The citizens of New Orleans could not have known before Hurricane Katrina that all the emergency planning accomplished for their city would leave them in the end completely on their own to fend for themselves.

No water. No food. No way to distribute water and food. No home. No place for them to stay once they had no home. No sanitation. No law and order. No safety. No organized rescues.

Look what has happened to a major Mainland city that literally is surrounded by state and federal agencies. Chaos and tragedy describe it, and it's being played out in excruciating detail in our living rooms.

What has happened to New Orleans should chill the bones of everyone here in Hawai'i. We are the most isolated population on the planet.

Citizens of this state should start asking questions of those who are paid to plan ahead for our welfare when disaster next strikes. Exactly what are Hawai'i's disaster-recovery plans?

What precisely do our planners have in store for us when a category 4 or 5 hurricane slams into the Islands?

Exactly what are the food-distribution plans? What relationships exist with Mainland wholesalers and local grocery store chains to ensure an adequate long-term supply of food if our ports are destroyed?

What plans are in place to ship emergency supplies to Hawai'i — using both civilian and military resources?

How much food has been stockpiled in the Islands for our next major emergency? What should the public know in advance about procedures to distribute emergency supplies of food?

How will water be given out when the water supply is interrupted? How much bottled water is on hand at any one time on each island?

What procedures are in place to import gasoline to all the islands if the O'ahu refineries are destroyed? Will laws and regulations prevent price gouging for gasoline and other commodities?

What communication is planned to inform the public about food, water, gasoline and other essentials before the next crisis, and during it?

What coordination has occurred lately with local broadcasters to ensure an unbroken flow of information over the airwaves? Broadcast stations are notorious for rapid turnover. Is everyone trained when they're hired, and are they prepared to act now?

Do emergency plans include direct contact with the news media, or will officials rely on electronic networks, as they did after the Indian Ocean tsunami? Are we certain our disaster officials know the value of personal media contact, and are they prepared and trained for it?

What contingency planning has envisioned a destroyed Kahe power plant?

Should O'ahu residents expect rolling blackouts if that ocean-side plant is out of commission for weeks or months? Do most residents know what a rolling blackout is? Do tourists?

What plans are in place for the visitor industry — our economic engine — to recover and function after an emergency? How will the industry react to the plight of the newly homeless after a devastating hurricane?

In specific detail, what assurances are there that resources will be dedicated to aid Hawai'i no matter what simultaneous misfortunes may befall Mainland cities?

Katrina's biggest lesson may be that we as citizens must hold our emergency planners to account before the next crisis hits. We citizens deserve to know what planning is happening on our dime.

Like the citizens of New Orleans, our lives may depend on how well those plans are conceived, rehearsed and executed.

We need to know everything we can about those plans.

Doug Carlson is a Honolulu-based communications consultant.