“It is wonderful to hear of the relief efforts that are finally coming into New Orleans and the rest of the region today, but as we all know, it is simply not going to be enough,” she said. “The federal government’s response must be dramatically increased in order to prevent a further loss of life.”

Military convoys have now started arriving with supplies of food, medicine and water, and evacuations are continuing. According to the BBC, if casualty figures start to mount, President Bush will come under more pressure to explain what many see as a huge failure of America’s emergency response system.

The President finally managed to visit ‘ground zero’ four days after the hurricane struck. Numerous - and very poignant - interviews with Americans showed them asking George W. Bush to concentrate on providing support for ‘homeland’ disasters instead of waging ‘a war he will never win’ on foreign soil.