Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, exposed the failings and incompetence of local, state, and federal officials, as well as the private sector and a host of other public and private agencies. This volume explores how inaction, lack of planning and undisguised greed insured that a category 3 hurricane would result in widespread destruction of both lives and property. It adopts a multifaceted approach to Hurricane Katrina, and includes studies from the fields of oral history, environmental science, physics, political science, sociology, and history. Part One provides first-hand accounts from people that lived through the hurricane and its aftermath. Part Two looks at how various entities responded, or failed to respond, to the disaster. Included in this section are articles on public health, tourism, environmental science, and the role of the Army Corp of Engineers. Part Three incorporates data from the aftermath of Katrina to suggest future responses to hurricanes and other natural/human made disasters. Finally, Harry Shearer, actor, radio host of Le Show, and director of The Big Uneasy, a documentary on Katrina and its aftermath, contributes an article on the various elements that went into the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina.

Disasters—natural ones, such as hurricanes, floods, or earthquakes, and unnatural ones such as terrorist attacks—are part of the American experience in the twenty-first century. The challenges of preparing for these events, withstanding their impact, and rebuilding communities afterward require strategic responses from different levels of government in partnership with the private sector and in accordance with the public will. Disasters have a disproportionate effect on urban places. Dense by definition, cities and their environs suffer great damage to their complex, interdependent social, environmental, and economic systems. Social and medical services collapse. Long-standing problems in educational access and quality become especially acute. Local economies cease to function. Cultural resources disappear. The plight of New Orleans and several smaller Gulf Coast cities exemplifies this phenomenon. This volume examines the rebuilding of cities and their environs after a disaster and focuses on four major issues: making cities less vulnerable to disaster, reestablishing economic viability, responding to the permanent needs of the displaced, and recreating a sense of place. Success in these areas requires that priorities be set cooperatively, and this goal poses significant challenges for rebuilding efforts in a democratic, market-based society. Who sets priorities and how? Can participatory decision-making be organized under conditions requiring focused, strategic choices? How do issues of race and class intersect with these priorities? Should the purpose of rebuilding be restoration or reformation? Contributors address these and other questions related to environmental conditions, economic imperatives, social welfare concerns, and issues of planning and design in light of the lessons to be drawn from Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, exposed the failings and incompetence of local, state, and federal officials, as well as the private sector and a host of other public and private agencies. This volume explores how inaction, lack of planning and undisguised greed insured that a category 3 hurricane would result in widespread destruction of both lives and property. It adopts a multifaceted approach to Hurricane Katrina, and includes studies from the fields of oral history, environmental science, physics, political science, sociology, and history. Part One provides first-hand accounts from people that lived through the hurricane and its aftermath. Part Two looks at how various entities responded, or failed to respond, to the disaster. Included in this section are articles on public health, tourism, environmental science, and the role of the Army Corp of Engineers. Part Three incorporates data from the aftermath of Katrina to suggest future responses to hurricanes and other natural/human made disasters. Finally, Harry Shearer, actor, radio host of Le Show, and director of The Big Uneasy, a documentary on Katrina and its aftermath, contributes an article on the various elements that went into the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina.

The government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history, suffered numerous criticisms. Nearly every assessment pointed to failure, from evaluations of President George W. Bush, FEMA, and the Department of Homeland Security to the state of Louisiana and the city administration of New Orleans. In Managing Hurricane Katrina: Lessons from a Megacrisis, Arjen Boin, Christer Brown, and James A. Richardson deliver a more nuanced examination of the storm’s aftermath than the ones anchored in public memory, and identify aspects of management that offer more positive examples of leadership than bureaucratic and media reports indicated. Katrina may be the most extensively studied disaster to date, but the authors argue that many academic conclusions are inaccurate or contradictory when examined in concert. Drawing on insights from crisis and disaster management studies, Boin, Brown, and Richardson apply a clear framework to objectively analyze the actions of various officials and organizations during and after Katrina. They specify critical factors that determine the successes and failures of a societal response to catastrophes and demonstrate how to utilize their framework in future superdisasters. Going beyond previous assessments, Managing Hurricane Katrina reconsiders the role of government in both preparing for a megacrisis and building an effective response network at a time when citizens need it most.

"The objective of this report is to identify and establish a roadmap on how to do that, and lay the groundwork for transforming how this Nation- from every level of government to the private sector to individual citizens and communities - pursues a real and lasting vision of preparedness. To get there will require significant change to the status quo, to include adjustments to policy, structure, and mindset"--P. 2.

"On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Central Gulf Coast region of the United States. The storm and its aftermath resulted in the most severe, damaging, and costly natural and unnatural disaster in the nation's history--as evidenced by the size of the region affected, the loss of life, the extensive destruction of property, and the thousands displaced. More than 2 years postdisaster, many families still lived in temporary housing and had limited access to basic services; in fact, many continue to struggle to meet basic needs. Furthermore, the mental health needs of many survivors remain largely unmet--and disproportionately so for marginalized, disenfranchised segments of the affected population. The magnitude of Hurricane Katrina and the associated shortcomings in disaster planning and relief interventions have provided mental health and social service professionals, as well as policymakers, with critical information for the improved handling of future disasters. The present volume examines key lessons learned and offers a blueprint for better meeting the needs of children, families, and communities postdisaster through well-timed, targeted responses and interventions. Broadly guided by a bioecological framework, it highlights significant issues in postdisaster work; considers the range of risks, resources, and factors related to postdisaster adaptation; emphasizes community-level provision of resources, services, and supports; and provides actionable recommendations and practical applications for future disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. The editors' and contributors' experiences with children, caregivers, educators, and practitioners in Louisiana and Mississippi lend a compassionate perspective to the analysis of research and further underscore the significance of the recommendations put forth"--Jacket. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Named one of Planetizen's Top 10 Books of 2006 Hurricane Katrina not only devastated a large area of the nation's Gulf coast, it also raised fundamental questions about ways the nation can, and should, deal with the inevitable problems of economic risk and social responsibility. This volume gathers leading experts to examine lessons that Hurricane Katrina teaches us about better assessing, perceiving, and managing risks from future disasters. In the years ahead we will inevitably face more problems like those caused by Katrina, from fire, earthquake, or even a flu pandemic. America remains in the cross hairs of terrorists, while policy makers continue to grapple with important environmental and health risks. Each of these scenarios might, in itself, be relatively unlikely to occur. But it is statistically certain that we will confront such catastrophes, or perhaps one we have never imagined, and the nation and its citizenry must be prepared to act. That is the fundamental lesson of Katrina. The 20 contributors to this volume address questions of public and private roles in assessing, managing, and dealing with risk in American society and suggest strategies for moving ahead in rebuilding the Gulf coast. Contributors: Matthew Adler, Vicki Bier, Baruch Fischhoff, Kenneth R. Foster, Robert Giegengack, Peter Gosselin, Scott E. Harrington, Carolyn Kousky, Robert Meyer, Harvey G. Ryland, Brian L. Strom, Kathleen Tierney, Michael J. Trebilcock, Detlof von Winterfeldt, Jonathan Walters, Richard J. Zeckhauser.