"Lessons learned:
1. Appoint agency heads based on qualifications instead of patronage.
2. Political types get out of the way and let the first responders and relief agencies do what they know how to do."

The lessons may have been learned, but they certainly won't be applied.

1) Agency heads have NEVER, EVER been appointed due to their qualifications. They're appointed because they're incompetent brown-nosers.

2) And political types won't get out of the way, ever. They will kick, stomp and beat people out of the way to get to control, and they will appoint their buddies and lackeys to be their agency heads (see my point 1).