The preparedness and response to the event exposed

The preparedness and response to the event exposed significant shortcomings in federal,
state, and local disaster response and emergency management. The absence of quick
response and delayed quick damage assessment made it extremely difficult to gain
situational awareness. This was hampered by communication problems such as lack of
communication assets and interoperability problems.
Overall the response by FEMA raised doubts, if the agency was capable of responding to
catastrophic events. FEMA has previously received severe criticism for its response efforts
to Hurricane Hugo and the Loma Prieta earthquake.
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Hurricane Katrina (2005) developed very quickly off the coast of Florida based on the
timeline shown above.
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Hurricane Katrina in Florida

Similar to Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Katrina underwent rapid intensification and
exploded into a monster storm within a few days.
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The graphic on the left depicts Hurricane Katrina after leaving Florida and entering the
warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Very favorable conditions (little wind shear and warm
sea surface temperatures) allowed the storm to rapidly intensify and to develop into a major
hurricane (right graphic). Note the formation of the Eye in the figure on the right.

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Katrina Impacts
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The top two graphics depict the lighthouse in Biloxi, MS before (1998) and after Hurricane
Katrina.
The bottom graphics illustrate the damage from levee failures in New Orleans before (2000)
and 17 days after the storm. The darker shaded areas are flooded areas.

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Hurricane Katrina was not the most intense storm to affect the U.S. For example Hurricanes
Camille and Andrew were both stronger. The catastrophic devastation of Hurricane Katrina
had less to do with the intensity of the event but more with how little society was prepared
and able to cope with the impacts. While Mississippi suffered catastrophic damage due to
inadequacies of the built environment (e.g. buildings not elevated or not elevated enough,
insufficient enforcement of building codes, etc.), Louisiana experienced a devastating
number of fatalities due to insufficient preparedness and an inexplicable underestimation of
the social vulnerability of its population (e.g. lack of transportation, lack of financial
resources to evacuate, overestimation of the protection offered by levees, lack of
preparedness by nursing homes and hospitals, underestimation of the risk from Hurricane
Katrina, and so forth).
Louisiana has an equally lax and inadequate attitude towards building codes and
enforcement as Mississippi and in fact most Gulf Coast states do with the exception of
Florida. While, to many, Hurricane Katrina seems like a one time event, it is certain that it
can – and will – happen again somewhere along the Gulf coast if building standards are not
significantly improved and/or land use planning practiced to avoid development of the most
vulnerable areas.

Hurricane Katrina highlighted the consequences of ill-perceived or implemented public
policies (e.g. flood insurance, inadequate codes and no enforcement) over the past decades.