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Almost nineteen years ago, Hurricane Katrina swept through the
U.S. Gulf Coast, inflicting pain on the lives and land it touched. In its
wake, people questioned what federal, state, and local governments could do
to be more prepared for major storms.
Katrina exposed key gaps in the U.S. emergency management
system. In the United States, emergency management developed into a formal
field after the 9/11 and the anthrax attacks, with a focus on managing
security incidents and bioterrorism. However, the devastation wrought by
Hurricane Katrina made it clear that the field needed to evolve to focus
more on severe weather events, too.
Lawmakers and government agencies have made several
adjustments since Hurricane Katrina, fundamentally reshaping the emergency
management field. Read more about key policy developments since Hurricane
Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005, below:
Disaster
Recovery Reform Act (2018) - This act introduced
a number of reforms, with particular focuses on pre-disaster planning and
mitigation.
Sandy
Recovery Improvement Act (2013) -
This act changed many of FEMA’s administrative authorities, representing
one of the most significant updates since the Stafford Act of 1988.
Post-Katrina
Emergency Management Reform Act (2006) -
This act established FEMA as a separate agency within the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) and created 10 regional FEMA offices, each with a
regional administrator. This act provided more flexibility to FEMA for
managing response efforts.
Pets
Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (2006) -
This was an amendment to the Stafford Act of 1988, which authorizes FEMA to
provide rescue, care, shelter, and essential needs to household pets and
animals following a major disaster or emergency.
Although the level of destruction brought on by Hurricane
Katrina is almost unfathomable, emergency managers must be prepared for
even more extreme storms in upcoming years. It is also imperative to
better understand how climate change will influence current and predicted
future extreme weather events. The National Center for Disaster
Preparedness offers free web-based courses and instructor-led trainings to
help communities better understand the issues, prepare, and bounce back
from catastrophic climatological events.
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