Search Result: Hurricane Katrina

Not every natural disaster is as devastating as Katrina. But does your agency have a plan in place that would allow you to communicate in case a similar event occurred in your jurisdiction?

There are many lessons that can be learned from a disaster as catastrophic as Hurricane Katrina. A good way to determine what should be done in response to future disasters is to talk to the officers who served on the front lines of Katrina.

The looters hit the gun stores in New Orleans first, loading up with rifles and ammunition to better fend for the crimes to follow. Then they descended upon other stores. Before long, they moved from the business districts to nearby residences. And what Hurricane Katrina hadn’t ravaged or left destroyed, they did.

About 24 hours before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast Capt. John Bryson of the New Orleans Police Department was in a McDonald’s in the city’s Ninth Ward buying a cup of coffee. Next to him in line was a woman and her four children; the youngest was a one-year-old baby.

The enormity of what law enforcement officers have been tasked with in the Gulf state areas devastated by this year’s one-two punch of hurricanes can be summed up in one word: overwhelming.

Only you know your leadership situation. Whether you are the chief of police or an officer on the beat, you should know your area of responsibility and what is required of you when the "big one" hits, whatever that catastrophe may be.