"Get off your ass and get down here to fix the goddamn biggest disaster in the nation's history."

"You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will."

"If we're unified, there's nothing we cannot do."

"The people of our city are holding on by a thread. Time has run out. Can we survive another night? And who can we depend on? Only God knows."

"Basically, the start of my thinking process is: 'OK, if you didn't have to worry about re-election, what would you be doing?' That's kind of how I'm starting to think."

"We're learning as we go. We're a lot smarter this time. We understand what it takes to mobilize away from the threat of a hurricane."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I wish I had better news for you but we are facing a storm that most of us have feared. This is a threat that we've never faced before."

"We could receive a storm surge of three to five feet."