6/2/08 The Clarion-Ledger (MS): Hurricanes: Did Katrina teach us any lessons?

Hurricanes: Did Katrina teach us any lessons?

The Clarion-Ledger – June 2, 2008

As thousands of Mississippians still have not recovered from Katrina three years ago, it must be asked: Is the federal government prepared as hurricane season officially begins?

According to the Disaster Accountability Project (https://disasteraccountability.org), a nonpartisan group that sprang up after Katrina to keep tabs on federal agencies to try to improve government response to Katrina-like disasters, the answer is no.

“Despite recent assurances from leadership at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA that the federal government is prepared for a major disaster, significant areas of concern remain that must be resolved before the U.S. disaster management system can honestly represent itself as sufficiently prepared to respond to a disaster requiring federal resources,” DAP says.

In its blog, it is focusing on seven areas:
Disaster housing; Formaldehyde levels in housing; Recovery; Mass Care/medical/health care; Evacuations; Emergency alerts/notifications; Levees.

As reported by The Associated Press last week, formaldehyde exposure of evacuees who were put into temporary Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers remains a concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is preparing a five-year study to include up to 5,000 children in Katrina-hit states to begin next year.

But members of Congress, backed by 2nd District U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Bolton, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee that oversees FEMA, are seeking quicker action.

Ominously, last week it also was reported that despite $22 million in repairs, the 17th Street Canal levee that broke with catastrophic effect in New Orleans during Katrina is leaking again.

Hurricane season began Sunday, but is Mississippi ready for another Katrina?

“Right now, we’re the best prepared we’ve ever been on the state level,” Mike Womack, director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said as part of Mississippi’s Hurricane Preparedness Week. “That doesn’t mean we’d necessarily be able to meet all the needs of citizens if we have another Katrina-like event, which could overwhelm governments,” he added.

It’s probably true that no government could ever be totally prepared for a Katrina, which killed more than 1,300 in five states, including 231 deaths in Mississippi.

But for those still living in 6,543 FEMA travel trailers or travel homes nearly three years later, the disaster still isn’t over. Recovery remains equal to preparedness.