Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page R1
I NCREASING N ATIONAL R ESILIENCE
TO H AZARDS A ND D ISASTERS
THE PERSPECTIVE GULF COAST LOUISIANA MISSISSIPPI
FROM THE OF AND
Summary of a Workshop
Steve Olson, Rapporteur
Committee on Increasing National Resilience to Hazards and Disasters
Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy
And
Disasters Roundtable
OCR for page R2
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing
Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of
the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute
of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for
their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under award number
W912HQ-10-C-0071, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service under award number
09-DG-11221637’351, U.S. Department of Energy under award number DE-PI0000010,
U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
under award number DG-133R-08CQ0062, Department of Homeland Security and Federal
Emergency Management Agency under award number HSHQDC-10-C-00087, Depart -
ment of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey under award number G104P00079, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration under award number NNXIOAN3IG, and Com -
munity and Regional Resilience Institute under award number 4000090613. Any opinions,
findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the
author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that
provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-21527-5
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-21527-7
Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth
Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313
(in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu.
Cover: Photographs from the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast region document
the history and progress of efforts by individuals, groups, and government to increase
disaster resilience. Estuaries, bayous, neighborhoods, and the city infrastructure demon -
strate achievements and challenges regarding greater resilience in the Gulf Coast region.
Photographs by Neeraj Gorkhaly, used with permission. Cover design by Eric Edkin.
Copyright 2011 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
OCR for page R3
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of
distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the
furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the
authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a man -
date that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters.
Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of
the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers.
It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with
the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government.
The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at
meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior
achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of
Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences
to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examina -
tion of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the
responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to
be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of
medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute
of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in
1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s
purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in
accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the
principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National
Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the
scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both
Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest
are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
www.national-academies.org
OCR for page R4
OCR for page R5
COMMITTEE ON INCREASING NATIONAL
RESILIENCE TO HAZARDS AND DISASTERS
Susan L. Cutter (Chair), Distinguished Professor and Director, Hazards and
Vulnerability Research Institute, University of South Carolina
Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Ahearn (Retired), Senior Vice President, CH2M HILL Ltd
Bernard Amadei, Professor of Civil Engineering, Department of Civil,
Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado at
Boulder
Patrick Crawford, Director of Disaster Services, Feeding America
Gerald E. Galloway, Jr., Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering,
University of Maryland
Michael F. Goodchild, Professor, Department of Geography, University of
California, Santa Barbara
Howard C. Kunreuther, Professor of Decision Sciences and Business and
Public Policy, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania
Meredith Li-Vollmer, Risk Communication Specialist at Public Health, Seattle
and King County
Monica Schoch-Spana, Senior Associate, University of Pittsburgh Medical
Center
Susan Scrimshaw, President, The Sage Colleges
Ellis M. Stanley, Sr., Director of Western Emergency Management Services,
Dewberry LLC
Gene Whitney, Energy Research Manager, Congressional Research Service
Mary Lou Zoback, Vice President, Earthquake Risk Applications, Risk
Management Solutions, Inc.
Staff
Lauren Alexander-Augustine, Director, Disasters Roundtable
Elizabeth A. Eide, Study Director
Neeraj P. Gorkhaly, Research Associate
Eric Edkin, Senior Program Assistant
v
OCR for page R6
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND PUBLIC POLICY
George M. Whitesides (Chair), Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University
Professor, Harvard University
Linda M. Abriola (ex officio), Dean of Engineering, Tufts University
Claude R. Canizares, Vice President for Research and Associate Provost and
Bruno Rossi Professor of Experimental Physics, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Moses H. W. Chan, Evan Pugh Professor of Physics, Pennsylvania State
University
Ralph J. Cicerone (ex officio), President, National Academy of Sciences
Paul Citron, Vice President (Retired), Technology Policy and Academic
Relations, Medtronic, Inc.
Ruth A. David, President and Chief Executive Officer, ANSER (Analytic
Services, Inc.)
Harvey V. Fineberg (ex officio), President, Institute of Medicine
Judith Kimble, Investigator, HHMI; Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology and Medical Genetics, University of Wisconsin
C. Dan Mote, Jr. (ex officio), President and Glenn Martin Institute Professor
of Engineering, University of Maryland
Percy A. Pierre, Vice President and Professor Emeritus, Michigan State
University
E. Albert Reece, Vice President for Medical Affairs, Bowers Distinguished
Professor and Dean, School of Medicine, University of Maryland
Susan C. Scrimshaw, President, The Sage Colleges
William J. Spencer, Chairman Emeritus, SEMATECH
Michael S. Turner, Rauner Distinguished Service Professor, Kavli Institute for
Cosmological Physics, The University of Chicago
Charles M. Vest (ex officio), President, National Academy of Engineering
Nancy S. Wexler, Higgins Professor of Neuropsychology, Columbia University
Staff
Kevin Finneran, Director
Tom Arrison, Program Officer
Neeraj P. Gorkhaly, Research Associate
Marion Ramsey, Administrative Associate
vi
OCR for page R7
DISASTERS ROUNDTABLE MEMBERS
Jack R. Harrald (Chair), Research Professor, Virginia Tech, and Professor
Emeritus/George Washington University
Frank Best (ex officio), Senior Vice President, PB Americas
Andrew J. Bruzewicz (ex officio), Acting Chief, Future Readiness Concepts
and Initiatives, Directorate of Contingency Operations, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers
Arrietta Chakos, Consultant, Urban Resilience Policy
Reginald DesRoches, Professor and Associate Chair of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Ronald Eguchi, President and Chief Executive Officer of ImageCat, Inc.
Gerald E. Galloway, Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering, and
Affiliate Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland
H. Michael Goodman (ex officio), Natural Disasters Area Co-Lead, NASA
Earth Science Division, Applied Sciences Program, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration
Paula Gori (ex officio), Associate Program Coordinator, Landslide Hazard
Program, U.S. Geological Survey
Mary Ellen Hynes (ex officio), Director of Research for the Infrastructure and
Geophysical Division, Science and Technology Directorate, Department of
Homeland Security
David Kaufman, Director, Office of Policy and Program Analysis, Federal
Emergency Management Agency
Juan Ortiz, Emergency Management Coordinator, City of Fort Worth and
Tarrant County
Roger V. Pierce (ex officio), Acting Director, Office of Weather and Air
Quality , National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Claire Lee Reiss (ex officio), Interim Executive Director, Public Entity Risk
Institute
Monica Schoch-Spana, Senior Associate, Center for Biosecurity, University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center
Ellis Stanley (liaison), Director of Western Emergency Management Services,
Dewberry LLC
Ted Van Kirk (ex officio), Vice President, Dewberry LLC
Darlene Sparks Washington, Consultant, DSW Consulting
Dennis Wenger (ex officio), Program Director for Infrastructure Management
and Hazard Response, National Science Foundation
Mary Lou Zoback, Vice President, Earthquake Risk Applications, Risk
Management Solutions, Inc.
vii
OCR for page R8
Staff
Lauren Alexander-Augustine, Director
Sheena Siddiqui, Research Associate
John H. Brown, Jr., Program Associate
viii
OCR for page R9
Preface and Acknowledgments
Our committee traveled to the Gulf Coast as part of our information-gathering
efforts for the National Research Council study on increasing national resilience to
hazards and disasters. The goal of the study is to help increase the nation’s resil-
ience at federal, state, local, and community levels through actionable recommen-
dations and guidance on the best approaches to reduce the adverse impacts from
hazards and disasters. The Gulf Coast workshop in January 2011 was the first of
three regional workshops the committee planned for the study—the other two were
held in Iowa in March 2011 and in Southern California in May 2011. The selection
of three distinct geographic locations for the committee’s information-gathering
meetings was intended to highlight approaches and challenges to increasing disas-
ter resilience in regions that experience different kinds of hazards and disasters
and have different demographic, economic, cultural, historical, and environmental
foundations.
It was important to us that the committee’s first regional workshop was
in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast because of the region’s experiences with
disasters, and just as importantly, because of the understanding the communities
there have of the meaning and practice of resilience. The workshop included
the opportunity to spend an entire day in the field, starting in New Orleans and
continuing along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. The personal stories of indi-
viduals and the kinds of actions they were taking to try to build resilience in their
communities gave the committee vivid insights about what is happening at the
local level. The second day of the Gulf Coast meeting was an indoor workshop
with panelists whose expertise covered the great range of topics and stakeholder
groups important for the discussion of disaster resilience: Topics of discussion
covered insurance, real estate, building codes, critical infrastructure, private-
ix
OCR for page R10
x PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
sector issues, public health, the work of nongovernmental organizations, com-
munity and societal actions, and governance. The range of perspectives included
those from individuals with training in social, behavioral, economic, and political
sciences; public health; and the physical, technical, and engineering sciences. The
discussions in the workshop on the second day of the meeting built directly upon
the field experiences and conversations the committee had with people from the
area on the previous day. The committee developed a set of guiding questions
for each workshop panel group that were submitted to the panelists in advance
of the meeting. The panelists were asked to consider the questions as a general
framework for the panel sessions, but were not required to respond to each of
the questions in their opening remarks or subsequent discussions. Emphasis was
placed upon panelists sharing their experiences and expertise related to disaster
resilience.
This workshop summary is a report of what occurred on both of those days
and provides a rich foundation of information upon which the committee has
planned its other workshops and has begun to develop its own consensus report
for the study. The open and engaged ways in which the individuals in Louisiana
and Mississippi shared their information with the committee were essential for
the success of the meeting and some acknowledgments are in order.
From the perspective of the federal government, Senator Mary Landrieu
has been a leading voice in Washington for the Gulf Coast recovery effort in the
wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the failures of the federal levee system.
Although scheduling prevented her from attending our meeting in person, she
took time to videotape her welcoming remarks to open our workshop. The city
of New Orleans and Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s office were also very supportive of
our holding our workshop in the city.
Regarding the field day in New Orleans and Mississippi, Ronald Schumann
III; Pam Jenkins; Doug Meffert; Tracy Nelson; Charles Allen III; Tap Bui; May
Nguyen; community members of Village de L’Est and the owner of the café in
which we held our discussion there; Tracie Sempier; Mayor Garcia and Fire
Chief Smith of Waveland; and the Knight Nonprofit Center including Alice
Graham, John Hosey, John Kelly, Rupert Lacy, Tom Lansford, Reilly Morse,
Kimberly Nastasi, and Lori West all deserve our thanks for their time and the
rich experiences and insights they shared. The workshop on the second day of
the meeting was equally complete and we thank all of the speakers and panelists
for their time and engagement: Craig Colten, Allison Plyer, Julie Rochman, Eric
Nelson, Ommeed Sathe, Marcia St. Martin, Justin Augustine, Greg Grillo, Frank
Wise, Earthea Nance, Bill Stallworth, Stephen Murphy, Charles Allen III, Natalie
Jayroe, Steven Bingler, Mary Claire Landry, Pam Jenkins, Joseph Donchess,
Knox Andress, Garcia Bodley, and Paul Byers.
Before and during the meeting, we received significant guidance and assis-
tance from Laurie Johnson, Shirley Laska, Jonathan Thompson, Bill Howell,
Bob Klemme, Commissioner Mike Chaney, and John Barry. Particular thanks
OCR for page R11
xi
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
also go to our meeting facilitator, Ann Olsen. The study’s sponsoring agen-
cies, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest
Service, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Commerce National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Homeland Secu-
rity and Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the
Community and Regional Resilience Institute, were very supportive and helpful
in providing introductions and recommendations to their numerous networks in
the Gulf Coast area; their collaboration allowed the committee to engage in a
short span of time with many people involved in increasing Gulf Coast disas-
ter resilience. Finally, the National Research Council staff, Eric Edkin, Neeraj
Gorkhaly, Lauren Alexander-Augustine, and Elizabeth Eide, worked to ensure the
entire meeting would be successful.
The committee looks forward to continuing to build upon the experiences,
lessons, opportunities, and challenges about which we learned in this Gulf Coast
workshop. We hope that this workshop summary allows the reader to gain some
sense of the constructive steps the people of the Gulf Coast are taking to increase
their resilience to potential disasters in the future.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their
diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures
approved by the National Academies’ Report Review Committee. The purpose
of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will
assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to
ensure that the report meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity.
The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the
integrity of the process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Edward George, Harvard University; Jacqueline Merrill, Columbia University;
Percy Pierre, Michigan State University; Judy Tanur, State University of New
York; and Mary Lou Zoback, Risk Management Solutions.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive com-
ments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the report,
nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was
overseen by Stephen Fienberg, Carnegie Mellon University. Appointed by the
National Academies, he was responsible for making certain that an independent
examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional proce -
dures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for
the final content of this report rests entirely with the rapporteur and the institution.
Susan Cutter, Chair
May 2011
OCR for page R12
OCR for page R13
Contents
OVERVIEW 1
1 INTRODUCTION 5
2 NEW ORLEANS BEFORE AND AFTER KATRINA 11
3 A TOUR OF NEW ORLEANS AND THE MISSISSIPPI GULF
COAST 27
4 INSURANCE AND REAL ESTATE 43
5 CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE 51
6 GOVERNANCE 57
7 SOCIAL CAPITAL 63
8 HEALTHY POPULATIONS AND RESPONSIVE INSTITUTIONS 69
9 OPEN MEETING DISCUSSION 75
REFERENCES 79
APPENDIXES
A Committee Biographical Information 81
B Workshop Agenda 91
C Biographies of Workshop Participants 97
D Field Trip Maps 111
xiii
OCR for page R14
