I'm sure there will come a time when the Superdome will be evacuated as part of the overall citywide evacuation, but if adequately policed and supplied it sounds like it has the capability to house (badly) those people for a period of time. These next few days will be the worst, but it's apparent that the federal government is mobilizing a lot of resources on both the civilian and military side for rescue, relief, and recovery. But it takes time to assemble and move those resources and the geographic scope of the devastation is a big problem.

CNN Pentagon Mobilizing is reporting that the Bataan is now in operations off Louisiana and the Iwo Jima is en route from Norfolk. These amphibious assault ("gator") carriers will be good platforms to helicopter aid into the region. It will take some time and there will be coordination issues, but the feds aren't sitting on their hands. It's an unprecedented problem and it will put a strain on planning and resources, but given that it's less than 48 hours after Gulf landfall it is evident that the mobilization is unprecedented too. Let's hope that all these efforts all the way from Homeland Security and Northern Command down to local emergency responders, plus the private charities, are up to the challenge.