The lessons learned so painfully and at such high
cost from Hurricane Katrina were applied in preparing and responding to
Hurricane Rita. They paid off. Accidents apart, the hurricane itself appears to
have taken no lives. Rita, in contrast to Katrina, met with the maximum
preparedness of local, state and federal government agencies, backed by a
massive military mobilization.
Now, the lessons of what went right with Rita must be applied when preparing
to deal with other monster storms, which are certain to test coastal
communities, if not this year then next.
Lowcountry residents, mindful of the botched evacuation when Hurricane Floyd
appeared likely to repeat the devastation caused by Hurricane Hugo, will have
followed the exodus from Houston. It had its flaws but the biggest evacuation in
the history of the state of Texas took two and a half million people out of the
path of a hurricane that at one time appeared likely to be more devastating than
Katrina. But the time it took, 36 to 40 hours, can be improved upon and more can
be done to keep evacuees supplied with gasoline.
Although Rita did not cause the catastrophic damage that was feared for the
Gulf Coast, Louisiana received a second blow and low-lying parts of the largely
abandoned city of New Orleans were again inundated, setting back efforts to pump
the city dry by three to four days. It is fortunate that the resources needed to
bring New Orleans and other population centers hit by Katrina back to life are
unlikely to be hampered now that a massive relief effort in the wake of Rita
will not be required.
This time, there was no hesitation about asking for help from the military.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who was criticized for not formally asking for
federal help in advance of Katrina, put her request for 15,000 active-duty
troops in writing. The Associated Press reported that while 28,000 troops were
eventually sent to help in the aftermath of Katrina, 50,000 troops were deployed
and at the ready before the second, less powerful storm came ashore.
The difference between the responses to Katrina and Rita was the difference
between failure and success. Failure at all levels -- local, state and federal
-- that characterized the shameful response to Katrina were reversed. President
Bush was on the scene ahead of the arrival of Rita and visited the Texas
emergency operations center in Austin yesterday. The president wisely warned
against complacency: "Even though the storm has passed the coastline, the
situation is still dangerous because of potential flooding. People who are safe
now ought to remain in safe conditions."
The Federal Emergency Management Agency earned praise this time for having
ample supplies of food, water, ice, hospital beds and satellite telephones ready
for a disaster scenario that, blessedly, did not materialize with the fearsome
force of Katrina. R. David Paulison, the acting director of FEMA, did much to
restore the reputation of the agency. He was in touch with reality and gave the
impression that the agency was in control of the developing situation. But there
is still the possibility of serious flood damage in Rita's wake.
Caution must be the watchword for the next few days if Rita is to be
remembered with a sigh of relief as the hurricane that was tamed by the
preparedness and efficiency of emergency teams who were ready for the worst.
