elder, You are correct in the difference in scale of these disasters. Some people cannot seem to understand that in disasters like these, there is not a linear relationship between amount or damage/effected area and effort required.
This is particulary so in this case where cascade effects and dependency on local power/communicationstransport worsen the disaster and impede the response. - Many access roads are damaged either by water damage/submerged, or by being blocked by felled trees that require chain-sawing - much if not all local power supply is shut off - much is not all local communications are shut off - local gasoline/diesel not accessable due to local flooding or no local power to run pumps - since access is blocked gasoline cannot be trucked
As a further simple example: Katrina: 90,000 square miles badly impacted Land area of UK: 240,000 square miles.
Can you image the UK trying to deal with a disaster of this magnitude made completely un-managaeable by the ineptitude and poor preperation of the local authorities?