Chapter Appendix B - What Went Right
Section Preparation and Response to Katrina
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Preparation and Response to Katrina
We have identified numerous areas in which the Federal, State and local governments could have better prepared for, responded to, and recovered from the storm, but it is also important to acknowledge that we pre-staged more assets and pre-deployed more personnel than we have for any other storm in American history. And we have tried to include throughout the review some examples of the many good lessons of courage, compassion, and initiative that saved lives and reduced suffering.
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck densely populated urban areas in southeastern Florida as a Category 5 storm and provides the closest comparison to Hurricane Katrina. They were two of the most destructive storms ever to strike the United States, but Katrina affected an area three times as large, caused two to six times the economic damage, and killed up to twenty times as many people - this was partially due to Katrina's large wind field and the high storm surge, which proved far more damaging than the more compact Andrew.
Prior to both hurricanes, the National Weather Service provided repeated and accurate warnings, but local populations did not fully evacuate - greatly magnifying human suffering in the wake of the storm. Andrew and Katrina both overwhelmed State and local responders, but the Federal response to Katrina was greatly improved due to better preparations prior to landfall.
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