4 Places Where the System Broke Down

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But we still don't know what happened to New Orleans' $7 million grant in 2003 for a communications system that would connect all the region's first responders. Soon after the hurricane struck, the radios used by police, fire fighters and Nagin drained their batteries. Then their satellite phones would not recharge, according to the Wall Street Journal. And, of course, land-line and cell phones went out. For two days, the mayor and his emergency team were cut off--holed up in the Hyatt Regency, fending off gangs of looters. We don't know why the mayor and his emergency team did not use the city's Mobile Command Center--meant for just such a disaster--or join the other local officials at the emergency center in Baton Rouge.

In Florida, by comparison, emergency officials across the state are linked by a system of satellite telephones, and the lines of authority between local and state officials are sharp. And in Texas, ham operators have a place at the table in the emergency bunker in Austin along with the high-tech communications experts.

Because of all the chaos that descended on New Orleans, the acts of heroism often took the form of mini-rebellions against the bureaucracy. Richard Zucschlag, head of Acadian Ambulance, the largest ambulance transport company in southern Louisiana, moved his dispatch center to the outskirts of New Orleans, where it became the only communications network in the early hours of the disaster. Then, although Zucschlag's staff is not trained to do triage, he sent 10 ambulance medics to the Superdome while his 40 ambulances and seven helicopters served as the initial rescue force in the city. For 40 hours, his medics were the only treatment unit there. Zucschlag tells TIME he ran into plenty of roadblocks, but he barreled through them. "The top dogs [at FEMA] say go ahead, but lower down, people in the field want paperwork," he says. "I am gambling a bit, but I am saving lives. If I get sued, fine." --By Amanda Ripley. With reporting by Cathy Booth Thomas and Tim Padgett / New Orleans, Hilary Hylton / Austin, Siobhan Morrissey / Miami, Michael Peltier / Tallahassee and Eric Roston / Washington