HLSC510
Forum 3 (Module 3)
Topic: After Action Analysis and Best Practices Involving Interagency Operations
Mackenzie Donnell
After Action Analysis: Hurricane Katrina
A significant event that always comes to mind in regards to the way and manner in which
it was handled is Hurricane Katrina. The event itself was not particularly scrutinized due to the
known implications that the golf coast has long sense been a target of annual hurricanes. The real
problem of address was the manner in which the response and recovery efforts were carried out
and the fact that the city of New Orleans had long addressed the matter of not being fully
prepared for any type of hurricane above a level 3. The bottom-line up front was that Hurricane
Katrina taught the United States a lot of lessons to include the need for a strong effort of
preparedness and the need for coordinated help when disaster strikes (Funk, 2015). The
significant factors of Hurricane Katrina and why it is so widely recognized as the turning point
for modern day emergency management can be attributed to it being the 3rd largest category five
hurricane to ever make landfall within the United States. Some resources that were already in
place consisted of physical features such as levees and break walls to protect up to category 3
hurricanes along the coast line, the memorandum of understanding between FEMA and the
Louisiana emergency management agency, and lastly the mutual aid agreements between the
state and several local, cross-state, and federal organizations to provide aid and assistance as
needed. The results from the hurricane to include the following second and third order effects
amounted to over $125 billion dollars in damage and over 1800 lives lost. Out of the total
amount of lives lost, over half were senior citizens that were not evacuated prior to the storm
making landfall (Jorgenson, 2014).
What Could Have Been Done Differently
In terms of what could have been done differently to mitigate the loss and damages that
occurred during the events of Hurricane Katrina, there are three primary focus areas that need to
be addressed: prior planning execution, timely response and activation, and identifying
vulnerabilities to mitigate potential losses. With the MOUs and Mutual Aid Agreements having
already been in place (Sylves, 2020), the state should have activated and mandated the
evacuation of all citizens within the projected area of impact prior to landfall. The state already
knew the barriers in place would not be able to withstand the surmounting storm that was being
tracked, therefore the organizations appointed to assist in the evacuation measures should have
been activated. The plans were in place, however the orders were not given in a timely manner
resulting in the inability to access several victims due to flooding, etc. Additionally, there should
have been reinforced procedures in place for designated safe areas and federal level agreements
that assistance from the national guard and coast guard would be implemented in the
preparedness process of the emergency management cycle rather than during the response and
recovery operations. Looking back, and knowing the Achilles heel would be the levees not
withstanding above a category 3 hurricane, the need to readdress and work to correct this
vulnerability would be crucial if this event were to reoccur. Finally, the National Incident
Management System (NIMS), was successfully used in the state-federal response to the
catastrophic disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi, but was not implemented in
Louisiana (Carwile, 2006), therefore only 50% of the major affected states properly utilized the
system. Mississippi determined the incident command as a successful process but did identify the
need for a better logistical line of communication, whereas Louisiana suffered from a lack of an
authoritative incident response command from the top down, and the inability to facilitate clear
joint decision-making at all levels. If done over, one would need to ensure that the NIMS is fully
implemented within both states and the proper exercises and training are managed at all levels to
validate the readiness if needed to respond. In parting, when looking at Jeremiah 33:6, it states
“Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the
abundance of peace and truth” (KJV). In times of disaster, the outcomes of success will be
measured by the means of how one preservers through the tough times.
References:
Funk, A. (2015). 10 Years Later: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina. The Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America. Retrieved from: https://catalyst.phrma.org/10-years-
later-lessons-learned-from-katrina
Jorgenson, E. (2014) Hurricane Katrina: Humanitarian Obligations and Lessons Learned.
University of Denver. Retrieved from:
https://www.du.edu/korbel/criic/humanitarianbriefs/ellenjorgenson.pdf.
Sylves, R. (2020). Disaster policy & politics: Emergency management and homeland security
(3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press. ISBN: 978-1506368689
Carwile, W. (2006) Unified Command and the State-Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina in
Mississippi. Homeland Security Affairs. Retrieved from: https://www.hsaj.org/articles/689
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