How exactly is it the Federal Governments responsibility to "take care" of anyone.
It was a State issue. The people at the state level were corrupt, and were tolerated by the local populace. It's sad, but really rather simple.
If it was just a state issue, then why have any federal disaster management agency at all?
In this particular case, a
military intervention was needed to:
1) provide immediate support in terms of drinking water and port-a-potties
2) enforce curfews and provide security patrols in an effort to calm any disturbances
The state police apparently were mobilized, but were ordered to stay out of the city for several days.