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WomenMatter will continuously post updates on all this and other issues as we monitor the continuing philosophical and practical debates nationwide. Please check back often for updates. Past updates are available for reference on the Security Archives page.

After the Storm: Understanding Katrina and Coming up with Solutions

As the shock from Hurricane Katrina starts to fade, we begin to see clearly what went wrong and what needs to happen to repair the damage and prevent flooding in the future.

The House of Representatives investigated the government response to Katrina, and found failures at the local, state, and federal levels. The report, released Wednesday, February 15, 2006, is highly critical of government leadership, as opposed to the structure of the response system.

House report criticizes leaders

A Republican-dominated panel conducted the investigation and produced the 600-page report that sharply criticizes the Bush administration. Specifically, the panel found that the White House received early reports that the levees broke, but discounted them.

The report claims that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff should have declared Hurricane Katrina an "incident of national significance" before it hit New Orleans, because this would have deployed federal resources to the region much earlier.

Further, Chertoff should have sent a "principal federal official" who had undergone disaster training, instead of Michael Brown. Chertoff also needed to create an interagency group to determine the possible consequences of Katrina before landfall. The report concludes that, like Brown, Chertoff lacked disaster experience.

The panel was unable to do a full investigation because the White House invoked executive privilege and so protected several emails and data that were requested.

State and local problems

The report found that state and local officials also failed in their responses to Katrina.

By hyping up the chaos in New Orleans, local officials caused relief teams from entering the city because the teams feared for their safety.

While the evacuation of the general population went well, mandatory evacuations in high-risk areas such as the lower Ninth Ward were too little too late and resulted in unnecessary deaths.

The report asserts that officials at all levels should have anticipated the problems that occurred in the Superdome. The committee wrote, "If 9/11 was a failure of imagination, then Katrina was a failure of initiative. It was a failure of leadership."

Spotlight: Women work to improve local leadership

As opposed to cynicism, many women in New Orleans are choosing hope and hard work.

A group of women founded Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, which hopes to change the leadership structure there in order to make sure that The Big Easy never floods again.

Instead of multiple levee boards for multiple districts, Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans wanted a single, unified levee board that is transparent, accountable, fair, and full of experts. The group hopes that a reputable levee board may free up federal funds trapped in red tape.

The group backed legislation proposed by State Senator Walter J. Boasso that would create a new board called the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority. The board would have members from each parish and five experts in fields such as geotechnical and hydrological engineering as well as environmental science.

The legislation would block lobbyists and former lobbyists from joining the board, and overrides the current system which allows political appointees with no flood protection expertise.

Making progress

On February 15, 2006, a unanimous Senate passed the bill when supporters agreed to compromise and create two separate authorities on either side of the Mississippi River.

The legislation must pass the House before the session ends Friday, February 17, 2006, in order to become law. Several challenges remain, including attempts to pull out St. Bernard Parish and to give West Bank officials more power over who will sit on their governing board.

Just two days after stalling on the Senate floor, the chamber's approval put the legislation back on track. The compromise would create west and east versions of a Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority, but keeps the mostly-impartial panel that would nominate people to the boards and the governor would select the appointments.

Responding to Katrina -- What do you think?

How does the nation need to respond to this natural and manmade disaster? How much energy should we devote to what went wrong? What needs to happen to make it right? What can you do to make sure your community is ready for a possible disaster?

Your input matters

Your representatives in Congress DO care what you think. Especially now -- 2006 is an election year and many representatives will be looking to reconnect with their constituents. Let your congressmen and women know what you think! Give your senators a piece of your mind! To find your reps, click here.

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Update Posted on: 2/18/2006