Hurricane Katrina

“One of the most shocking disclosures after Katrina and Rita was how little prepared the local and state governments were not only in handling the

hurricanes but also their aftermath”.-Jonathan Turley (Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University

Public Relations Management

Description of the Opportunity/Problem

Opportunity/Crisis in brief

The Problem in this case, (Hurricane Katrina: A disaster from beginning to end) is the

morning of August 29th,2005, Hurricane Katrina first struck the lower Louisiana coast and then

the Mississippi gulf coast with a 20-30 foot storm surge and winds in excess of 165 miles per

hour. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina it left thousands stranded and homeless. Billions of

dollars’ worth of damage, hundreds of lives lost, and hundreds of thousands of people displaced

are just some of the few obstacles that the people which were affected by this horrible storm had

to deal with. During times like these people need clear and effective communication from

different levels of management such as locally, state-wide and federally. From the beginning of

this crisis the governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco clashed with President George Bush over

whether to federalize the Louisiana National Guard .This was just one example of the political

turmoil and communication breakdowns which occurred during this crisis.

Analysis of the Opportunity/Problem

Factors which led up to the problem

The factors which led up to the problems are many and started at the very beginning with

the majority of Americans watching this crisis unfold in real time, with the opinion that no one

knew what to do. Instead of having a proactive plan in place all levels of governmental support

could barely react to this situation. There was no plan in place for dealing with a storm of such

magnitude. The people of New Orleans were not ready, FEMA was not ready, the state of

Louisiana was not ready and last but not least the city of New Orleans was not ready to deal with

such a surprise. Systems that should have been in place for situations such as displaced citizens,

lost services, disease, death and destruction were not ready to handle the magnitude of the crisis.

The most lacking part of this crisis was the lack of communication throughout this event.

One adage of crisis communication is that how one communicated through the crisis fixes in

most people’s minds how the crisis was addressed. The general public, for the most part, isn’t

able to fully evaluate how well a crisis is handled. During hurricane Katrina , communication

was slim to nil and there seemed to be no one setting a realistic agenda, no one attempting to set

expectations or giving realistic information on how long, how bad or how soon it would take to

resolve this situation. The Politics involved in this crisis were more important it seemed than the

people’s well fare.

Public Relations Focus

The organizational players in this situation include

Locally

o Inhabitants of Lower Louisiana Coast

o Inhabitants of Mississippi Gulf Coast

o Local Government (Major of New Orleans)

o Media

State-wide

o Louisiana Inhabitants

o Mississippi Inhabitants

o Louisiana Government (Governor Kathleen Blanco)

o Louisiana National Guard

o Media

Federally

o The President (George Bush)

o FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)

o Military Sanctions

o Media

Initial research

Initial research which had been conducted to assess the problem was not in place at all.

There was no consideration prior to, during, or after of how a coordinated public relation plan

would help during and after the aftermath of Katrina. No one had seemed to have expected the

unexpected and there was not a proactive response to this situation at all.

The perceptions and public opinion

The perceptions and public opinion of the Hurricane Katrina crisis was clear and most

Americans watching this crisis unfold were of the opinion that no one knew what to do. Those

who were involved as well as those watching knew that there was no plan in place and it seemed

that no one was in charge or taking it. Instead of focusing on the people it seemed as if those who

were in positions of leadership and management were avoiding responsibility and affixing blame

on other political parties.

The final consensus of the organizational players

The final consensus of the organizational players took days to become resolved and for

someone to take charge of the situation. The final consensus though included the governor of

Louisiana deploying National Guard troops as well as additional troops from other states with the

President providing ground troops under his command. The issue with this though was that

President Bush wanted to federalize the National Guard forces which would put them under his

control instead of Governor Blanco’s.

Public Relations Strategy

August 29, 2005 held much terror for the

residents of Louisiana and Mississippi, who were

hit the hardest by Katrina. As the days unfolded,

the lack of communication and inability to come

to a solid result was evident. Disagreements

between authorities kept decisions from being

made and lives continued to be lost.

Day-by-Day Strategy (or lack thereof):

Day 1: Most of the Louisiana National Guard was in Iraq at the time, but 5,671 men were

deployed to the flooded and impacted areas. The U.S. Coast Guard was prepared to respond. The

other U.S. forces like the Navy, Air Force, and Army were also prepared. However, no command

was given for them to be deployed. Lieutenant General Russell Honoré was sent to Mississippi to

set up federal headquarters and state officials for Louisiana set up in Baton Rouge, LA. There

was also a miscommunication between the Louisiana governor, Blanco, and President Bush

about whether or not to send federal troops. Blanco states she “needed everything you’ve got.”

The White House has no record of this request.

Day 2: 6,124 National Guardsmen came from across the U.S. to aid in the relief effort and the

New Orleans Superdome was set up as a shelter for thousands of people. Blanco visited the

Superdome twice on the seventh, communicating that evacuation was of the utmost importance.

Blanco requested for federal troops.

Day 3: Blanco received 6,137 more National Guard members. Blanco makes a comment that she

wished she had asked for troops earlier and her comment was used as evidence. The conditions

continue to worsen and only the Louisiana National Guard members were on duty.

Day 4: Over 7,000 more National Guard members were deployed as the suffering continued and

people continued to remain clueless. All the media knew to do was to follow the disaster and

attempt to find some information about what was being done for relief efforts. Blame-shifting

began and predictions were given on who was going to take the hardest hit for the public

relations failures.

Day 5: More than 8,000 more National Guard members

were deployed to aid in the evacuation and Blanco made

a request to Bush for more troops. The evacuation of the

Superdome was complete and the convention center was

secured by the end of the day. The Bush administration

made an effort to make Honoré in charge of the National Guard and federal troops and sent a

memo to Blanco to sign a letter, transferring charge.

Day 6: Again, almost 10,000 troops were deployed and Blanco responds with the answer that

Honoré may be in charge of the federal forces in the Gulf region, but not of the National Guard.

The evacuation of the convention center was also almost done by the end of the

Day 7: More than 11,000 troops were deployed on this day along with Army and Marine

presence in New Orleans. New Orleans mayor criticized Mayor Blanco for delaying the

federalization of troops, stating that more people died because of it.

Day 8: Now, more than a week after the initial hit, almost 20,000 more troops were deployed

while soldiers began to arrive that were from the 82nd Airborne and 1st Cavalry divisions. They

went directly to the Belle Chasse Naval Air Station and Hammond. Bush is satisfied with the

chain of command.

Day 9: Nearly 50,000 troops are now deployed in the affected areas and continued to aid in

disaster relief.

Public Relations Tactics

The tactics put into place for Katrina were almost

nonexistent. There were no set plans in place for a disaster of

this magnitude, and when the disaster hit, no one could

decide on one thing to do. Politics screamed much louder

than the needs that were not being met and kept Democrats and Republicans from making a solid

decision on one specific thing. Because of their disagreements and blame shifting, there were no

constants in the decision-making. It took almost a week for Blanco to finally decide the troops.

Even then, she only gave partial control.

The media were so focused on New Orleans that they failed to mention other areas that

were affected just as much or more. Many were unaware of the disaster along the coasts as well

from Katrina.

No one was prepared for the massive disaster caused by Katrina. Evacuation was

issued, but no forced as strongly as it should have been at the beginning. According to USA

Today, tens of thousands of people never evacuated. It took a week after the disaster for the

evacuation to be fully complete. By that point, many had died already. The death toll reached

1,833 according the U.S. News, and it is believed that there many more than that. One of the

perceptions was that the recovery could have happened much faster and more efficiently if the

people that were hit the hardest were affluent, white individuals. This perception seemed to ring

true as fact.

No one set and agenda that was realistic and there were no preset expectations. No one

gave specifics on how long the cleanup and restoration would take, or how bad it would get

before it got better. No one had good information and the American public was at a loss. No one

knew what to do or how to handle the situation. The lack of strategy and lack of communication

made the disaster even more disastrous. “Communication must follow performance.”

Evaluation

First, evaluate the outcome and determine whether or not success was achieved. It is

always best to offer your opinion in the matter and not just quote someone else’s, but as you

offer your opinion this would be a great place to employ resources in order to substantiate

your opinion.

Was management successful in handling the opportunity/crisis?

Management success, during hard times, can be defined as the combination and balance

of both communication and performance (Center, pg. 233). Hurricane Katrina was a perfect

opportunity for the people in leadership (expound on who) to step up and give direction during

that hard time but instead of it being an opportunity it was a crisis with no positive outcomes.

There were no positive outcomes produced from this because communications plan was in place

that could be carried out during the crisis itself. When a crisis arises, how it is handled will

forever be etched in people’s minds, both those involved and those watching.

Hurricane Katrina was not the first major hurricane the United States has had to deal

with. Hurricane Ivan, Charley and Frances all occurred in 2004 but were also poorly handled.

What could have been done differently for the 2-3 level hurricanes and Katrina, a level 5

hurricane?

Stronger pre-crisis communication

o Leadership presence

All levels of government were involved in this great catastrophe but

there needed to be one main spokesperson that the public would hear

from.

The presence and use of a single voice representing leadership can and

will accomplish more than the voices of hundreds.

o Evacuation plan: Forethought

Planning

Stakeholders would independently create a standard crisis

operations procedure that would go into extensive detail on

what is expected by an individual.

Training

Stakeholders would independently have regularly scheduled

reviews on the plan that would include updates, exercises and

feedback reports.

Managerial Decision Making

Stakeholders must bring plans to FEMA so that they can

determine the level of clarity given in order to have unified

procedures.

o Evacuation plan: Execution

Crisis communication plan

o Updates

For those being effected by the crisis

Informing those not affected so they know how to help and were

specifically their financial support is going

o Strategy plans

o Safety Destinations

What was public opinion after the situation subsided?

The people of New Orleans and those watching it unfold from all over the United States

came to the conclusion that “politics seemed more important than the people” (Center, pg.

231). The public of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana reached this conclusion based on

the lack of response and relief by the FEMA and others.

Future Prospects

This last section, think of a future Advertising/Public Relations student taking this

class and maybe doing this exact case—what could they learn from this case? What

could management learn from this case? Try not just to give generalities such as, “a

student can learn of the importance of communication” as one could really say this with

any situation. Try to pinpoint specifically what the learning would be and maybe it can

be listed as a general topic with specific applications.

What lessons can a student of public relations learn from this particular situation?

What was the significance of this situation in the public arena, in which it occurred?

(i.e., business, media, politics, education, religion, etc.)

Several things can be gleaned from this case.

There will be times when a negative message must be continually communicated for

those around to accurately know what is going on.

o One does not want to be the one to point out when tragedy has struck and that

lives have been lost and are in danger. Realize that communicating that there is a

problem gives the public a chance to make it right. The majority of news

communicated to the public is negative because the public wants to know and has

a right to be informed.

Learn to use truth with discretion

o When tragedy arises, be sensitive and aware to when certain information is given

and to whom it is given.

o When reporting the facts be ready to also report a plan alongside the negative

news. This informs the public while maintaining level of control over the

situation.

Be willing to step into the role of leadership or step down in order for someone else to

take the lead.

o A disaster has occurred and the community immediately begins to look for

someone to take the lead and provide guidance. The longer one waits for someone

else to step into the role of leadership the longer the community goes without

reassurance and guidance.

o Contrary to previous point, keep in mind that if someone better qualified steps in

to take the lead at the same time as another, one of the individuals should be

willing to step back. The point of a leader stepping into the scene as nothing to do

the leader himself but has everything to do with guiding and reassuring the public.

Hurricane Katrina took place in the public arenas in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. What

the majority of people did not realize was that Alabama and Mississippi were also greatly

affected by hurricane Katrina but was less reported on compared to Louisiana ().

Baton Rouge Louisiana is a highly trafficked tourist area

o Over the past several years the tourism statistics in the Baton Rouge area alone

has grown exponentially from 26.0 million in 2012 to 27.3 million in 2013 (The

Advocate). This is a startling difference compared to Alabama’s 23 million

tourists for the entire state (Travel Impact).

Report and assess the unbiased facts

o Many states were greatly damaged by the level 5 hurricane and many sates sought

and received help but no matter the area, all of the information should be reported

to the public.