Posted: November 19th, 2022

Planning aspects of Hurricane Katrina

Planning aspects of Hurricane Katrina
One of the most catastrophic weather events in the past 15 years occurred in August of 2005 when Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Florida, Louisiana and for a third time near the Louisiana/Mississippi border. While more than 15 states were affected, the most catastrophic losses occurred in the city of New Orleans, Orleans Parish and the surrounding Parishes. The issues surrounding the losses in the New Orleans area have been the some of the most discussed and debated emergency management topics since then.

research and discuss how and why planning efforts in this area were not effective. You should consider the following points:

were there plans in place
were the plans effective for a storm of this magnitude
what specific areas of planning worked and what didn’t
were plans translated to effective action (was it planning or execution)
were plans and actions in other states (Mississippi, Alabama, Florida) more effective and why or why not

While there are hundreds (if not thousands) of articles written about the failures or perceived failures during this storm, please concentrate on the planning aspects as tightly as possible. I have included a few articles in your reading for this week but please do some in depth research to provide insight for your paper. Also please provide your personal insights learned from this class about the role planning plays in this incident.

This paper should be prepared following current APA guidelines. The body of the paper should be 2 pages .
Planning aspects of Hurricane Katrina
Introduction
Hurricane Katrina remains one of the most extraordinary natural occurrences that spawned human tragedy and the most destructive disaster in the history of America. The storm lest thousands destitute after it surge obliterated communities in the coast of Mississippi. Massive flooding faced New Orleans, and over 1500 people lost their lives. The human suffering continued in the days and weeks after the storm occurred, it continued even longer than it should necessarily have due to the failure on the side of the government to at all levels to provide an effective plan, preparations and aggressive response to the storm.
In many ways, the pattern and magnitude of damage by Hurricane Katrina reflects the high vulnerability levels by socioeconomic status, population age, race and ethnicity, development density, and gender among the affected population. Among the numerous factors potentially contributing to the ineffectiveness of the plan to counter the storm could include the fact that; government officials neglected their duties in preparation for the forewarned catastrophe as well as the unheeded warnings (Seed, Bea, Abdelmalak, Athanasopoulos, Boutwell Jr, Bray & Collins, 2006). The government officials’ actions were insufficient in days just before and after the landfall. Some of the systems relied upon by the officials to provide responsive support also failed. At all levels of the government, the officials showed the lack of effective leadership. The backdrop of failure occurring, over time, resulted in the insufficient capacity to coordinate a national response to such a catastrophic event.

Planning efforts
There has been a long standing experience with hurricanes in the Gulf Coast with an average of two major hits of hurricanes somewhere along the Atlantic coast. The authorities mitigated the impact of the hurricane hazards by following the basic emergency response principles which included dissemination of warning and evacuation of people at risk prone areas. With regards to the Hurricane Katrina, warning dissemination was extensively undertaken, and hurricane advisories issued by the National Hurricane Center were well in advance of the landfall. The specific information provided for planning included projected path, storm surge, impact area and the potential consequences. Since disaster response is highly variant for various individuals depending on gender, education, ethnicity/race, hazard experience, local hazard culture, type of risk, magnitude and frequency, plan put in place proved ineffective in many aspects. The Gulf Coast has a long history of hurricanes, with an average of two major hurricane hits somewhere along the Atlantic coast. The authorities mitigated the impact of the hurricane hazards by adhering to basic emergency response principles such as warning dissemination and evacuation of people in high-risk areas. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, extensive warning dissemination was undertaken, and hurricane advisories issued by the National Hurricane Center were issued well in advance of landfall. For planning purposes, specific information such as projected path, storm surge, impact area, and potential consequences were provided. Because disaster response varies greatly depending on gender, education, ethnicity/race, hazard experience, local hazard culture, type of risk, magnitude, and frequency, the plan put in place proved ineffective in many ways.
Apart from the underestimation of the hurricane’s force by the residents, the voluntary to a mandatory transition of the evacuation exercise which occurred too late resulted in escalating numbers of people rushing to shelters as a last resort. Delayed decision making at the administrative levels also thwarted the life-saving plans rendering the ineffective for the storm of that magnitude.
Some of the aspects of planning that worked included the military preparation for example in Mississippi these preparations started as early as August 26 when the state’s National Guard was activated. This Guard used an operation plan known as the OPLAN MSSTAD on top MEMA’s comprehensive management plan to accelerate its preparations by through sending alert signals to the emergency personnel. The unit was provided a very efficient system since their headquarters had a direct link with each county for relief effort coordination (Seed et al., 2006). The other plan that worked was the search and rescue where the application of a model developed by the Hurricane Pam exercise, assisted the rescue team in bringing the victims to high grounds for the supply of water, food, transport to shelters and medical attention despite the problems of poor communications. The specific areas of planning that didn’t work were numerous and included the situational awareness as a result of failure to promptly recognize the dimension of the hurricane disaster. The law enforcement plans also failed from erroneous statements provided by the city top officials causing inflammation to the perception of the public about the situation (Hogue & Bea, 2006). The plans were therefore not translated into effective action as far as execution is concerned. The plans and actions in other states such as Alabama and Florida were also not more efficient since the logistical challenges were similar before, during and after the storm.
Conclusion
Many lessons as well as opportunities for improvement that can be learned from the Hurricane Katrina concerning disaster policy and planning. Continued needs for revising the emergency management practices, research and use of wise practices at a local level to build a disaster resistant community must be promoted. By focusing on who ultimately makes the decision, a new culture of planning and preparedness is created to ensure resources, personal and training are in place for any emergency or disaster management. However, the success of any emergency plan will largely depend on the financial resources, social justice, local initiative, political will and personal responsibility.

Refferences
Seed, R. B., Bea, R. G., Abdelmalak, R. I., Athanasopoulos, A. G., Boutwell Jr, G. P., Bray, J. D., … & Collins, B. D. (2006). Investigation of the Performance of the New Orleans Flood Protection System in Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005: Volume 2. Independent Levee Investigation Team: Final Report, 2.
Hogue, H. B., & Bea, K. (2006, June). Federal Emergency Management and Homeland Security organization: Historical developments and legislative options. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON DC CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE.

Check Price Discount

Study Notes & Homework Samples: BU7039 Understanding and Managing People Assessment »Previous Post