ABSTRACT

CONTENTS 13.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 254 13.2 Hurricane Katrina and the Readiness of New Orleans ....................................... 254 13.2.1 Th e Storm .............................................................................................. 254 13.2.2 Hurricane Studies and Preparedness .......................................................256 13.2.3 Critics of the Hurricane Response ..........................................................258 13.3 Katrina the Politics Administration Dichotomy .................................................. 260 13.3.1 Th e Dichotomy, Representation and Neutral Competence .................... 260 13.3.2 FEMA Director Brown ......................................................................... 262

13.3.2.1 Brown’s Background............................................................. 262 13.3.2.2 Brown’s Behavior at Time of Hurricane ............................... 263

13.4 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 264 References ...................................................................................................................... 266

13.1 Introduction Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Louisiana and Mississippi coast on August 29, 2005. It was the latest of several signifi cant weather related events to impact the Southeastern United States since 2004. In the fall of that year, four major hurricanes made landfall in the region including Hurricane Ivan which made landfall along the Alabama coast in September and cost an estimated $14 billion due to damage and over 50 deaths (Th e National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2006).