Arguably, disasters are inevitable and take place the moments we least expect. As a matter of fact, there are various disasters that have taken place in the world, and each of it comes up with unbelievable destruction. It is worth noting that when a disaster occurs there is more to be learned from it, especially on issues related to disaster management, preparedness and emergency response. One of the disasters that occurred in the past is the Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the storms that affect the coast of U.S. in the history of United States; Hurricane Katrina was the strongest storm in the last 100 years (Rodger, 2006). Hurricanes start in tropical waters and it is easily moved by a powerful wind to other regions. Form this disaster a lot of lessons were learned, and this prepared people for future disasters.
There are various types of disasters, and in this case Hurricane Katrina is a natural disaster. On 29 August, 2005, a hurricane was forming in the Gulf of Mexico. This hurricane was called Hurricane Katrina; it actually began as small storms, and entered the warm waters and it begun to be ore stronger. Unbelievable, Hurricane Katrina was too strong that it destroyed anything along its path (Coppola & Maloney, 2009). The New Orland was the main projected target, and over 1.3 million people were evacuated within 36 hours. Hurricane Katrina affected approximately 90,000 square miles of land. Louisiana lost a quarter f its economy, which included property damage of $100 billion dollars (Rodger, 2006). Evidence shows that Hurricane Katrina caused a lot of devastations and catastrophic damage, which included deaths in the Southern region of United States.
Hurricane Katrina went beyond the emergency preparedness of United States. The government is one of the bodies that people look up to in case of a disaster. Hurricane Katrina exposed various stakeholders on issues related to disasters (Larsen, 2013). Hurricane Katrina showed underlying soundness of the emergency response capacity in Louisiana and lead to a lot of lessons.
During Hurricane Katrina various problems emerged on recovery operations and response. One of the problems was the evacuation process. It was worth noting that many people in the region did not have their private mobility, and this made it difficult for emergency team to evacuate them. There was also lack of proper emergency information, for example, the stakeholders of the city asserted that they had enough basic need to help the evacuated and the affected groups. Many people turned out seeking for help since they could not access basic needs. The city of Orlando also was criticized for not having the best emergency and disaster management plan. The leadership of the city was criticized for lack of proper response.
The communication and corporation among the emergency stakeholders was not up to the standard. This probably slowed down the entire emergency response problem. In case of an emergency, it should be obvious that the plan of emergency response need to incorporate all the stakeholders. The flow of information was not perfect since the plan had not focused on the aspects of communication response. The bureaucracy and the protocols followed slow down the essence of emergency response.
After Hurricane Katrina, there were various issues reported related to violent crimes on emergency response personnel and law enforcing team. This was a clear indication that there was little security plans on what should be done after the disaster. The response and emergency should go beyond the occurrence of disaster (Coppola & Maloney, 2009). The disaster destroyed various infrastructures such as electricity roads, prisons and other crucial communication systems; hence, it was difficult for the emergency response operation to quickly adjust to the problems. The problem was the fact that lawlessness became rampant after the disaster.
One of the lessons that learned is the aspect of understanding all the risks and disasters that the area is vulnerable to. In most cases, the emergency preparedness focuses on the immediate threat, rather than becoming prepared for all the predicted and possible risks. On the same note, the disaster brought in a clear understanding to focus also of attention ion risk assessment, which includes assessment of infrastructures and potential failure of protective systems. In addition, the assessment should include the plan to establish an emergence housing services.
In addition, various states learned that making emergency preparedness a priority is very crucial. A successful emergency response to a disaster need to incorporate all the stakeholders, and should involve critical collaboration and coordination of a wide government services and programs (Larsen, 2013). The essence of emergency preparedness should be a priority to everyone in society. Everyone should basically be part of assessment, reviewing plans, as well as mandating full corporations. In fact, the emergency preparedness team needs to define their roles and responsibilities so that in case of an emergency every party understands what is expected of them.
Hurricane Katrina also put into test the communication systems. Hence, the lesson learned is to focus on additional communication capacity on issues related to interoperability, alternative systems, operability, as well as redundancy (Rodger, 2006). There is also need to ensure that there is testing and maintenance of emergency response plans on regular basis. This move will ensure that the needed resources are allocated within the best time. The emergency signals need to be tested in order to bring out the problems that may arise in case of a disaster.
Disasters occur in various parts of the world, and Hurricane Katrina was not the first hurricane to take place. The government and other responsible stakeholders learned the importance of gaining experience from the experience of other states, countries and individuals (Rodger, 2006). The mitigation strategies used in one of the disasters in the past could be of great help in the present. The states need to use the catastrophe of other states to plan for possible disasters.
The emergency management community dealt with the problems in various ways. In fact, media took the center stage in communicating to people on various issues related to hurricane Katrina and what they should expected. In addition, the central government used military and other law enforcement agencies to help the emergency response personnel and to provide security.
For future success during disasters there are various issues to be focused on. One of the crucial aspects is disaster preparedness, and carrying put assessment in the region to ascertain any possible disaster. In addition, understanding the available resources will help in ensuring that there is enough in case of a disaster (Coppola & Maloney, 2009). People in most cases take advantage during disaster to carry put unlawful actions. Therefore, safety and security measure need to be put in place before, during and after the disaster. In general perspective, hurricane Katrina led to various lessons that are useful in the future. Disasters are inevitable and can occur at any time; hence, the best way is to focus on preparedness, mitigation strategies, proper planning, and proper emergency reposns plan.
References
Coppola, D. P., & Maloney, E. K. (2009). Communicating emergency preparedness: Strategies for creating a disaster resilient public. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Larsen, J. A. (2013). Responding to catastrophic events: Consequence management and policies. New York, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rodger, E. (2006). Hurricane Katrina. New York: Crabtree Pub.
