What comes to your mind when you think about August 29^th? Maybe you have an upcoming family reunion or a long awaited vacation planned.  Maybe you have an important make-or-break deadline and feel a sense of dread when you think about that date. Or maybe it’s just another ordinary summer day.

This year, for the people of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, August 29^th will represent the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  With over 1,800 casualties and $80 billion spent in rebuilding, the Gulf Coast region is far from where it was August 27, 2005.  The Gulf is no longer drowning under the waters Katrina brought, but her effects are a lingering reminder of the fateful day she forever affected the lives of millions.

When I think about Hurricane Katrina, several images come to mind. These include people crowded into the superdome, stranded individuals crying for help from their rooftops, and houses painted with the numbers of the dead inside. I also remember the several images we were shown of bodies floating in the water and lying in the streets and walkways.  Stories of rampant disease, civil unrest, broken families, and unbearable shelter quarters are also some of the first thoughts that cross my mind.

The year before Hurricane Katrina hit I was pregnant and living in Florida. There were four hurricanes that year. Naturally, I was glued to the TV this time around. I was no longer in Florida, but the fear of the coming hurricanes I had lived through was enough to place my anxiety back where it had been the previous summer.

As news of the storm came pouring in, I remember feeling more and more frustration at the lack of proper rescue efforts. Before the storm hit, an evacuation order was given; however, a proper plan was never devised.  Much of the Gulf Coast region is impoverished—this is no secret.  And large parts of the most adversely affected areas of New Orleans were in the poorest areas where people didn’t have access to any means of transportation. Because evacuation plans were never clearly drawn up, many of us watched in awe and confusion as we saw images of empty, flooded buses lining the streets of New Orleans.  It also took the Federal Government over five days to develop a proper response plan—and even that didn’t go so well (do I have to remind you of the “Brownie” incident)? In fact, I specifically remember watching as President Bush slapped Michael Brown on the back and told him what an excellent rescue effort he’d conducted. I also remember the following months that ensued in missing and mal-distributed money, no bid government contracts, and further reparation mismanagement.

As someone who had gone through the fear of being caught in a hurricane less than a year before, my heart poured out to the people I saw. And now, almost three years later, I frequently remember this disaster.

As I’ve had time to reflect and ponder this situation, I feel there some extremely important lessons we can all learn.  Here are some them:

First, I have learned that blame is much too easy to assign. I was watching a TV show a couple years back that paralleled Hurricane Katrina with a broken beaver dam that floods a town called Beaverton. In the show, two little boys accidentally drive a boat through a beaver dam which causes Beaverton to flood. The boat burns up after the accident and everybody is scrambling to figure out what happened to cause this (there were no witnesses to the accident). There are two parts of the following dialogue that, to me, perfectly relay the blame game.

 The first example goes:

Person 1:  “That’s right; we know whose fault this is. It’s George Bush’s fault.”

 Person 2: “Yeah, George Bush doesn’t care about beavers.”

Person 3: “George Bush didn’t break that beaver dam. It was terrorists and Al Qaeda.”

Person 4: “They’ve secretly been building beaver dam WMD’s for years now.”

The second dialogue then plays out:

Son (this is the kid who has actually broken the dam):  “Mom….Dad…they’re going to help those people right?”

Mom: “I don’t know. You know, to me, it seems like the mayor of Beaverton should have done something about that dam years ago. “

Dad: “Don’t blame the mayor. What about FEMA? I think this whole thing is really their fault.”

Son: “But somebody’s going to help those people off their rooftops, right?”

Dad: “That’s not important right now, son. What’s important is figuring out whose fault this is.”

An incident can never be blamed on just one person or entity. And, I’ve found, most of the time blame comes from anger over our own inadequacies. Many of the deaths and further tragedies we were shown with Hurricane Katrina could have been avoided with some good emergency preparedness planning by individuals. Even those with little means can do small things to prepare themselves. Something seemingly insignificant like storing a bottle of water away every month would have come in handy in the days following Hurricane Katrina.

Second, it is important to know that we can really only count on ourselves when an emergency strikes. Both the state and federal governments failed to properly prepare and respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. But emergency preparedness and planning should begin with us as individuals. We really can’t count on the government, our insurance agency, or our neighbors for help. We all have our own needs; it’s our responsibility to make sure those will be met in the face of devastation.

Third, I’ve learned that we need to take the past as a template for what we can and should do now. The victims of Hurricane Katrina may not have had time to prepare in the hours preceding the storm, but we all have the opportunity to prepare ourselves now for what the future might bring. It’s easy to sit around complaining about the inadequacies we saw back then, but this is now. And if you aren’t preparing yourself, you’re adding to the problem you’re complaining about.

Fourth, I’ve learned some people never learn. Being fascinated with Hurricane Katrina, I’ve seen and listened to many accounts, movies, and documentaries relating to this disaster. And although my heart breaks for those who lost everything, it isn’t my opinion that they should be automatically entitled to riches. Even now, years after the storm hit, I hear many stories of people complaining about the injustices imposed to them. Even if these people are right, they need to learn that they are in charge of themselves and, ultimately, their own recovery. Should the government be partially responsible? Probably.  But, in the end, the government can not be counted on or expected to clean up every hurricane victim’s life. Yes, the government screwed up big time. And I will agree with anyone who feels like insurance companies can be crooks (I have another story about that—not a good subject for me).  Still, emergency preparedness lies in our hands. And everyone, no matter how rich or poor they may be, can do something. For example, anyone with a 5 gallon bucket and lid has a temporary emergency lavatory. I know that doesn’t seem like the best resource, but if I was placed in a situation where there was no sanitation, hygiene, or bathroom facility, a five gallon bucket that seals off would be looking pretty great to me.

These are just a few of the lessons I’ve taken away from August 29, 2005. As I’ve written in previous posts, it seems to me that large scale disasters happen more frequently now, which should be all the more motivation for us to assess our situations and get on the emergency preparedness bandwagon.