Poll: Greater anxiety, criticism after Katrina

WASHINGTON – Their confidence shaken by Katrina, most Americans don’t believe the nation is ready for another major disaster, a new AP-Ipsos poll finds.

Poor people are more likely to fear becoming victims of the next disaster.

The survey found diminishing faith in the government’s ability to deal with emergencies. It also gave President Bush poor marks for his handling of the storm’s aftermath.

Fifty-seven percent in the poll said they felt at least somewhat strongly the country was ill-prepared – up from 44 percent in the days after the storm slammed ashore on Aug. 29, 2005. Just one in three Americans polled believe Bush did a good job with Katrina, down from 46 percent a year ago.

“Nobody actually realized soon enough what the scope of this thing was,” said Frank Sheppard, a 63-year-old retiree in Valrico, Fla., who considers himself strongly Republican. “The day after, people were actually celebrating.”

“They didn’t realize that the levees were deteriorating and breaking at that time,” he said.

Norma Guelker, 55, of Bay St. Louis, Miss., still lives in a FEMA trailer after Katrina flooded her home. She blames Bush for the government’s lack of readiness.

“There’s no reason for him to be concerned about the people who live here,” she said. “They’re not the people who vote for him.”

Bush, who visits the recovering storm zone today and Tuesday, has sought to deflect the torrent of criticism, saying that rebuilding takes time.