how to reconcile the apalling lack of government (both local and federal) support with the claim that you are such 'an amazing and successful country'
I don't think that's really a valid criticism. We've all become far too complacent in our comfortable lives, expecting our nations to somehow cover all the worst case scenarios.
No matter how much gold a state may have in the vault, we should all be ready to be humbled by nature. The are no "super" powers in comparison to the forces the planet itself can unleash.
What the US nation should ultimately be measured by is not how successfully it prevented the tragedy (ultimately there's always something you can't protect against), but how well the people are cared for afterwards. It's been a while coming but it looks to me like there are thousands of people down there doing a sterling job.
Si