The scale of the disaster is hard to comprehend. And while the incredible deluge in Louisiana came without the punishing winds of a hurricane, the flooded streets and submerged houses look all too similar to the levee failures in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

However, there's a big difference in the FEMA response.Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says he's not concerned that President Barack Obama has not yet visited Louisiana to see the flood crisis first-hand.

"I'm not complaining in any way about our federal partnership," Edwards said during a news conference on Thursday.

President Obama is not there, causing the kind of traffic jams and security requirements a presidential visit brings. Those requirements could ground helicopters and block roads still urgently needed in search and rescue activity. Instead, the head of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency head Craig Fugate are on the ground.

"This is not your 2005 FEMA,” said Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne. “They have been much more responsive.”

Senate President John Alario, a Westwego Republican who traveled with Edwards and FEMA leaders earlier this week to flood-struck areas, agreed.

“FEMA has been around since the first drop of rain hit the ground,” he said. “Whether the president is here or not, we’re getting a lot more help from the federal government."


FEMA plans to have hundreds of inspectors on the ground within the next few days, working to help people return to their homes as quickly as possible.