How Did Hurricane Katrina Change Disaster Management in America? – Emergency Management Degree Program Guide

July 1, 2019November 13, 2020

Hurricane Katrina made landfall in late August 2005, and many people continue to ask the question, “How did Hurricane Katrina change disaster management in America?” The days and weeks that followed after Hurricane Katrina proved to be difficult for people who were stranded and displaced. Many people died in the storm’s aftermath, and the New Orleans area took a long time to recover. There are several ways in which disaster management has changed since this catastrophe.

Better Leadership

Leadership was a significant problem in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Local, state and federal leaders tended to pass the buck instead of admitting their faults. At the federal level, leaders are only hired if they have demonstrable experience with emergency management. In the past, it only took calling in a favor to get hired into a leadership position in federal emergency management. Now, candidates must show that they have handled a local or regional disaster with success. Appointees to state and federal positions must also have experience at the management level of disaster relief.

Integrated Community Approach

Before Hurricane Katrina, different agencies that were part of the disaster relief process operated in silos. Their activities were planned independently of each other. This lead to duplication of some efforts and missing actions in other areas. Since Hurricane Katrina, disaster management efforts take an integrated or community type of approach. Regional businesses offer support. Private businesses have set up networks so that if one part of their service area is affected by a disaster, the partners in the other areas will step up and serve the area in need of assistance. Regional support extends several hundreds of miles away to areas that are unlikely to be affected by the same disaster.

Enhanced Communication Through Social Media

During and after Hurricane Katrina, entire communications systems went down. People could not reach 9-1-1 emergency call centers. They lost internet access. Since then, federal, state and local agencies have partnered with private companies in order to enhance communications. This enhancement includes more ways of communicating with people who have a disability. Emergency alert systems have been updated in order to be more accessible to people who are deaf, blind or have low mobility. Federal agencies have also established social media accounts. Communities have implemented Wi-Fi networks that can be powered through grids that are located outside of the disaster zone.

Preparation in Advance of Events

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, there is now more capacity to prepare for disaster in advance of an expected event. Congress authorized the movement of federal resources to locations that are expected to experience a disaster before the disaster actually strikes. When the resources are closer to where they will be needed, lives can be saved. Private entities have also joined this advanced preparation strategy. For example, several large brewing companies are able to bottle potable water and ship them to where they are needed within 24 hours of a disaster.

The disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina created many opportunities for learning and improvement in emergency management, disaster relief, recovery, communications, and government affairs. By using the catastrophe as a learning experience, everyone benefits. These lessons of how Hurricane Katrina changed disaster management in America have a lasting impact on future generations.