Apocalypse now.

Byline: The Register-Guard

The chaos emerging in parts of hurricane-ravaged New Orleans prompted the mayor to issue "a desperate SOS" on Thursday. As frustration turned to anger for thousands of famished storm victims, incidents of looting, arson and gun violence surged.

Disaster relief efforts are tangled in a deadly Catch-22: Refugees who've gone without food, water or medical care for days are lashing out in ways that prevent desperately needed aid from reaching them. Rescue helicopters, National Guard troops and law enforcement officers have been shot. Medical vehicles and food supplies have been commandeered and looted by armed gangs.

Official appeals for calm aren't enough to defuse the explosive combination of fear and futility sweeping over a city where corpses lie bloating in the 95-degree heat. In the impossibly long lines of people waiting to board evacuation buses that never seem ready to depart, the air is filled with the heartbreaking wails of hungry babies.

Even after subtracting the understandable fatigue and frustration from his criticism, the head of New Orleans' emergency operations is in a better position than most to assess the federal response so far, and he finds it inadequate.

Terry Ebbert warned that the slow evacuation at the Superdome had become an "incredibly explosive situation," and he bitterly complained that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was not offering enough help.

"This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace," he said. "FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans."

In an effort to stem the looting and restore calm, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that 1,400 National Guard troops per day will be sent to New Orleans for the next three days, quadrupling the regular police force in the city by the weekend.

There's no need for bloodthirsty shoot-to-kill orders to combat looting. Those calls typically come from people who wouldn't have the first clue about the hardships being endured by the looters.

Listen instead to experts like New Orleans Police Capt. Ernie Demmo, who said, "These are good people. These are just scared people."

When the looting began, much of it wasn't looting at all, but understandable scrounging for survival items in the wake of a catastrophe that left citizens without electricity, running water or any way to know when rescuers might reach them. People initially emerged from stores carrying food, water, disposable diapers and clothing.

Others took advantage of the chaos to steal luxury items and guns, and the worst of them continue to threaten the lives of thousands. They must be dealt with swiftly and harshly.

Leave it to some future blue-ribbon task force to decide whether officials waited too long to address lawlessness. The task right now is painfully clear: The situation on the Gulf Coast and in the city of New Orleans constitutes the gravest national emergency since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Every resource of the federal government must be brought to bear immediately on the simultaneous tasks of search and rescue, victim relief and restoring order.