K, folks. I'm from Houston, the closest city to Galveston. My sister and her family now live in Galveston County. There's really no comparison between Katrina and the 1900 storm. For one, there was no such thing as satellites, no seawall on Galveston Island (there is now, but even that would not stop the force of a water from a Category 5 hurricane), no causeway between Galveston Island and the mainland, etc.
The only indication they had that a storm was coming in 1900 were reports from people who'd been out in 'The Gulf' - as the Gulf of Mexico is known.
And the vast majority of people chose to ignore such warnings, as gambling used to be legal in Galveston and it was the high tourist season.
Ever try to coordinate an evacuation of half a million people in 2 days? And that's just New Orleans.
There is NO public transport to speak of in New Orleans - or Houston, for that matter, where thousands of people have been evacuated.
Despite all the technology we have to hand, storms can change course. Quickly. Katrina, moving at 12mph - astonishing given how long and wide she was - hit the eastern side of New Orleans, rather than hitting the city directly. Unfortunately, the eastern side is where Lake Pontchartrain, which is actually a bay and not a lake, sits, then she made to the East, hitting Mississippi. It was impossible to predict her exact course.
Hurricanes also claim back shoreline. When a Category 3 hurricane, Alicia, hit Galveston Island in 1983, the coastline receded by 2 entire inches.
I think authorities did the best they could considering the circumstances.
I'm truly astonished at how long New Orleans has actually been standing considering its incredibly precarious location.
Not saying it isn't sad or tragic, but I don't think there's a team of engineers alive who could defend a city sitting below sea level - in some places by several meters - could be defended entirely against such a force of nature.