What Went Wrong in the Response to Hurricane Katrina?

Hurricane Katrina was a devastating category 4 hurricane, that hit the Gulf of Mexico and various Southern regions of the United States at the end of August, 2005, causing some of the worst damage in that country’s history, estimated at $100 billion. When the storm made landfall, it had a category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale—it brought sustained winds of 100-140 miles per hour—and stretched some 400 miles across. The storm itself did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. The story of the preparation and response to Hurricane Katrina is complex and multifaceted. Many people view the failure of our Government and response teams to the loss of life and property for many Americans during Katrina. Why did the official response seem so lackadaisical and unprepared, and has the city of New Orleans recovered from the damage?

Hurricane Katrina occurred four years after the attacks of 9/11, three years after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and one year after the DHS had created a National Response Plan.  When the levees protecting New Orleans gave way under the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina, the most common explanation at the time was that they simply weren’t built to withstand a storm of such ferocity. Thus emphasizing the extreme unpreparedness of the US Government. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built most of the New Orleans flood-control system in the 1960s, including levees to withstand a Category 3 storm. Katrina blew in as a Category 4, packing winds up to 217 kilometers per hour (Kintisch, Eli). A levee is a natural or artificial flood bank that follows along a river or canal path. A levee failure occurs when a break, also known as a breach, occurs. Levees protecting New Orleans from adjacent Lake Pontchartrain failed, inundating 80% of the city to a depth of up to 8 meters. Engineers in charge of maintaining the levees concluded that the failures occurred because of poor design or poor construction, leading to enormous flooding and associated damage. The poor response of action arose to the failure of managing risk factors.

The systems in place to respond to disasters are complex. Disaster response is addressed first at the local level; if the problem proves to be too big or difficult, state governments are called in. If it is too much for the state government to handle, the national government steps in. State governors make the request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which studies the request, makes a recommendation and passes the documents to the White House. The president is the official charged with issuing the declaration of disaster. As Katrina threatened the Gulf Coast, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco issued a state of emergency on Aug. 26 and on Aug. 28 sent a letter to President Bush requesting a disaster declaration for the state in order to release federal assistance. The letter had to travel through points in FEMA before the federal government could respond. FEMA deployed regional responders before Katrina made landfall, but a major federal response wasn't evident until days later. The hurricane crippled many state and local emergency agencies in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama leaving them unable to respond without federal help.  The communication breakdown from the federal government left many residents without supplies and nowhere to move, thus being stranded with no outside help. FEMA’s director, Michael Brown, turned down personnel and supplies offered by police forces and emergency crews at the state level. Leaving yet another miscommunication between governments. Another communication breakdown and unpreparedness occurred on the state level. The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, hesitated for several hours before deploying the evacuation order. Because of Nagin’s timely manner in ordering evacuation, many civilians were left stranded in the storm without basic necessities, causing many deaths.

            Meanwhile, at higher levels of government, a political showdown was brewing between the White House and Govenor Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana. The Louisiana National Guard was heavily deployed in Iraq at the time of Hurricane Katrina. Troops were going to be sent to Louisiana to help with the storm, but the White House wanted to federalize the troops, while Blanco wanted them to be under state control  .  The disagreements between the White House and State government was certainly not helping the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The delayed federal response prompted many questions regarding FEMA’s organization and leadership.

FEMA’s agency director, Michael Brown, had almost no experience in disaster work before he was appointed in 2003 by President Bush, and confirmed by the Senate, to lead the agency .  Due to Browns inexperience, many decisions were made that actually hurt the response to the city of New Orleans. American Red Cross officials said that FEMA authorities would not allow them to deliver food to the New OrleansConvention center . Another account states that the Red Cross communicated logistic needs to FEMA, but found that FEMA often failed to deliver promised supplies or delivered inadequate amounts too slowly. For example, the Red Cross requested 300,000 meals-ready-to-eat for Louisiana on September 1. The order was cancelled by FEMA, then reordered, and finally delivered- on October 8 . The issues between the Red Cross and FEMA underlie the problems between incorporating non-governmental organizations into the response network; ultimately not serving the homeless civilians affected by Katrina.

There are many diffrences from the FEMA of 2005, to the current FEMA. Congress held a series of hearings at the end of Katrina, to gather what problems caused Katrina to be such a horrific scene. Much of the difference between FEMA of Katrina and now is the leadership. “FEMA was taken apart quickly under the Bush administration,” says Eric Holdeman, the former head of emergency management for King County, Washington. Michael Brown, head of FEMA during Katrina, was inexperienced and not the right man for the job, which shows in the aftermath of Katrina. However, today efforts are being made to rekindle the glory days of FEMA. First, Congress passed legislation requiring that an experienced, professional emergency management official lead FEMA. The new administrator, Craig Fugate, is a great fit for leading FEMA. Fugate, started his career on emergency managements front lines, serving as a volunteer firefighter, then later becoming director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Another major difference between the two areas of FEMA is the incorporation of correct communication between the state, federal, and local government. During Katrina, much of FEMA was disregarding help from The Red Cross, and battling between the White House and the state government. Under President Barack Obama, FEMA regional directors are winning back authority to make rapid, ground level decisions—latitude that was largely stripped away during the George W. Bush era.

The FEMA of today is much more proactive and concerned with the well-being of those who are affected by natural disasters. Lars Anderson, Director of Public Affairs for FEMA posted, “At the end of each week, we post a “What We’re Watching” blog as we look ahead to the weekend and recap events from last week”. This new setup of blogging for FEMA has helped their public perception tremendously. "FEMA is a very different organization than it was during Katrina," says Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut . FEMA does not wait for the storm to hit, they are being proactive and uses pre-positions personnel, equipment, food, supplies, etc. To prevent future problems like the ones experienced during Katrina, a comprehensive review of our country’s disaster response system is required.

            The United States learned a lot about our country after the terrible tragedy of Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast. A major precaution that is highly regarded as important today ensures that, in the event of another disaster, we are able to co-locate relevant Federal, State, and local decision-makers, including leaders of State National Guards, to enhance unity or effort. As stated above, qualified personnel are leading the new FEMA, concluding that Obama’s administration is leaving a powerful mark on the progress and treatment of FEMA.