[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 8, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S5711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         LEARNING FROM KATRINA

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, once we were able to see beyond the 
death, destruction, and suffering that Hurricane Katrina wrought, we 
saw that America is unprepared for a megacatastrophe. We learned that 
lesson at the expense of those in the gulf states.
  Nevertheless, our vulnerability is not limited to Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Texas, or to our Southern Atlantic States.
  Fifty-seven percent of Americans live in areas prone to earthquakes, 
hurricanes, or other massive disasters. We know about the quakes that 
have rocked California, Oregon, and Alaska. But the largest earthquake 
to strike the continental U.S. was centered in New Madrid, MO, in 1811. 
It rattled a swath of land that spanned from Mississippi to Michigan, 
from Pennsylvania to Nebraska.
  Twenty States, including Hawaii, and States that share a shoreline 
with the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, face the threat of 
hurricanes or severe storms every year.
  New Jersey experienced the second most severe storm in its history 
just last month. These downpours forced nearly 5,000 New Jerseyans to 
evacuate their homes and led to the deaths of at least three.
  Increasing numbers of people make those areas of vulnerability their 
homes every day. Eight out of the eleven most costly U.S. natural 
catastrophes have occurred since 2001.
  The failures of Katrina--from neglected levies to negligent 
leadership--must be acknowledged and addressed now, before the next 
catastrophe strikes. We have a moral obligation to learn from that 
experience.
  America needs an integrated program that unifies State and Federal 
policies to prepare and protect American families from the devastation 
of natural catastrophes.
  There are steps we can and must take--and we must take them today.
  We must prevent unnecessary loss of life and property by encouraging 
State and local governments to enact sensible building codes and land 
use policies that recognize the exposure to natural catastrophes.
  We must support first responders with the equipment, training, and 
personnel needed to save lives and reduce property damage.
  We must educate consumers and provide them the tools they need to 
prepare for catastrophes and protect their families and homes from 
harm.
  We must establish a rigorous process of continuous improvement by 
learning from past mistakes and assessing recovery efforts after every 
disaster to identify ways to continually improve our ability to recover 
from catastrophes.
  My Senate colleagues, the warnings before Hurricane Katrina were 
shamefully ignored and unheeded, the response was slow and erratic, and 
this Nation paid an enormous price.
  We have been warned. We must learn from the lessons of Katrina and 
exhibit the leadership America needs to be prepared and protected from 
catastrophes to come.

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