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Memorandum
To: Dr. Genie Stowers
From: Amihan Makayan
Re: Hurricane Katrina: A Man-Made Crisis?
Date: October 24, 2012
The Hurricane Katrina disaster shows that lack of leadership and coordinated planning
within federal, state, and local agencies; lack of funding for levee improvement; and the lack of
consideration for environmental protection can result in devastating and tragic outcome. By
addressing these major issues, the devastation and chaos of a future Category 4 hurricane may
be have been avoided.
Existing Problems and Recommendations
Levee System Failure
Opting for levee-only system in the early 1800s forced New Orleans to get rid of natural outlets
and rely on levees to protect the city. As a result, the maintenance and improvement of the
levees is at utmost importance. The levee system in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane
Katrina was built to withstand a Category 3 hurricane. Efforts to build the levee higher to
withstand a higher category were halted due to the lack of federal funding. Funding from FEMA
that was supposed to go to the improvement was instead allocated to anti-terrorist efforts.
Recommendations. A new line budget item in the state and local budget needs to be
created to fund the regular maintenance and improvement of levees in New Orleans and its
surrounding vicinity. Funding for improvement of the levee system to withstand Category 4 or
higher hurricanes should be a priority not just for the state of Louisiana but also for the Federal
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government. It is recommended that FEMA be removed from the Department of Homeland
Security and be its own agency. It is important the FEMA focus its resources on emergencies
and not political priorities like anti-terrorist programs. “Administration lies outside the proper
sphere of politics (Wilson, 1887).”
Lack of Leadership and Poor Coordination
The lack leadership and proper coordination at the federal, state, and local levels slowed down
the process of evacuations, providing security in the city, and providing services to the people
affected by the hurricane. Woodrow Wilson said that one of the challenge of democracy as
compared to a monarchy, is that in a monarchy, there is one decision maker, in a democracy,
there are multiple and differing opinions to consider (1887). In a catastrophe, it is necessary to
have a single decision maker who will ensure good communication and coordination between
stakeholders. During Katrina, “no one person was in charge of coordinating efforts.” FEMA,
should have been the one to coordinate all the efforts, but because of 9/11, it became part of
Homeland Security and redirected its efforts away from emergencies and into terrorist
activities.
Recommendation. Because hurricanes are a normal occurrence in New Orleans, better
preparation for a Category 4 or 5 hurricanes is needed. It is recommended that a coordination
group solely focused on addressing future hurricane disasters in New Orleans and its vicinity be
formed. The Governor of Louisiana will be in charge and its members will comprise of the Head
of FEMA and his/her designee, a representative from the National Guard, the Mayor of New
Orleans, and the Police Chief. It is also recommended that disaster and emergency relief
focused non-profit organization executives be invited to the meeting in order to assure that
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future volunteers and the community are included in the plan. The group will meet once a year
in the summer to discuss roles, emergency plans in place, and review coordination efforts.
Contingency plans should also be reviewed and revised in coordination with all the members of
the group. An annual emergency drill for all agencies should also be scheduled regularly to
make sure that processes would work in a real emergency.
Environmental Issues-Wetlands and Overdevelopment
The creation of levees caused a significant loss of wetlands which act as a barrier for the city.
Wetlands get its “supply of sediments and nutrients” from spring floods which the levees
restrain. Urbanization and industrialization also resulted in more loss, as wetlands and
coastline were dredged to make way for progress and housing. According to the case, “The city
continues to lose an acre of wetland every 24 minutes.”
Recommendation. It is recommended that the state of Louisiana stop further
development and dredging of its wetlands. Furthermore, some areas with wetlands should be
reclaimed for future wetlands restoration with an ultimate goal of getting back the 1,900
square miles it has lost since the 1930s. A reclamation district agency needs to be established
to manage the efforts. The agency will work in identifying areas to reclaim as well as
coordinate relocation needs. No new building permits for new housing will be allowed in
wetland areas.
Conclusion
Hurricane Katrina was one of the costliest and deadliest natural disasters in the U.S. Its
tragic outcome could have been lessened with better levee funding, better interagency
coordination and leadership, and a commitment to improve New Orleans environments.
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Reference List
Wilson, Woodrow (1887). The Study of Administration. Political Science Quarterly, 2(2), 197222.