Public Health and Law Enforcement during Hurricane Katrina

Dr. Joseph Costa, D.H.Sc., PA-C

Health Policy and Management

MPH 525

April 2013

Hurricane Katrina 2

Table of ContentsChapter Page1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………3

Background and Significance……………………………………………………………..3Nature of the Problem……………………………………………………………………..3Purpose……………………………………………………………………………………3

2. Public Health and Law Enforcement Agencies………………………………………………..4Public Health Authorities…………………………………………………………………4Law Enforcement…………………………………………………………………………4Collaboration Methods……………………………………………………………………5

3. Functions of Public Health Agencies…………………………………………………………..6Roles of Government……………………………………………………………………...7Local Government………………………………………………………………………...8Federal Government………………………………………………………………………9

4. What Went Well………………………………………………………………………………10Volunteer Organizations…………………………………………………………………10Federal Agencies…………………………………………………………………………11

5. Challenges with Legal Authority……………………………………………………………...126. Current Disaster Management Policies……………………………………………………….13

Federal Policy Improvements……………………………………………………………14Local Policy Improvements……………………………………………………………...14

7. Summary……………………………………………………………………………………...158. Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………169. References……………………………………………………………………………………17

Hurricane Katrina 3

Chapter 1Introduction

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever. Katrina first hit

southern Florida as a weak hurricane, with maximum winds near seventy five miles per hour

(mph)-barely a category one. Although Katrina was a weak hurricane in Florida, fourteen deaths

were attributed directly to the storm. Once the storm reached the Gulf of Mexico, the warm

waters rejuvenated the storm increasing the strength to a category five. At one point, while the

storm was in the Gulf, wind speeds topped 170 mph. On Monday, August 29, 2005, Katrina

made landfall in Mississippi and Louisiana. Katrina was a very devastating storm to the United

States. “One thing is very certain, and that is that the true loss of life caused by Hurricane

Katrina will never be known, but it is very likely that she was responsible for over 1500 fatalities

in seven states, and over $100 billion in damages—more than twice that of Hurricane Andrew’s

damages when adjusted for inflation” (Kempler, 2010).

The United States has been tested and tried with the high occurrence of disaster in the

past few decades. Whether the disaster is natural or man-made, it brings chaos throughout the

country. Disaster brings on environmental hardships, economic spending, loss of life, and

enormous recovery efforts. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the government found out how

unprepared they were for disaster to strike. The local, State, and Federal governments had no

plans in place to deal with a storm as big as Katrina, and also lack of coordination efforts to help

the recovery process. Many lessons were learned from this disaster in hopes to be better

prepared if a disaster, as big as Katrina, would strike again.

Public Health agencies faced several implications with Hurricane Katrina as well as local,

State, and Federal governments. There are many different gaps that need to be filled within the

policies of disaster management and public health.

Hurricane Katrina 4

Chapter 2

Hurricane Katrina

Public Health and Law Enforcement Agencies

Public Health Authorities

  After a disaster, local public health authorities (PHA) hold the primary responsibility for

the health of a community. The PHA and other health care organizations have to prepare in

advance as both individual institutions and as part of the larger community planning effort. “The

PHA work with both health care organizations and disaster response agencies to coordinate the

delivery of health care services, to respond to any public health threats, and to develop and

implement plans for the use and distribution of assets” (Landesman, 2006, pg. 8). Once disaster

strikes, these agencies coordinate the development of a community action plan to address

community health needs. The plan includes several strategies to complete the following

responsibilities: Ensure continuous health care services, monitor the environmental

infrastructure, assess the needs of special populations, initiate injury prevention and surveillance

programs, ensure that essential facilities will be able to function post-impact, issue health

advisories as needed and allocate resources to match the needs of the disaster (Landesman,

2006).

Law Enforcement

While preparedness for a public health emergency seems to be a public health

responsibility, law enforcement officials also play a critical role in response to these incidents.

During a public health emergency, law enforcement must quickly coordinate its response with

public health and medical officials. “Law enforcement’s role may include enforcing public

health orders, securing the perimeter of contaminated areas, securing health care facilities,

Hurricane Katrina 5

controlling crowds, investigating scenes of suspected biological terrorism, and/or protecting

national stockpiles of vaccines or other medicines” (U.S. Department of Justice, 2006, pg 1).

The ability to respond effectively depends on preparedness of the law enforcement agency.

Collaboration Methods

Hurricane Katrina proved the importance for interconnectedness between public health

and law enforcement agencies. There was no set collaboration plan that occurred between law

enforcement and public health agencies when Katrina hit which caused immense chaos and lack

of structure on how to handle the situation. This also caused a lot of miscommunication between

all agencies the days immediately following landfall of Katrina. Most public health and law

enforcement agencies were not prepared for the destruction and devastation Katrina left.

Immediately following Katrina, the main role each of the agencies took on was search and

rescue. “Thousands of firefighters, police officers, and medical personnel across all levels of

government, together with citizen volunteers, braved life-threatening conditions to rescue people

and animals from flooded buildings” (Bush, 2006). Once agencies were able to communicate,

which took days, a plan started to take place. Again, the main role each agency took was search

and rescue. Once people were rescued and brought to safety, public health agencies then had to

care for the specific needs of each person. Also, each agency was responsible for the safety of

the public. Law enforcement tried to continue on their daily duty to protect and serve while

public health officials tried to protect the general well-being of the population affected. In the

situation with Katrina, each agency had to work together in order to speed up relief efforts.

Although the agencies did not have collaborative plans initially, they came together post-Katrina

in order to help the recovery process.

Chapter 3

Hurricane Katrina 6

Hurricane Katrina

Functions of Public Health Agencies

As stated above, public health agencies hold the primary responsibility in reacting to a

natural disaster. When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, public health services in the

region were devastated. This caused a delayed response in being able to perform the duties

needed to help the general public. Public health officials as well as medical personnel faced

innumerable challenges in assuring the health of Katrina’s victims. Some major challenges

included; lack of communication because communications were knocked out in hard hit areas,

which compromised the process of assessing and prioritizing needs, physical access was blocked

in some areas keeping responders from delivering aid, and civil disorder. . “Additional public

health challenges include keeping response workers safe, preventing diseases from spreading in

shelters, assuring the safety of food supplies, and controlling mosquitoes” (Lister, 2005, pg. 4).

Public health agencies had a hard time taking care of the needs of individuals in a timely

fashion, due to lack of communication, organization, and lack of a disaster plan. Public health

personnel as well as emergency responders should be trained to take care of the needs of

individuals during a disaster. This was not able to happen after Katrina due to several

challenges. One of the first challenges was local disaster plans did not did include provisions for

keeping hospitals functioning during a large-scale emergency. The generators in New Orleans

hospitals were located on the first floor, so when the levees broke flooding occurred-knocking

out power throughout the hospital. This caused hospitals to evacuate and close. Because

hospitals closed, the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) is called in to care for

individuals. With the lack of communication and organization, NDMS officials were ill-

Hurricane Katrina 7

prepared for providing medical care to patients who needed it. This caused a lot of people to go

untreated and even die due to lack of medical supplies (Franco et al., 2006).

Roles of Government

Local, State and Federal government all play certain roles and hold specific

responsibilities when disaster strikes. The local government plays the primary role in preparing

and dealing with natural disaster. The local government is supposed to take specific actions

when disaster strikes and these actions include: Providing the initial emergency response

through its service agencies, activating the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the

Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), coordinating the response with public and private

organizations, notifying State emergency management of the scope of the situation, activating

mutual aid, proclaiming a local state of emergency, and requesting assistance from the state

(FEMA, 2010). If the local government does not have the resources it needs to respond to a

disaster, it turns to the State government. “State governments serve as agents for the local

jurisdictions if Federal disaster assistance is needed” (FEMA, 2010). State government

responsibilities include; monitoring the situation, reviewing and evaluating local requests for

assistance and response efforts, activating the State EOC to coordinate available State assistance,

determining if the situation is beyond the capability of the State, and if Federal assistance is

needed, proclaiming a state of emergency and requesting Federal assistance. Finally, the Federal

government holds the responsibility to react to a disaster when local and State governments

cannot provide the needed resources. States work with The Federal Emergency Management

Agency (FEMA) who coordinate the activation and implementation of the Federal Response

Plan (FRP). The responsibilities of the Federal government include; conducting joint Public

Development Authority (PDA) with state and local governments, approve or deny requests for

Hurricane Katrina 8

Federal assistance, activating procedures outlined in the FRP, establishing an Emergency

Support Team (EST) to monitor operations from Washington, and indentifying the necessary

Emergency Support Functions (ESF) to respond.

It is important for the local, State and Federal governments to have a plan in place prior

to an emergency happening. “The extent to which the local-state-federal response ramps up

depends on a host of factors, including the size of the incident and what plans and agreements are

in place prior to any event” (Kettl & Walters, 2005). In 2004, Louisiana worked together with

FEMA and Louisiana’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, and

conducted a drill called Hurricane Pam. This drill stimulated a Category 3 storm hitting and

flooding New Orleans. This drill identified a huge gap in disaster planning; almost 100,000

people would not be able to get evacuated from the city. The evacuation of citizens is the

responsibility of the local government and the Mayor of New Orleans never followed up on this

issue. The Federal government had just made the National Response Plan and had great

confidence that it would take care of training, organization, communication, and support if

catastrophe struck. Overall, there was not much planning done before Katrina hit land in August

2005.

Local Government

Local governments were not prepared for what occurred when Hurricane Katrina hit.

Initially, many State and local public safety agencies suffered extensive damage to their facilities

and equipment. Fire departments in Louisiana and Mississippi suffered total destruction to their

facilities and police departments lost many of their vehicles. Another problem arose when

emergency personnel workers did not show up for work. Flooding caused extensive damage,

including damage to the Mayor’s office. The Mayor’s office had to operate out of the Hyatt

Hurricane Katrina 9

Hotel for several days after Katrina’s landfall, making communication ineffective for almost

forty-eight hours after the initial hit. “This meant that the Mayor was neither able to effectively

command the local efforts, nor was he able to guide the State and Federal support for two days

following the storm” (Bush, 2006). Not only was communication ineffective for the Mayor, it

was also ineffective for all emergency response officials. Flooding blocked access to the police

and fire dispatch centers in New Orleans and neither 911 service nor public safety radio

communications functioned sufficiently. The flooding also caused much structural damage, so

emergency response officials found it difficult or impossible to establish a functioning incident

command center.

Federal Government

Similar to local and State governments, the Federal government was not prepared to

handle the devastation of Katrina. “During the Federal response to Katrina, four critical flaws in

our national preparedness became evident: Our processes for unified management of the national

response; command and control structures within the Federal government; knowledge of our

preparedness plans; and regional planning and coordination” (Bush, 2006). In order to have

unified management of the national response, there must be coordination of a vast range of

organizations and activities, public and private. The framework the Federal government went off

of before Katrina hit was to just coordinate resources to meet the needs of local and state

governments based on their requests for assistance. That framework did not address the

conditions of a catastrophic event with large scale competing needs, insufficient resources, and

the absence of a functioning local government (Bush, 2006). The limitations of this framework

were major restraints to the effective organization of Federal, State, and local resources to

respond to Katrina. The Federal government also lacked in command and control structures.

Hurricane Katrina 10

The command centers in the Department of Homeland Security had overlapping roles and

responsibilities that were exposed as a great weakness during Katrina. The Secretary of

Homeland Security also had difficulty coordinating the activities of Federal governments and

agencies because of lack of communication. Another flaw was the knowledge of the

preparedness plan. The main factor that went into this flaw was that key decision-makers at all

levels were not familiar with the plans. Because the NRP was new, many on the Federal, State

and local levels lacked an understanding of the National plan. This created confusion and

ineffective coordination on each level of government. The last flaw was the lack of regional

planning and coordination. Again, there was confusion because lack of communication between

different departments on the local, State, and Federal levels.

Chapter 4

Hurricane Katrina

What Went Well

Volunteer Organizations

Whenever disaster strikes, people are ready to volunteer their services to help those who

have been affected. Sometimes these services can help or hinder the situation and recovery

process. With Hurricane Katrina, volunteers helped the recovery process significantly. “The

number of volunteer and non-profit organizations providing support to the Hurricane Katrina

relief effort was truly extraordinary. Virtually every national, regional and local charitable

organization in the U.S., and many from abroad, contributed aid to the victims of Hurricane

Katrina” (Bush, 2006). One group of volunteers was called the Citizen Corps. This group has

coordinated efforts throughout the country, with volunteers from all fifty states who are actively

involved in response and recovery efforts. A group out of Harris County, Texas brought together

Hurricane Katrina 11

an enormous amount of volunteers to support the American Red Cross and staffed evacuation

centers throughout Houston. “These volunteers allowed for the creation of an actual city (with

its own zip code) for nearly 25,000 Louisiana evacuees sheltering in the Houston Reliant

Astrodome” (Bush, 2006). Several other volunteer organizations; Operation Blessing, Salvation

Army, Christ in Action, and private citizens, helped in the rescue missions, housing, feeding, and

providing medical supplies-improving the recovery process.

Although many things went wrong with the implementation of relief efforts for Katrina

victims, several things went right. According to President Bush (2006), “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” (pg. 1). Many non-governmental organizations stepped up to help place

homeless people in homes and prepare meals for those who were stranded. Other state

governments volunteered to provide non-response related critical services that the states of

Louisiana and Mississippi could no longer provide. These services included; assistance to the

Louisiana and Mississippi State Public Health Laboratories, mobile drinking water labs to

prevent illness from contaminated water, and newborn screening tests to provide immediate

treatment if needed. Local officials played a huge role in helping out, even though these people

are ones who were victims themselves. “Members of local fire departments, police departments,

and emergency service units worked tirelessly despite being victims themselves” (Bush, 2006).

Federal Agencies

Many Federal agencies reacted to Katrina and deployed help as quickly as possible. The

Department of Homeland Security conducted one of the largest search and rescue missions using

Hurricane Katrina 12

6,000 U.S. Coast Guard personnel. They retrieved more than 33,000 people from the Gulf

Coast. They also worked to reconstitute waterways and conduct environmental assessments.

The U.S. Department of Defense deployed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who led the

removal of 224 billion gallons of water from New Orleans in 43 days, enabling recovery and

repair operations. The U.S. Army provided services including medical treatment, debris

cleaning, evacuation, planning, and search and rescue missions. The U.S. Marines helped local

governments revive their infrastructures and help in search and rescue missions. The U.S. Navy

provided 10,000 personnel who brought construction equipment and mobile diving salvage units.

The Department of Health and Human Services (2006), “quickly identified the need for specific

guidance on how to get hospitals in the region affected by the hurricane and flood reopened and

running again. The Agency developed easy to read information, and checklists regarding

supplies, medications, staffing, patient transport, reopening evaluation, and management” (pg.

1). The CDC deployed around 200 people who led and/or assisted with a variety of emergency

public health programs. Each department within the Federal government participated in one way

or another to help with relief efforts of Hurricane Katrina.

Chapter 5

Hurricane Katrina

Challenges with Legal Authority

When a hurricane is expected to hit, a mandatory evacuation may be implemented by the local

and State government. When experts received word on Hurricane Katrina and the route she was

supposed to hit, New Orleans went under a mandatory evacuation notice. Although this was

mandatory, many people thought they could ride-out the storm, so they decided to stay. This

caused some challenges between communities and legal authorities. Individuals are

Hurricane Katrina 13

recommended to leave, but authority cannot force them to leave their homes. After Katrina

occurred, some people blamed the city of New Orleans for not defining what a mandatory

evacuation meant and how serious the hurricane was going to be. They also claimed they were

not given enough time to evacuate which they believed entitled them to extra money from losses.

In the aftermath of Katrina, there was much chaos as to who was actually in charge of the

communities. Legal authority tried their best to do their every day duties by protecting

individuals and keeping them safe, but because the cities were destroyed their main goal was

search and rescue. When the waters started to recede, local authority had to make sure they were

protecting the cities. After Katrina, looting started to occur so officers had to arrest anyone who

was stealing. This caused some conflict between individuals and law authority because some

people were trying to find belongings and were accused of looting. Also, legal authority had to

guard Points of Distribution (POD) because people were so desperate for food and water; they

would have attacked the volunteers handing out goods.

Hurricane Katrina, as well as other hurricanes that hit in 2005, served as a means for significant

changes in federal policy. A new act was introduced called the Post-Katrina Emergency

Management Reform Act of 2006. “This act established new leadership positions and position

requirements within FEMA, brought new missions into FEMA and restored some that had

previously been removed, and enhanced the agency’s authority by directing the FEMA

Administrator to undertake a broad range of activities before and after disasters occur” (Bea et

al., 2006).

Chapter 6

Hurricane Katrina

Current Disaster Management Policies

Hurricane Katrina 14

Federal Policy Improvements

Hurricane Katrina, as well as other hurricanes that hit in 2005, served as a means for

significant changes in federal policy. A new act was introduced called the Post-Katrina

Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006. “This act established new leadership positions

and position requirements within FEMA, brought new missions into FEMA and restored some

that had previously been removed, and enhanced the agency’s authority by directing the FEMA

Administrator to undertake a broad range of activities before and after disasters occur” (Bea et

al., 2006).

Local Policy Improvements

The state and local governments of Louisiana also changed their disaster management

policies. One of the first improvements made, was the City Assisted Evacuation Plan (CAEP).

The CAEP services people who need evacuation during an emergency but cannot evacuate

themselves. Another improvement was The Broadmeer Improvement Association: Community

Emergency Response Team which educates people on disaster preparedness for hazards that may

impact their area, and trains them in basic disaster response skills. One of the biggest flaws

during Hurricane Katrina was the breakdown in emergency communication. In January 2007,

Louisiana Region 1 Communications Network (LAROC) developed a state-of-the-art system

called Project 25. The backbone of this project is a 700/800 MHz system that allows for voice

interoperability amongst all public safety personnel. Another area of improvement was for the

visitors to the area. Because New Orleans is a tourist area, the city made a Hotel and Lodging

Visitor Evacuation Plan. Visitors either have a pre-arranged evacuation plan or city officials

escort them out when an emergency occurs. When Katrina hit, the Emergency Operations

Center (EOC) was located out of a hotel. In 2009, the new City of New Orleans EOC opened

Hurricane Katrina 15

and contained a 600 Kilowatt generator. This generator is capable of running the entire EOC if

power is lost. A huge burden from Katrina was the vast flooding when levees breached. This

caused for major improvements of the levee system, so New Orleans implemented the closure of

the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) and the construction of the Inner Harbor Navigation

Canal Surge Barrier (IHNC). During Katrina, many children were separated from their families

causing anxiety and depression amongst families. In 2006, the National Emergency Child

Locator Center took on responsibilities to establish and maintain a toll-free hotline and website

to receive reports and provide information on displaced children. Other improvements included;

improvements of traffic flow during emergencies and creating volunteer organizations that are

trained to help during times of emergency (Fogarty, 2011).

Summary

Hurricane Katrina caused mass destruction across the Gulf Coast in 2005. Over 1,000

people lost their lives during this storm. Overall, law enforcement agencies as well as public

health agencies, were not prepared for what this storm produced. There was also

miscommunication and lack of organization on the local, State and Federal levels of government.

Even though many relief efforts went wrong during this time, many things went right-volunteer

efforts, Military response, and knowledge of gaps within the current emergency response plans.

Although many bad things occurred when Katrina hit, emergency response plans have made

major improvements to help relief efforts if another disaster were to strike.

Hurricane Katrina 16

Recommendations

The author believes that good changes have been made at the Federal, State, and local

government’s plans to improve emergency response. The Federal government made a big

change by implementing an authoritative person for FEMA. The problem was lack of

communication before disaster struck, so communication efforts need to be improved on the

local, State, and Federal levels. The state of Louisiana also made great changes within their

emergency response plans. A lot more organization and communication has occurred between

local agencies within the state. Also, buildings have been improved to withstand power outages.

Although several changes to the policies have been made, more improvements can

continue to occur to help better prepare each state for disaster. Each state needs to have a plan

for any disaster that may occur. The states need to be in communication with law enforcement

and public health agencies about their specific plans and have detailed lists on what to do if

something were to occur. Also, practice drills for each emergency situation needs to be practiced

on an annual basis and include each agency on the local, State, and Federal level. Written

material in a policy is good, but what truly matters is if new policies could be implemented if

disaster strikes. Practice drills are very important to make sure each agency knows what

decisions to make and what to look for if disaster strikes.

Hurricane Katrina 17

References

Bea, K., Halchin, E., Hogue, H., Kaiser, F., Love, N., McCarthy, F., … Schwemle, B. (2006).

Federal emergency management policy changes after hurricane katrina: a summary of

statutory provisions. Retrieved on April 5, 2013, from

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/docs/Federal%20EM%20Policy%20Changes%20

After%20Katrina.pdf.

Bush, G. (2006). A week of crisis. Retrieved on April 6, 2013, from

http://georgewbushwhitehouse.archives.gov/reports.

Bush, G. (2006). Appendix b-what went right. Retrieved on April 6, 2013, from

http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/appendix-

b.html.

FEMA. (2010). Disaster sequence of events. Retrieved on April 5, 2013, from

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/downloads/is208SDMUnit3.pdf.

Fogarty, R. (2011). Emergency preparedness improvements in new orleans, louisiana since

hurricane katrina. Retrieved on April 4, 2013, from

http://www.evaccenter.lsu.edu/pub/10-02.pdf.

Kempler, S. (2010). Hurricane katrina. Retrieved on April 4, 2013, from

http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/hurricane/additional/sciencefocus/HurricaneKatrina2005.sml.

Landesman, L. (2006). Public health management of disasters. Retrieved on April 5, 2013,

from http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres.pdf.

Lister, S. (2005). Hurricane katrina: the public health and medical response. Retrieved on

April 5, 2013, from http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/54255.pdf.

U.S. Department of Justice. (2006). The role of law enforcement in public health emergencies:

special considerations for an all-hazards approach. Retrieved on April 4, 2013, from

http://www1.spa.american.edu/justice/documents/2125.pdf.

Hurricane Katrina 18