Lili. Ivan. Katrina. Rita. Gustav. Hurricane after hurricane, disaster after disaster. Louisiana has been Mother Nature’s punching bag for the past six years. The response to some of the natural disasters left people questioning the government and FEMA.State and local government, as well as FEMA were prepared when Gustav made landfall on Sept. 2. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency on Aug. 29.
“Coastal parishes should be recommending that their residents voluntarily begin to evacuate today, and some will issue mandatory evacuations tomorrow, so residents are evacuated before contraflow begins on Sunday morning.” said Gov. Jindal in a press conference.
In light of Katrina, Gov. Jindal took things more seriously and stressed the danger that the residents of the costal parishes of Louisiana faced if they decided to ride out the storm.
Mayor Ray Nagin was more adamant about telling people to get out of Louisiana. On Aug. 31, Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans.
“I’m impressed by the mayor getting people out before the storm hit,” said Ken Gilmore, associate professor of political science. “I’m glad it looks like they learned; but my God, wouldn’t you expect them to?”
There are several factors that show the difference between Gustav and Katrina. There were 3,500 National Guard troops in Louisiana during Katrina. For Gustav, there were nearly 12,000 National Guard troops stationed and equipped in the Gulf Coast region.
During Katrina, several of the New Orleans police officers abandoned their posts and took their families to safety. This time around, the police were given time off to get their families to safety and return to New Orleans before Gustav made landfall.
The level of strength that both Gustav and Katrina possessed at their peak was just one category apart. Katrina was a Category 3 when it landed and the winds were near 125 mph, whereas Gustav was a Category 2 with winds near 110 mph.
This time around, the government knew that things would have to change and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was there to help.
Robert Duncan, assistant professor of political science, could tell the difference in FEMA and the government’s reaction to Gustav because this time they actually had someone with experience in charge.
“What are the odds that elected officials will run into a natural disaster?” Duncan said.
The level of experience that R. David Paulison, the current administrator of FEMA, has in comparison to that of Michael “Brownie” Brown, the former director of FEMA, is astounding.
First of all, Paulison has over 35 years of experience in emergency management and is a former firefighter and paramedic. Brown practiced law before he joined FEMA.
Another factor that might have contributed to the faster and more efficient response was the spotlight Katrina put on President Bush. The negative press that Bush received is something that the current candidates for president couldn’t risk.
The Republican National Convention was held the same week that Gustav came along.
“You’re seeing the Republican government and I think Republican states doing a good job of taking care of their citizens, said Texas Gov. Rick Perry in a press release for the Republican National Committee. “That’s what we do and I’m really proud of everyone in Texas as they’ve reached out and done this wonderful job. I wish we were there with you, but we’re doing our job down here on the southern coast of the United States,”
“In large part, it was about politics,” Gilmore said. “They were under a lot of pressure to do things right. Part of it was genuine concern to make sure things are safer this time around.