“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
— George Santayana, Spanish-American philosopher, in The Life of Reason (1905)
Seven years to the day after America’s worst natural disaster, history almost repeated itself. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina had crossed Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, hitting New Orleans and devastating large parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Last week, Hurricane Isaac did exactly that.
Fortunately, the decision-makers had remembered the past and had learned from it.
Katrina was not only the worst natural disaster to hit the US; it was also one of the worst man-made disasters.
- George W. Bush had chosen Michael Brown, a friend of his campaign director’s, to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Brown said at the time that he considered himself unqualified for such a position.
- Federal, state and local authorities did not coordinate their efforts well.
- Tens of thousands of residents, knowing full well that disaster would strike, chose to stay behind.
- Two hundred forty-nine New Orleans police officers left their posts without permission instead of staying to maintain order.
- The levees, meant to protect the city from floodwaters, had not been constructed adequately.
- For days, disaster relief was not able to reach the city.
- Bush appeared unconcerned about the storm. He toured the area by helicopter and told Michael Brown, “Brownie, you’re doin’ a heck of a job!” (Just over a week later, Brown was forced to resign.)
- The trailers provided by FEMA as longer-term housing for flood victims were found to contain toxic chemicals.
- Many residents took years to return, if at all.
Since then:
- $14 billion has been spent on building new, taller, sturdier levees and floodgates, which held up during Hurricane Isaac.
- New, sturdier houses have been built on stilts.
- The National Guard arrived in downtown New Orleans and established a headquarters there before the hurricane arrived.
- At any given time, 600 police officers and 200 National Guardsman were patrolling the city. Although violent crime still happened, police reported no killings.
- Barack Obama visited New Orleans this week (as did Mitt Romney). Both walked around on the ground and spoke to residents.
Isaac was not as strong a storm as Katrina, but it moved much more slowly and dumped a lot more rain. Large parts of Louisiana and Mississippi — one of the poorest parts of the country — were flooded again. Some people still didn’t leave and had to be evacuated from rooftops. But instead of 1,836 people dying, only seven people lost their lives this time. Although 13,000 homes were damaged by Isaac, electricity was restored nearly everywhere within a few days.
Following the Katrina disaster, U2 and Green Day performed in this music video that showed how, in an alternative world, things might have turned out differently. Although disaster preparedness can still be improved, it looks like no one will have to make a video like this after Isaac.
