Other federal and state officials pointed to Louisiana's 
    failure to measure up to national disaster response 
    standards, noting that the federal plan advises state and 
    local emergency managers not to expect federal aid for 72 
    to 96 hours, and base their own preparedness efforts on 
    the need to be self-sufficient for at least that 
    period. "Fundamentally the first breakdown occurred at 
    the local level," said one state official who works with 
    FEMA. 'Did the city have the situational awareness of 
    what was going on within its borders? The answer was no."