When the force of Hurricane Katrina breeched levees, flooded much of New Orleans and devastated parts of the Gulf Coast, criticism came for people at all levels.

Critics said private citizens, local and state governments and the Federal Emergency Management Agency hadn't done enough to prepare for disaster or coordinate their actions once the scale of the tragedy started to become clear.

With Hurricane Gustav threatening the region again, authorities are ready and so is the city New Orleans, FEMA officials and others said.

Bill Irwin of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that the storm reduction system in New Orleans, which partially failed when Katrina came ashore, is stronger and better than it was before that storm. He said that 1,800 temporary flood control barriers are in place in the inner harbor. Older parts of the system have been reinforced or repaired to be stronger than before, he said.

But he also admitted that the improvements are a work-in-progress that won't be complete until 2011, and some areas -- including the lower Ninth Ward -- are still vulnerable to massive amounts of water.

Overall, he said, the city enjoys the best flood protection it has ever had.

Plans In Place

Generally, FEMA and other agencies are more ready for Gustav than they were for Katina, FEMA Deputy Administrator Harvey Johnson said.

He said he didn't want to be overconfident, but that communication and cooperation between states and the federal government was better than before, in part because the states have specific action plans that are already in motion.

For example, Louisiana had a plan for warnings and evacuations that started 120 hours before expected landfall, "H-minus 120" in the language he used. That plan did not exist three years ago, he said. National Guard troops have been activated, and contraflow will start on highways this weekend, for a storm expected to come ashore Tuesday morning.

FEMA itself has doubled its number of fulltime employees in the last three years, and Dr. Kevin Yeskey of the Office of Preparedness and Emergency Operation said it even has plans in place to distribute medication to mental health patients in any affected areas.