Hurricane Katrina

===Federal government===
[[File:BUSHLA.jpg|thumb|Flanked by [[Michael Chertoff]], [[Secretary of Homeland Security]], left, and Secretary of Defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]], President Bush meets with members of the Task Force on Hurricane Katrina Recovery on August 31, 2005.]]

The [[United States Coast Guard]] began pre-positioning resources in a ring around the expected impact zone and activated more than 400 reservists. On August 27, it moved its personnel out of the New Orleans region prior to the mandatory evacuation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hurricane Katrina: How the Coast Guard Got it Right|first=Amanda|last=Ripley|date=October 23, 2005|newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1122007-2,00.html|access-date=July 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521131513/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1122007-2,00.html|archive-date=May 21, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Aircrews from the Aviation Training Center, in Mobile, staged rescue aircraft from Texas to Florida.<ref name="CG leadership">{{cite report |first1=Bruce |last1=Jones |first2=David |last2=Callahan |title=Leadership Talent Emerges During Hurricane Katrina Aviation Rescue Operations |url=http://www.uscg.mil/leadership/news/archive/fall05.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923014800/http://www.uscg.mil/LEADERSHIP/news/archive/fall05.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 23, 2008 |publisher=[[United States Coast Guard]] |access-date=July 6, 2014 |location=Mobile, Alabama}}
 [http://waterdamagerestorationdallastexas.com/removal/ Water Damage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428110950/http://waterdamagerestorationdallastexas.com/removal/ |date=April 28, 2017}}</ref> All aircraft were returning towards the Gulf of Mexico by the afternoon of August 29.  [[Aircrew]]s, many of whom lost their homes during the hurricane, began a round-the-clock rescue effort in New Orleans, and along the Mississippi and Alabama coastlines.<ref name="WP Coast Guard">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090501418.html|title=Coast Guard's Response to Katrina a Silver Lining in the Storm|first=Stephen|last=Barr|date=September 6, 2005|access-date=July 6, 2014|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424091917/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090501418.html|archive-date=April 24, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Presidency of George W. Bush|President George W. Bush]] declared a state of emergency in selected regions of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi on August 27.<ref>{{cite news|first=George W.|last=Bush|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html|title=Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana|publisher=[[White House Office of the Press Secretary]]|date=August 27, 2005|access-date=July 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507075732/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html|archive-date=May 7, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> "On Sunday, August 28, President Bush spoke with Governor Blanco to encourage her to order a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans."<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-109srpt322/pdf/CRPT-109srpt322.pdf|title=Congressional Reports: S. Rpt. 109-322 – Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared|publisher=[[Federal Digital System]]|date=2006|access-date=July 6, 2014|page=235|location=Washington, D.C.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905092256/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-109srpt322/pdf/CRPT-109srpt322.pdf|archive-date=September 5, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> However, during the testimony by former [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]] (FEMA) chief [[Michael D. Brown|Michael Brown]] before a U.S. House subcommittee on September 26, Representative [[Stephen Buyer]] (R-IN) inquired as to why Bush's declaration of state of emergency of August 27 had not included the coastal parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, and Plaquemines.<ref name="Brown testimony">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/27/national/nationalspecial/27text-brown.html?ei=5070&en=eda6637e28de37c1&ex=1188792000&pagewanted=all|title=Former FEMA Director Testifies Before Congress|date=September 27, 2005|access-date=July 6, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005013330/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/27/national/nationalspecial/27text-brown.html?ei=5070&en=eda6637e28de37c1&ex=1188792000&pagewanted=all|archive-date=October 5, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The declaration actually did not include any of Louisiana's coastal parishes, whereas the coastal counties were included in the declarations for [[Mississippi]] and [[Alabama]].<ref>{{cite news|first=George W.|last=Bush|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050828.html|title=Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Mississippi|publisher=White House Office of the Press Secretary|date=August 28, 2005|access-date=July 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507035330/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050828.html|archive-date=May 7, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=George W.|last=Bush|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050828-3.html|title=Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Alabama|publisher=White House Office of the Press Secretary|date=August 28, 2005|access-date=July 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507105626/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050828-3.html|archive-date=May 7, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Brown testified that this was because Louisiana [[Kathleen Blanco|Governor Blanco]] had not included those parishes in her initial request for aid, a decision that he found "shocking". After the hearing, Blanco released a copy of her letter, which showed she had requested assistance for "all the southeastern parishes including the City of New Orleans" as well specifically naming 14 parishes, including Jefferson, Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines.<ref>{{cite report|first=Kathleen|last=Blanco|author-link=Kathleen Blanco|url=http://jjic.gov.state.la.us/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf|title=Governor Blanco asks President to Declare an Emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina|date=August 28, 2005|access-date=April 14, 2010|publisher=Government of the State of Louisiana|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304155101/http://jjic.gov.state.la.us/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf|archive-date=March 4, 2012|location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana}}</ref>

Voluntary and mandatory evacuations were issued for large areas of southeast Louisiana as well as coastal Mississippi and Alabama. About 1.2 million residents of the Gulf Coast were covered under a voluntary or mandatory evacuation order.<ref name="KatrinaTCR"/>

====National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)====
On the afternoon of August 26, the [[National Hurricane Center]] (NHC) realized that Katrina had yet to make the turn toward the Florida Panhandle and ended up revising the predicted track of the storm from the panhandle to the Mississippi coast.<ref name="NHC disc 014">{{cite report|first=Stacy R.|last=Stewart|work=National Hurricane Center|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|title=Hurricane Katrina Discussion Number 14|date=August 26, 2005|access-date=July 6, 2014|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2005/dis/al122005.discus.014.shtml?|location=Miami, Florida|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002045708/http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2005/dis/al122005.discus.014.shtml|archive-date=October 2, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The National Weather Service's New Orleans/Baton Rouge office issued a [[National Weather Service bulletin for New Orleans region|vividly worded bulletin]] on August 28 predicting that the area would be "uninhabitable for weeks" after "devastating damage" caused by Katrina, which at that time rivaled the intensity of [[Hurricane Camille]].<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/warn_archive/LIX/NPW/0828_214001.txt|title=Urgent – Weather Message|work=[[National Weather Service New Orleans/Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|date=August 28, 2005|access-date=July 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060301101418/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/warn_archive/LIX/NPW/0828_214001.txt|archive-date=March 1, 2006|location=New Orleans, Louisiana}}</ref> During video conferences involving the president later that day and on August 29, NHC director [[Max Mayfield]] expressed concern that Katrina might push its storm surge over the city's levees and flood walls. In one conference, he stated, "I do not think anyone can tell you with confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not, but that's obviously a very, very great concern."<ref name="Levee Breach Warning">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/02/fema.tapes/index.html|title=Transcripts, tape show Bush, Brown warned on Katrina|date=March 2, 2006|access-date=July 6, 2014|newspaper=[[CNN]]|location=Washington, D.C.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701165301/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/02/fema.tapes/index.html|archive-date=July 1, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>