Katrina Lessons Learned: Trust Neighbors, Not Government, During Crisis

Newswise — KATRINA LESSONS LEARNED: The perception held by many Americans before Hurricane Katrina " that the federal government would swoop in and save the day during a crisis " is a thing of the past, says Michael Thomas, MPH, associate director of the Heartland Center for Public Health Preparedness at Saint Louis University. We now know that local governments and community organizations must take the lead on evacuation efforts and restoring infrastructure in the wake of a disaster. St. Louis benefited from this lesson in managing an unprecedented power outage after a storm rolled through the city this summer. "What we learned from Katrina was instrumental in how we handled the storm. We focused on the most vulnerable of our citizens and restored power where it was most needed: hospitals, nursing homes and other critical places."