FEI members cope with wrath of Hurricane Katrina.

The day before Katrina hit land, longtime FEI members Stan Smith and Tom Sandeman of the New Orleans chapter evacuated town. It's an exercise they and their families have been through many times before--in fact, Sandeman says he and his family have evacuated 12 times in the 22 years he's lived in Metairie, La. The drill is to pack a few things, get out quickly and wait it out. Normally, evacuations were short-lived, and they would be back home and back to their lives within two to three days.

This time, however, they don't know when they can go back. And, for Smith, when he does go back, he doesn't know what's in store. Speaking 10 days after he left on Sunday, Aug. 28, he hadn't been allowed in the area to get to his home, which is just across the Mississippi River from the French Quarter. He said its location, on the high side, may have kept it dry. But, he had no information.

We spoke in person when he was in New Jersey to attend FEI's board meeting in early September. Smith serves as Area Vice President for the Southwestern area. He's currently living with his wife in a hotel room in Houston, where he's working on a consulting job.

Sandeman was living in Atlanta with his wife; his son was in Houston, having traveled for 14 hours the day prior to the hurricane; the trip usually takes about 5 hours.

Smith and Sandeman were the only two FEI members (of five approached) who responded to Financial Executive's emails. Perhaps, 10 days after the hurricane hit, many residents in the New Orleans area just didn't have access to email. There was no response from Mississippi, either.

Indeed, communications in the affected areas has been greatly impacted. One concern of a hurricane, generally, is business interruption. Smith says he helped design the continuity plan for a manufacturing business he worked with several years ago. However, that plan wouldn't work for this hurricane, since much of it relied on connecting employees via cell phones and email. With no electricity, and servers down, most email was disrupted.

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Also, once cell phones ran out of power, there was no way to recharge them. Smith says he and his wife have purchased new cell phones, with different telephone numbers, since the lines in the 504 New Orleans area code remained down.

Sandeman's home had about 2-3 feet of water running through it, but by the time his wife was allowed back for a few days, the water had receded. He left behind his home office, which was destroyed--his desk, credenza, papers, etc., as well as a few briefcases that were left on the floor. On the upside, however, thanks to the three computers he had packed up and taken with him, he was back in his consulting business in about 12 hours.

Both Sandeman and Smith spoke highly of their relationships with other FEI members, and noted they had not heard from many--probably due to the lack of communications. They also spoke warmly of their city, New Orleans.

Smith is dismayed with the media coverage of the disaster. "What's portrayed on TV--the looting, etc.--it's there, and unfortunate," he says. "But that's not the city we know and are accustomed to." He says while TV cameras panned throngs of people and interviewed "complainers," he focused on the background, the "hundreds and thousands of people who didn't want to be there, but were making the best of it."

"It's frustrating," he says. "We can rebuild it; we have the history, and all the things people like about it. The toughest thing to rebuild, however, is its reputation."

Sandeman described the reception in Atlanta to the "dislocated people" as "nothing short of extraordinary." He has a networking group, has met other dislocated people, found a church and has received "care" packages from as far away as Wisconsin, from high school and college classmates. He says the emotional support has also been extraordinary, and he feels fortunate.

One difficulty he had to deal with was opening a bank account--since he didn't have an address to send mail to (banks won't accept a hotel or office). Eventually, he found a branch of his New Orleans bank to work with.

Out of hardship comes lessons and advice. Sandeman advises people facing potentially catastrophic hurricanes to evacuate early and prepare a checklist, so that when/should the time come to leave, they'll be ready.

Smith advises: Be prepared, and know what can happen. He likens the hurricane in New Orleans to other disasters. In California, it could be an earthquake; in the Midwest, it could be a tornado. "Understand the potential impact," he warns, so that you can be prepared, and get out.

However, it's the emotional side that is tough, he says. Companies need to consider how their continuity plans are set up, and while technology is great, "sometimes it doesn't work." Smith advises having a phone that plugs into the wall, instead of only cordless phones. Even if you're not there, you can call home for messages.

Both Smith and Sandeman are optimistic about the rebuilding and revival of New Orleans. Sandeman says he hopes this event will "open the eyes of the people who don't understand the impact of building the levees higher and of coastal erosion," adding that much of the Louisiana coastline has disappeared.

"They have a significant opportunity to do the right thing," he says of those with the power to decide on rebuilding. "They haven't done it--administration after administration. It's time," Sandeman argues.

Smith believes the city will come back, and he's hoping it will come back better than it was--and smarter, with a more diverse economy. "New Orleans is a very seductive city. If you really dig your roots into it, it's hard to get it out." He and his wife will go back "in a minute," he says, "if we have the opportunity."

Ten days after he left, however, Smith said he was in limbo. "We don't know where we stand with our homes, and thousands don't know about their jobs or when or if they will get a paycheck." The hardest part for him, he laments, is not knowing when he can go home.