Financial Times Editorial - Katrina's anniversary

Financial Times Editorial - Katrina's anniversary
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
Published: August 28 2006 03:00 | Last updated: August 28 2006 03:00


As the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches tomorrow, it is tempting to recast the disaster as a freak act of God from which the plucky Gulf coast is now recovering. That would be a mistake. Katrina exposed glaring weaknesses in the US, ranging from black urban poverty to shambolic disaster management. One year on, progress towards fixing the problems varies from patchy to non-existent.

Katrina caused mayhem across 90,000 square miles of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, an area the size of Britain. More than 800,000 people were forced from their homes and as many as 1,800 died. Experts had warned for years about the risk of the "Big One" striking New Orleans but when it came, local, state and federal officials seemed hopelessly ill-prepared. Most shocking was the abandonment of tens of thousands of people, overwhelmingly poor and black, in city-centre shelters without enough food and water.

Some commentators blamed individuals for not evacuating the city but this ignored the grinding poverty that had left many without the means to flee. If the city government's failure to help people escape was shameful, the federal government's willingness to leave them there for days was scandalous. The relief effort was delayed due to allegations of rampant looting, rape and murder among the marooned. But those reports turned out to be exaggerated. The ease with which authorities accepted the notion that those trapped in New Orleans were a dangerous horde that needed to be contained before being rescued says much about racial prejudice in US society.

In Katrina's wake, President George W. Bush said the US had a "duty" to tackle the "deep, persistent poverty" facing many African-Americans. A year on, there are few signs of that happening. Mr Bush deserves credit for having cajoled Congress into granting $110bn (£58.3bn) in federal aid for relief and rebuilding. But the results so far have been mixed. Images of a bustling French Quarter rediscovering its notorious blend of jazz and debauchery indicate New Orleans still has a pulse. But, with about half the population yet to return and many neighbourhoods still in ruins, the city's future is far from secure. The Mississippi coast has made more progress but even there 100,000 people remain in trailer homes.

Katrina also exposed the risks in America's love affair with seafront living. Since 1950, the number of people living along the storm-threatened coast between North Carolina and Texas has more than tripled. As hurricanes become more frequent, the danger of another devastating storm is high - starting with Hurricane Ernesto, which was yesterday gathering force on a path towards the Gulf of Mexico.

Katrina laid bare flaws in a society that prides itself on competence. That much at least should be acknowledged if the authorities are to do a better job handling the next Big One.