Did the networks give a false sense of security?

[rwork]

On Sunday night the message was New Orleans dodged a bullet.Not realizing the storm surge was still to come.

[Poppyseedman]

1. I don't know what stations you were watching

but every station I watched in no way said anything remotely that N.O. dodged a bullet.

If anything, they were still saying do not stay in your homes or go back until officially cleared.

[jim3775]

2. Technically NO did dodge a bullet

If dry air hadn't weakened the storm and shifted it N, most of downtown NO would cease to exist. It doesn't mean much now though.

[liberalpragmatist]

3. No, because that's what people genuinely thought

Including most experts. There was extensive damage, but the storm had weakened somewhat and veered eastward, so there wasn't the flooding that was anticipated at the time.

The absolute-worst-case scenario would have had Katrina at full strength plowing into New Orleans, shattering most buildings and causing the city to flood immediately.

Unfortunately what actually happened wasn't much better. As I think Mayor Nagin said, if New Orleans missed the worst-case scenario, they got the second-worst-case scenario the next day when the rains caused the levees to overflow. Or as one news reporter apparently put it, maybe it wasn't like getting hit by a freight train - it was just an 18-wheeler.

Which isn't saying much.