Chapter Appendix B - What Went Right
Section Department of Commerce
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Department of Commerce
Clearly understanding the impact of the hurricane and flood on businesses in the region, the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce (DOC) sent business development specialists to the region to provide on-the-ground assistance to the owners of the more than 59,000 minority firms in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, as well those that temporarily relocated to Texas. MBDA established a minority business development center in Houston to assist with loan applications, business plans, insurance claims, reconstruction of business records, and business administration. Instead of letting these businesses slide, MBDA helped get owners back on their feet quickly.50
Elements of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were proactive and vigilant. The National Hurricane Center (part of the NOAA National Weather Service) accurately predicted and tracked the size, scale, and path of Hurricane Katrina. Further, Max Mayfield, Director of the National Hurricane Center, personally made phone calls to local, State and Federal leaders to apprise them of the situation, aggressively contacting officials in the affected areas to warn them.51 Members of the National Weather Service knew that the time would come to issue warnings, and they developed them ahead of time, evaluating data and basing the warning language on various scenarios, so that when certain criteria were met (as with Hurricane Katrina), they did not have to waste time creating statements - they could issue them immediately.
The National Weather Service also correctly realized that the levees were breaching and issued a flash flood warning at 8:14 am Monday, August 29, saying, "A levee breach occurred along the industrial canal at Tennessee Street. Three to eight feet of water is expected due to the breach."52 These organizations correctly characterized the situation, identified the danger, and got the word out clearly and promptly.
During the response to Hurricane Katrina, the DOC National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) correctly and immediately identified the need for additional communications bandwidth, and allocated more than 1,100 frequencies to nine Federal agencies which allowed them to operate their land mobile, aeronautical, maritime, and satellite communications. NTIA also coordinated with the Federal Communications Commission to temporarily authorize the use of private sector satellite, ultrawideband, and microwave communication services. In addition to these response efforts, NTIA also provided financial support to reestablish the communications infrastructure in Louisiana, helping the state to take an initial and important step toward recovery.53
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