials plan a third investigation, Mother Nature is conducting a test of her own.

The current policy of treating emergency exercises as public relations opportunities and letting actual disasters test our nation’s preparedness is patently absurd. No matter how the response to Hurricane Gustav turns out, a complete national response plan is needed to ensure that as new people come on board, they don’t have to learn the lessons of Katrina, as this administration did, or should have, the hard way. A plan in someone’s head is a temporary fix that disappears with the planner. A plan on paper, like our Constitution, is a gift to future generations.