Lessons from Katrina for Metropolitan Regions

1. Lessons from Katrina for Metropolitan Regions Louise K. Comfort Graduate School of Public & International Affairs University of Pittsburgh comfort@gspia.pitt.edu

2. Collapse of Disaster Response • Rarely does disaster destroy an entire city • Two disasters in New Orleans • Hurricane – natural event beyond human control • Flood – consequence of human action/inaction • Collapse of disaster response at all four levels • City/parish; state, federal jurisdictions • Disaster escalated beyond region, affecting 49 out of 50 states, impact on entire nation

3. Public Responsibility in Disaster • U.S. laws, policies for disaster management developed over last century • Current U.S. policy in disaster • National Response Plan • National Incident Management Plan • Both intended to address security needs after 9/11 • Role of government: protect citizens from harm

4. Initial Conditions in New Orleans • Vulnerable Setting for City • Seven feet below sea level • Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain at borders • Exposure to hurricanes from Gulf Coast • Aging infrastructure • Delayed maintenance • High incidence of poverty, lack of public education

6. The Emerging Threat • What did managers know and when? • 8/23:NHC reported tropical depression in Bahamas • 8/24:NHC upgrades storm to Hurricane Katrina • 8/25:Katrina makes landfall in Florida, Cat. 1 • 8/26:Katrina moves into Gulf of Mexico, Cat. 2, NHC projects landfall in Louisiana, Mississippi • 8/26: LA Gov. Blanco declares state of emergency • 8/27:NHC upgrades Katrina to Cat. 3

8. Imminent Disaster… • 8/27: Gov. Barbour declares disaster for MS • 8/27: Gov. Blanco requests federal declaration of disaster for Louisiana • 8/27: Mayor Nagin orders voluntary evacuation of New Orleans • 8/28: Katrina intensifies, Cat. 4, then Cat. 5 • 8/28: Nagin orders mandatory evacuation of city • 8/28: Pres. Bush declares federal disaster for Florida • 8/28: Nagin opens Superdome as “refuge of last resort”

9. Catastrophe! • August 29, 2005 • 6:10 a.m.: Katrina makes landfall, Cat. 4, east of New Orleans; city escapes direct hit • 10:00 a.m.: Katrina makes landfall in MS., Cat. 3 • 2:00 p.m.: 17th Street levee breaches, waters of Lake Pontchartrain flood city of New Orleans • Communications fail completely • Pres. Bush declares federal disaster for LA, MS, AL

11. The Aftermath… • Interdependence of engineered systems meant no public services were operable in city • City was uninhabitable; evacuation was the only course of action • Response agencies were overwhelmed with magnitude of event • Coordination, communication lacking at all levels • Situation proved unmanageable, despite planning • July 2004 federal exercise, Hurricane Pam, similar scenario

12. Disaster in New Orleans • Damage largely result of the flood, not storm • Not a “natural disaster” • Failure at all four levels of government to implement National Response Plan, NIMS • Revealed serious weaknesses in governmental performance • Questions competence of existing practice • Contrasts with previous strong performances of governmental response to disasters

13. Actual Preparedness & Response • Discrepancy between policy & practice • Reorganization of FEMA into Department of Homeland Security • Shift in focus, attention, allocation of funds to homeland security from natural disasters • Shift in personnel at all four levels • Inability to create a “common knowledge base” to facilitate coordinated response • “We can only create what we already understand.” H. Simon, 1981.

14. Estimated Costs of Disaster Assistance

15. Discrepancy between Policies and Practice • Disasters reveal weaknesses in practice • Response to Katrina was first major test of DHS leadership and policies since 9/11 • Hierarchical structure of DHS contrasted with dynamic conditions of disaster operations • Policies advocated control; conditions required rapid communication, collaboration, networks of action • Discrepancies within, among jurisdictions; inability to adapt to changing conditions

16. Lessons from Katrina • US response system is inadequate for extreme events • Emergency response is a sociotechnical system • Interaction among failed infrastructure & capacity of emergency response organizations • Leadership is critical in uncertain conditions • Inability to identify & correct error weakened response system throughout event • Critical to map interdependencies, dependencies among infrastructure systems & organizational systems that manage and use them

17. Challenges for New Orleans & Nation • Redefine accountability for performance • Review national priorities: • Maintenance of infrastructure for US cities • Security from full range of threats • Integration of science into policy & practice • Public education regarding hazards in areas exposed to risk • Goal: build resilient communities that assess & mitigate risks before extreme events occur