A Case Study: Hurricane Katrina

Event: Hurricane Katrina

Date: 23-30 August, 2005

Summary:

The storm began over the Bahamas, strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico, then weakened before hitting land for the second time on the morning of August 29. The worst damage in New Orleans occurred when the levee system failed, with many failures after the hurricane had moved inland. Eighty per cent of the city was flooded. It was among the strongest, deadliest and costliest storms in US history. The federal agency FEMA was criticized for slow response, as was President George W. Bush. The President declared an emergency on August 27, two days before the hurricane hit land. There has been controversy about why certain parishes were not evacuated under the emergency declaration, and critics blame FEMA, the governor and others. Many private facilities could not evacuate because buses, ambulances, taxis and rental cars were scarce. Thousands of people had lived in trailers for years. About 1.2 million people on the Gulf Coast evacuated either under a mandatory order or voluntarily.

The City of New Orleans designated the Superdome sports stadium as a “refuge of last resort.” Its roof was compromised, as was the waterproof membrane. There were four deaths in the Superdome from natural causes, one drug overdose and one suicide. There may have been a homicide in the Convention Center. More than 46,000 troops were eventually deployed. About 300,000 refugees went to Texas—35,000 to Houston. About 5 per cent had criminal records with 22 per cent involving violent crimes. Homicides in Houston went up 23 per cent with 29 murders involving displaced Louisianans. Governor Blanco of Louisiana wouldn’t allow Homeland Security to take over operations, saying that her state’s National Guard could cope. The affected area was about the size of the United Kingdom, and three million people were without electricity.

Result:

1836 confirmed dead, 705 missing, about $90 billion in damage. Nine refineries closed and 30 oil platforms were damaged or destroyed. Between 18 and 24 percent of America’s oil and gas production was affected for the six months following. It was the largest evacuation in US history. Some insurance companies stopped insuring homes in New Orleans.

Lessons Learned:

The Army Corps of Engineers had designed inadequate levees. The Superdome was designated to handle 800 people and 30,000 showed up. The New Orleans Civic Center was not designated as an evacuation centre, but 25,000 people showed up. Some offers of help from other countries were refused. New on-line communication was vital during the event, as was old-fashioned AM radio. Cellphones were knocked out for several months.

A city should be able to clothe, house and feed its citizens in emergencies. Why couldn’t truckloads of supplies have been delivered to the Superdome and other sites? Why shouldn’t city bylaws have required adequate supplies of food at arenas, hotels and convention centres? Why couldn’t the city be evacuated? One news story featured university students who drove into New Orleans to rescue a few victims. Why couldn’t others have driven in or out? Why couldn’t fit people walk out?

Amazingly, just one month later, Hurricane Rita raised many of the same questions as it damaged New Orleans again and also hit parts of Texas.

New Orleans was the largest peacetime evacuation in North America, surpassing the Mississauga, Ontario train derailment that forced 200,000 from their homes on November 10, 1979. There were no deaths in Mississauga. A fireball rose almost 5,000 feet in the air and could be seen 200 kilometres away. The evacuation was spurred by worry over styrene, toluene, propane, caustic soda and chlorine at the site.

For more case studies like this, check out my book?An Ounce of Prevention?or?Mieux Vaut Prévenir?in French.