The impact of Hurricane Rita on an academic institution: lessons learned

This paper examines the impact of Hurricane Rita on one of the many universities along the Gulf Coast of the United States: Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Hurricane Rita, which made landfall between Sabine Pass, Texas, and Johnson's Bayou, Louisiana, on 24 September 2005, is the fourth strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane on record and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. This paper assesses the tasks that confronted the administration, faculty, and students of Lamar University in the days and weeks after the event. It concludes that the one factor that will influence more than any other the degree of success after any disaster is whether all levels of the administrative command institutionalise, endorse, promote, and encourage the adopted recovery plan. The research seeks to share valuable insights on the vulnerabilities that academic institutions face during natural disasters and to highlight some of the many lessons learned.     

Modeling flooding extent from Hurricane Floyd in the coastal plains of North Carolina

Abstract

In this article two modeling approaches were developed based on the use of US Geological Survey digital elevation model (DEM) data. These models were utilized to delineate the extent of flooding induced by precipitation from Hurricane Floyd in a portion of Pitt County, North Carolina. The patterns of flood extent derived from the two models were compared to the extent of flooding indicated on a digital aerial photograph taken two days after peak flood levels had been reached. In addition, floodplain boundaries based on Federal Emergency Management Agency Q3 maps were compared to the extent of flooding on the aerial photo. Actual emergency response operations undertaken through the Pitt County Emergency Operations Center during the flood event are described, and are used to provide a context for evaluating the potential utility of these models. The flood extents produced by the modeling methods performed well at representing the actual extent of the flooding.     

Not just a matter of knowledge. The Katrina debacle

The paper deals with hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf coast of the US at the end of August 2005, with disastrous consequences. The paper sketches the chronicle of the main events and deals with preparation and response in New Orleans, exploring the connection between knowledge and disaster management policies, in particular communication policy. The main failures in applying and sharing available information for preventing and limiting damage are attributed to lack of coordination between elected officials, authorities and agencies at all levels. The critical role of the media in shaping the perception of the event and the immediate response to it is also highlighted.     

Measuring disaster recovery: bouncing back or reaching the counterfactual state?

How should one measure the recovery of a locale from a disaster? The measurement is crucial from a public policy and administration standpoint to determine which places should receive disaster assistance, and it affects the performance evaluation of disaster recovery programmes. This paper compares two approaches to measuring recovery: (i) bouncing back to pre‐disaster conditions; and (ii) attaining the counterfactual state. The former centres on returning to normalcy following disaster‐induced losses, whereas the latter focuses on attaining the state, using quasi‐experimental design, which would have existed if the disaster had not occurred. Both are employed here to assess two housing recovery indicators (total new units and their valuations) in Hurricane Katrina‐affected counties (rural and urban). The examination reveals significantly different outcomes for the two approaches: counties have not returned to their pre‐disaster housing conditions, but they do exhibit counterfactual recovery. Moreover, rural counties may not be as vulnerable as assumed in the disaster recovery literature.     

Granulometric and Metal Distributions for Post‐Katrina Surficial Particulate Matter Recovered From New Orleans1

Bhadha, Jehangir H., Casey Schmidt, Robert Rooney, Paul Indeglia, Ruben Kertesz, Elizabeth Bevc, and John Sansalone, 2009. Granulometric and Metal Distributions for Post‐Katrina Surficial Particulate Matter Recovered From New Orleans. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 45(6):1434‐1447. Abstract: Hurricane Katrina and the resulting failure of the levees that surrounded and protected New Orleans generated a significant detained volume of stormwater within the urban area of New Orleans. Between the inundation resulting from levee failure and eventual pumped evacuation of stormwater from the urban area of New Orleans, a large mass of storm‐entrained particulate matter (PM) was deposited in the inundated areas. This study examined the granulometry and granulometric distribution of metals for post‐Katrina surficial PM deposits recovered from 15 sites (10 inundated and 5 non‐inundated) in New Orleans. Results of this examination were compared to pre‐Katrina data from New Orleans. While post‐Katrina analysis of PM indicates that Pb, Zn, and Cu concentrations for PM are reduced for all sites, inundated sites had higher Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations for the settleable (～25‐75 μm) and sediment (>75 μm) size fractions. A comparison between total metal concentration and the bioavailable (leachable) fraction for PM reveals that inundated sites had up to 19% higher leachable metal concentration compared to non‐inundated sites. The reduction in PM‐bound total metal concentrations for recovered PM can be explained through a combination of scouring (and therefore change in granulometry from pre‐Katrina) that resulted from transport of suspended PM by storm flows and pumped evacuation; as well as leaching and PM‐based redistribution from extended contact with rainfall and during stormwater detention. New Orleans has been exposed to elevated levels of metals through decades of activities that include vehicular transportation, chemical, industrial, and oil production facilities resulting in higher metal concentrations for urban soil‐residual complexes. As a result, the influent storm flows associated with Katrina as an episodic event cannot solely explain the distribution and fate of PM‐associated metal concentrations.     

Controlling disasters: recognising latent goals after Hurricane Katrina

Classic sociological theory can be used to interpret the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in the United States on 29 August 2005. The delayed and ineffective response to the storm and the subsequent failure of the levees become more understandable when one considers the latent goals of social control in disaster recovery. Constructing the survivors as suspect or criminal and conceptualising the impacts of the disaster as individual problems occurred in order to justify the emphasis on controlling the survivors of Katrina rather than on assisting them. Parallels are drawn here between the disaster response featuring social control efforts and a recent paradigmatic shift in criminal justice from justice to 'risk management'. Recognition of the implicit aims of the inadequate disaster response provides a more complete explanation of why post-Katrina efforts failed to achieve the manifest goals of response and recovery. The conclusion suggests ways to ensure more equitable and just disaster responses.     

Latino social network dynamics and the Hurricane Katrina disaster

The aim of this qualitative research was to examine the dynamics of existing and emerging social networks among Latino survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Data were generated through individual, in-depth interviews conducted with 65 Latinos within six months of the storm striking the Gulf Coast of the United States in August 2005. The findings illustrated both the role of social networks in gathering information, making decisions and accessing resources, and how these existing social networks were disrupted and strained by overwhelming needs. Broader structural issues, including poverty and a lack of transportation, combined with marginalised status as immigrants, further constrained access to essential information and resources. In response, new, if temporary, social networks emerged, based primarily on shared nationality, language, and a sense of collective commitment. Practice implications include the need to consider the social network dynamics of marginalised groups in developing innovative strategies to overcome structural barriers to accessing resources essential for disaster preparedness and survival.     

Operation Child-ID: reunifying children with their legal guardians after Hurricane Katrina

Children constitute a vulnerable population and special considerations are necessary in order to provide proper care for them during disasters. After disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the rapid identification and protection of separated children and their reunification with legal guardians is necessary in order to minimise secondary injuries (i.e. physical and sexual abuse, neglect and abduction). At Camp Gruber, an Oklahoma shelter for Louisianans displaced by Hurricane Katrina, a survey tool was used to identify children separated from their guardians. Of the 254 children at the camp, 36 (14.2 per cent) were separated from their legal guardians. Answering 'no' to the question of whether the accompanying adult was the guardian of the child prior to Hurricane Katrina was a strong predictor (27.8 per cent versus 3.2 per cent) of being listed as 'missing' by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). All the children at Camp Gruber who were listed as 'missing' by the NCMEC were subsequently reunited with their guardians.     

Hurricane Katrina disaster diplomacy

Hurricane Katrina struck the United States at the end of August 2005. The consequent devastation appeared to be beyond the US government's ability to cope with and aid was offered by several states in varying degrees of conflict with the US. Hurricane Katrina therefore became a potential case study for 'disaster diplomacy', which examines how disaster-related activities do and do not yield diplomatic gains. A review of past disaster diplomacy work is provided. The literature's case studies are then categorised using a new typology: propinquity, aid relationship, level and purpose. Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath are then placed in the context of the US government's foreign policy, the international response to the disaster and the US government's reaction to these responses. The evidence presented is used to discuss the potential implications of Hurricane Katrina disaster diplomacy, indicating that factors other than disaster-related activities generally dominate diplomatic relations and foreign policy.