SPEA faculty provide disaster insight

Hurricane Katrina left a major U.S. city in ruins, thousands dead and questions on the minds of many.\nProfessors in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs attempted to address those questions Thursday night at an informal teach-in titled, "Hurricane Katrina: The SPEA \nPerspective."\nThe teach-in consisted of eight panelists -- all professors from the school. They each addressed different issues that have or will arise in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Projected estimates state it will take upwards of $200 billion for clean-up, aid to residences and rebuilding in affected areas. Panelists brought up questions and possible solutions dealing with issues relating to policy, ecology, philanthropy, health, economy and future planning for affected areas. \n"This is not an emergency that could be solved by a 'John Wayne kick 'em style,'" professor Bill McGregor said. "The outcome is largely dictated by the preparation for an \nemergency."\nMcGregor emphasized the need for planning on the part of all government agencies, including local, state and federal bureaus. He said any solutions envisioned for the future will take some time.\nProfessor Charlie Wise added to questions dealing with policy, including recovery and rebuilding for affected areas.\n"The recovery phase is going to be hundreds of billions of dollars," Wise said. "The question will then be, 'What should be the standard for rebuilding?'"\nWise said he thought they will rebuild New Orleans, but policy makers and communities will have to decide what changes will be made to prepare for future disasters. \nThe economic effects of Hurricane Katrina will go beyond New Orleans and Louisiana, and will even burden the entire nation, said professor Robert Kravchuk.\nKravchuk explained that 25 percent of U.S. oil production is in Louisiana, and the hurricane has decreased oil production by 91 percent.\n"It will slow, but not stall the U.S. economy," Kravchuk said. "The (national) economic effects will actually be quite marginal. This is going to devastate the region economically."\nProfessor Kirsten Gronbjerg said disasters typically affect philanthropy in the United States. As of Thursday afternoon, she said, an estimated $633.4 million had been raised in charitable donations.\n"This is already well ahead of the contributions made for the tsunami relief effort," Gronbjerg said. "We will expect to see a major impact on charities in the area of disaster. It will also present special challenges for charities."\nLocal wetlands and marshes have been evolving and adapting to storms, but in general, Louisiana is losing 25 square miles of those marshes each year, said professor Christopher Craft. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, those problems will need to be addressed to increase marshland, and possibly aid in future storm destruction, he said.\nProfessor Orville Powell was city manager for the city of Durham, N.C., and managed during two hurricanes. He said New Orleans did a good job evacuating prior to Katrina, but he was critical of relief efforts in the hours following the disaster. \n"I had never seen the news media get to the scene before the National Guard," Powell said. "It was a very, very slow response. I don't give the state a very high grade."\nThe panelists agreed that although the questions of "why" may never be answered, Katrina offers a learning experience and an opportunity to improve current systems.\n"What really happened, you'll never determine on the fly," Wise said. "But, it's a warning shot to every jurisdiction that they better be reviewing emergency preparedness plans"