This page is dedicated to the decade of progress through partnerships made in building better and more resilient communities following Hurricane Katrina.
Ten years into the recovery from these storms, we continue to support communities and families, working side-by-side with state, local, and tribal partners. Through teamwork, we are rebuilding the economic engines and lifeblood of the Gulf Coast.
View in FEMA Multimedia Library
Stories of Recovery by State
Improved Disaster Preparedness and Response
A lot has been done to expand our reach and include new partners in the disaster response effort. The National Planning Frameworks were created to promote a shared understanding of how all levels of government, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and the public-at-large work together to improve the way we respond to disasters. We engaged the private sector as a critical partner in disaster response, allowing for improved supply chain logistics, disaster preparedness programming, and increased communication with our private sector partners.
The Department of Homeland Security formed the DHS Center, which supports engagement between emergency managers and faith- and community-based groups. Since its creation, the DHS Center fostered a number of partnerships among diverse religious and cultural traditions, developing research- and practice-based engagement and building resiliency in communities.
Through a partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service and Americorps, FEMA Corps was created. It is a service program that offers 18-24 year olds an opportunity to prepare for a career in emergency management by working at FEMA for ten months.
National response policy and planning has changed to encourage a national, whole community response to disasters and emergencies. Search and Rescue capabilities have expanded to include assets from other agencies, such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of the Interior, addressing structural collapse and land, maritime, coastal, and waterborne environments.
We now have highly trained, mobile teams of emergency management personnel, called Incident Management Assessment Teams, which can be deployed to an emergency quickly, leading the Federal response. We have also made planning, training, and related technical assistance available to coastal states to prepare for hurricane season.
A critical part of changing the way we respond to disasters has been ensuring all of our information is accessible to those with Limited English Proficiency and to individuals with disabilities. We provide disability integration guidance for a variety of emergency management activities and have interpreters available at disaster recovery centers, community and town hall meetings, and other public venues.
To further expand the public’s access to information, the Ready Campaign intensified its focus on preparedness for children through development of the Ready Kids school curriculum and the Ready Kids family emergency plan. America’s PrepareAthon! was also launched. It is a national, year-round, community-based campaign focused on preparedness actions, to focus on promoting preparedness actions such as drills, group discussions, and exercises. Additional big rollouts were the addition of weather alerts from the National Weather Service to the FEMA mobile app and the ability to apply for disaster assistance directly through a mobile device.
To learn even more, download the fact sheet.
Hurricane Katrina by the Numbers (as of May 1, 2015)
See a detailed breakdown of Hurricane Katrina recovery totals.