Editing Ray Nagin (section)

===Hurricane Katrina===
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina entered the Gulf of Mexico. Early on Friday, August 26, Mayor Nagin advised New Orleanians to keep aclose eye on the storm and prepare for evacuation. He then made severalpublic statements encouraging people to leave and advising that if theydid not evacuate, "We will take care of you". By 10 a.m. Saturday, a mandatory evacuation was called for low-lying areas in the surrounding parishes—St. Charles, St. Tammany, Plaquemines, and Jefferson—and a voluntary evacuation for St. Bernard Parish. Nagin had, however, ignored federal and state offers of help and a recommendation to evacuate the city.

In addition to the parishes' announcements, President George W. Bush declared a federal state of emergency for Louisiana.

In accordance with the regional evacuation plan, New Orleans, along with the surrounding areas of Jefferson and St. Charles parishes, were given formal voluntary evacuation orders around 50 hours from landfall. This phased approach along with "contraflow", wherein all incoming interstate highway lanes are reversed outward, ensured that additional vehicles moving onto already congested roads would not create massive gridlock. The local newspaper reported that Nagin stopped short of ordering a mandatory evacuation because of concerns about the city's liability for closing hotels and other businesses.

After receiving a late night Saturday call from Max Mayfield, head of the National Hurricane Center,Nagin was advised that Katrina was headed to New Orleans. He ordered the city attorney to prepare legal documents for a mandatory evacuation of the city, the first in New Orleans' almost 300-year history. On Sunday, August 28<sup>th</sup> at 9:30 a.m., the mandatory evacuation order was signed and communicated to the public. The Superdomewas opened as a shelter of last resort and police went throughout the city with loudspeakers alerting all remaining citizens to go to key pickup points for free bus rides. By Sunday evening 80% of New Orleanians and visitors were evacuated or relocated.

After the hurricane hit, the federally built and maintained levees collapsed throughout the city. 80% of the city flooded, some areas as high as 20 feet, over rooftops. Food and water became scarce. Looting was common. After hearing reports on his wind up radio, Nagin criticized the federal and state response on WWL radio and his passionate outburst went viral.