Lesson learned: Plan as if lives at risk

In the coming weeks, we’ll be inundated with news coverage of the 10th anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina.

As predicted at the time, that devastating storm would change lives in Louisiana forever. Also as predicted, recovery would be a process that would consume years, and perhaps decades.

Ten years later, much has changed in terms of our ability to communicate and respond to such devastation. Evacuation plans are better, and, in our communities, we’re better prepared to accept and care for people and animals that are forced to evacuate.

Smart businesses in hurricane-prone zones have redundant operations or secure records storage in areas considered less likely to be affected by a mega-storm’s impact. Neighborhoods have been reconstructed.

We’ve been fortunate in recent years, so fortunate in fact that we now have a false sense of security.

Note the word “false.” We have no proof that if another mega-storm plies its way over New Orleans and up the Mississippi River that we would be much better off in terms of devastation. Each storm is unique, ruled by the weather patterns of the moment.

Even with protection, we’re a low-lying land, consistently weakened by coastal erosion and settling.

No efforts have been enough to dramatically change that dynamic — we have merely come 10 years closer to exposing Louisiana’s most southern towns and communities to disappearing by allowing a football field’s worth of land to sink below the watermark every few minutes. New Orleans is still inside a levee-rimmed bowl that would be overwhelmed by a storm that stalled, dumping inches upon inches of rain.

Ten years later, the summer is hot and hurricane season is young by our standards. There’s plenty of time for something nasty to gain strength in the Gulf and aim our way. We have to be mindful that our best-laid plans are no match for Mother Nature’s fury.

Even in northeastern Louisiana, where not a drop of Hurricane Katrina rain fell, we have to remember that we faced serious problems with Hurricane Gustav, which parked itself over our region and dumped devasting and flooding rains over our communities and crops.

There’s no fighting Mother Nature. The best we can do is have a game plan for our families and pets, and be prepared when we’re asked to act.

The editorials in this column represent the opinions of The News-Star’s editorial board, composed of General Manager and Executive Editor Kathy Spurlock, Engagement and Community Content Editor Hope Young, Watchdog and Content Coach Mark Henderson and Business and Politics Reporter Greg Hilburn.