Two Category 4 hurricanes, Harvey and Irma, struck land in Texas and Florida over a period of just two weeks. When it comes to government preparedness, we applaud the efforts of officials at all levels — federal, state and local — for their ability to communicate and coordinate, thereby minimizing the loss of human life, despite the widespread damage caused by the storms.
To date, at least 70 people are known to have lost their lives to Hurricane Harvey. For Hurricane Irma, the figure is at least 15 in the state of Florida, 22 if you add deaths in Georgia and South Carolina.
By comparison, more than 1,300 people in Louisiana lost their lives in Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago, according to the National Hurricane Center. There were more than 1,800 Katrina-caused fatalities if you stir in deaths in Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Florida and Mississippi.
It seems clear that while early preparation and coordination can't necessarily mitigate property damage, it can save lives.
We credit lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. One was to ditch the government bickering. In the Katrina aftermath, a FEMA official blamed Gov. Kathleen Blanco for not promptly submitting a request to the federal government for help. Blanco blamed New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and city officials for the lack of adequate evacuations, saying she thought they were coordinating those efforts. The finger pointing did nothing to help people.
By contrast, whatever differences there were among officials in Texas preparing for Harvey and Florida with regard to Irma were quickly put to bed.
Katrina ranks third among the top ten deadliest storms in the United States. Making that ranking all the more astounding is that Katrina hit in 2005 — the other nine all occurred prior to 1957. It's hard to imagine such a high toll in the modern era but it reveals how just how critical it is to be proactive and prepared. According to the National Institutes of Health, 40 percent of Katrina-related deaths in Louisiana were the result of drowning. That should have never happened.
As is often the case, the people who were most vulnerable — the elderly and the poor — and cannot evacuate on their own, ranked highest among the dead. The city of New Orleans had a hurricane preparedness plan that states, "Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves." Yet, instead of being evacuated, many people were told to go to the Superdome, which had an inadequate supply of food, water and security.
The result was having to evacuate people from an evacuation center.
Before Harvey and Irma hit Texas and Florida, Gov. Greg Abbott and Gov. Rick Scott appeared on television frequently, providing updates on preparation efforts, evacuation plans and the current path the storms were taking. Political parties on both sides praised coordination and rescue efforts.
"This has been a great coordinated effort," said Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas. "This is one of the better if not the best rescue and recovery efforts by federal, state and local governments."
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said past mistakes helped prepare the state for Irma. "I think that's the big difference today. I think the coordination between state, local and federal governments are all there."
Hurricane season doesn't end until Nov. 30. If any good can come from Harvey and Irma, we hope it's that strong local leadership and the lessons of Katrina can help minimize the death and destruction.
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