This reminds of the response of the Bush administration after Hurricane Katrina. Bush had appointed a big campaign donor whose primary experience was in running and judging show horses to manage FEMA, and he was in way over his head with Katrina.
They knew Katrina was coming, it took nearly a week to move across the Gulf of MEXICO after crossing Miami, and doing a lot of damage there. Then it creeped across the Gulf, growing larger until filled the entire Gulf.
This was obvious to EVERYONE who was watching any television, but the Bush administration did nearly nothing to prepare. They didn't use dozens of school buses to evacuate people, they just let them sit in the yard and get destroyed by floodwater. They made no attempt to stage supplies, make arrangements for food and shelter, evacuate hospitals, etc. They literally did NOTHING.
Katrina hit New Orleans on a Monday, and by that evening it was clear that it was a major disaster. People escaped to the SuperDome for shelter, where rumors spread of violent gangs roaming the Dome raping and pillaging. News videos showed dead bodies in the streets, desperate people just walking past them. If people saw a news camera, they would literally beg for help, for water, for food, for safety.
By Wednesday, the Bush administration had still done nothing. They had lots of excuses, but New Orleans is only a long day's drive from DC, and yet yet somehow they couldn't get rescuers, food, supplies, etc. to them, even though the news media had no problem getting there and sending out video.
On Wednesday, I was watching one of the news people interview "Brownie," the head of FEMA, as he actually said: "We weren't aware of the situation in the SuperDome until today," which was two days after the storm hit. Literally EVERYBODY in the country was watching it on LIVE TV, 24 hours a day, but somehow the head of FEMA wasn't aware of it until 2 DAYS LATER?
This sounds like the same lack of preparation, but also mostly a lack of caring. These are self-appointed Aristocrats, and they think they are above worrying about the nonsense going on in the daily lives of the rubes. They literally don't care at all about any of those dead people.
