In Katrina's wake: America comes to grips with Katrina's long-term impact, and asks if we're prepared for the next disaster--natural or man-made.

LESSON PLAN 1: NATIONAL

Hurricane Katrina's aftermath

BACKGROUND

Hurricane Katrina did more than destroy property and kilt people; it also raised questions about government responsibility for coming to the aid of victims of natural disasters and about inequities in American society--specifically whether the victims were disproportionately poor and black.

CRITICAL THINKING

* Some critics of the slow response to Katrina ask if the tack of quick action signals that the U.S. may also be unprepared to respond quickly to another terrorist attack. Is this a fair question? Are the two threats analogous?

* Have students assume they are members of a commission investigating Katrina. President Bush says he takes responsibility for federal failures. Should the President be held personally responsible for the failure of the federal government to quickly aid the victims of Katrina?

WRITING PROMPTS

* Have students write a 100 word e-mail to a teen in another country in which they explain how Americans came to the aid of Katrina victims and their reaction to the criticism being leveled at the federal government.

* Design and write a poster appealing for aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* If you could meet with President Bush, what would you ask him about Katrina's devastation?

* Should those who were trapped by the storm and left homeless be allowed to seek financial compensation from federal, state, and local government?

FAST FACTS

* In 1998, Louisiana and federal officials developed "Coast 2050," a plan to prevent flooding in New Orleans. But funding for the $14 billion project was never approved.

* "Hurricane" comes from the Carib Indian word huracan, for God of Death.

WEB WATCH

www.fema.gov The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides information on aid to Katrina victims.

www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastall. shtmt The National Weather Service provides details about hurricanes.

http://hurricanehelpfor schools.gov/The U.S. Department of Education provides useful sites.

Across the street from Louisiana's State Capitol in Baton Rouge, New Orleans business leaders have begun to plot the rebirth of their city. They're concocting big plans--holding a scaled-down Mardi Gras at the end of February and lobbying for one of the 2008 presidential nominating conventions, and perhaps the next available Super Bowl.

"We're thinking strategically," says J. Stephen Perry, the chief executive of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Gulf Coast is going to need all the strategic thinking the nation can muster. With hundreds, maybe thousands, dead, at least $200 billion in damage spread across some 90,000 square miles, and a major city devastated, Hurricane Katrina is perhaps the most deadly natural disaster to have ever struck the United States. It was not just the storm (a Category 4 hurricane when it hit the Gulf Coast on August 29), but also the failure of New Orleans's levees, which flooded the city, and the government's slow response in the immediate aftermath, that have made Katrina such a catastrophe for so many people.

The enormity of the impact can be felt everywhere. When Congress returned to Washington the week after the storm, it found its entire agenda--and the political landscape--totally changed. The country's economy will likely be affected for months, maybe years. As the cleanup moves forward, concerns about damage to the environment are increasing. And then there's the big question of whether the government's focus on terrorism has detracted from its planning for natural disasters.

WE PREPARED?

Members of the 9/11 Commission expressed shock at what they described as the federal government's disastrous performance in response to Katrina, saying it suggested that Washington was also ill-prepared to deal with another catastrophic terrorist strike.

Others agree. "If our system did such a poor job when there was no enemy," says Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and chairwoman of the Homeland Security Committee, "how would the federal, state, and local governments have coped with a terrorist attack that provided no advance warning and that was intent on causing as much death and destruction as possible?"

No storm in American history has matched the depth and breadth of Katrina's devastation. The two previous disasters that demolished major cities--the Chicago fire of 1871 and the San Francisco earthquake of 1906--occurred before the federal government became so involved in disaster relief.

Katrina has produced a diaspora of historic proportions. Not since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s or the end of the Civil War in the 1860s have so many Americans been on the move from a single event. Federal officials say 400,000 to upward of 1 million people have been displaced from ruined homes.

Texas alone has taken in more than 230,000 people. But others are scattered across the nation, from California to Cape Cod. Everywhere, schools are struggling to handle a wave of displaced students. (See article, p. 11.) Many people say they will never go back, vowing to build new lives far from home. Others say they still feel utterly lost, uprooted from all that is familiar.

"The people are so nice, but this place is really strange to me," says Desiree Thompson, a New Orleans native who arrived in Albuquerque, N.M., with six of her children and two grandchildren a week after the storm hit. "The air is different. My nose feels all dry. The only thing I've seen that looks familiar is the McDonald's."

BUSH'S CHALLENGE

In the days following Hurricane Katrina, Congress and the Bush administration moved swiftly to approve tens of billions of dollars of relief aid, and estimates for government spending on the recovery quickly topped $200 billion.

Nevertheless, the government was criticized for responding too slowly. On September 13, President Bush acknowledged the shortcomings: "Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government. And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."

In the week after the disaster, the President's approval rating dropped to just 40 percent--the lowest at any point in his presidency. Now, Bush faces a political challenge in reversing the impression that he mishandled the crisis.

"His image as a strong leader has been undercut dramatically," says Mark Mellman, a Democratic strategist.

For many Americans, Katrina's most concrete effect has been higher gas prices. The area hit by the storm is one of the country's hubs for importing and producing oil and refining it into gasoline. With the Gulf region accounting for more than 25 percent of domestic oil production, the interruptions caused gas and home-heating prices to soar.

At the same time, farmers in the Midwest rely on barges to carry their corn, soybeans, and wheat down the Mississippi River, but the Port of New Orleans, a crucial link to export markets, was badly damaged by the storm.

Along the Mississippi coast, the destruction of the area's floating casinos will have a huge impact on the local economy. In 2004, the casinos, which provide thousands of jobs, paid $330 million in taxes to the state. Mississippi does not allow casinos on land, but the extensive damage to the floating casinos has sparked a debate over whether it should.

ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL QUESTIONS

Many people are worried about environmental problems resulting from the flooding of New Orleans. The water being pumped out of the city back into Lake Pontchartrain is laced with raw sewage, bacteria, heavy metals, pesticides, and toxic chemicals.

But it's not yet clear whether this brew poses a threat to ecosystems and fisheries. Some scientists think the risk of long-term damage is not high. One reason is that Lake Pontchartrain is fed by several rivers and flushed by tides through its link to the Gulf of Mexico.

Katrina's aftermath has also raised questions of race and poverty. In the first days after the storm struck, television images of the horrible suffering of the mostly black victims in New Orleans beamed across the globe, giving the world an unexpected view of American society. Had it not been for the distinctive outlines of the Superdome, the pictures of desperate, even dying people looked like they might have come from Haiti or Somalia. "This is a pretty graphic illustration of who gets left behind in this society," says Christopher Jencks, a sociologist at Harvard University. With natural disasters, there tends to be a huge initial response by governments, the media, and the public, and then a falloff in interest when the initial shock and horror subside--as seems to be the case with last year's tsunami in Asia. Similarly, it may be a challenge keeping up interest in Katrina's victims and the Gulf Coast's recovery as time passes.

REBUILDING NEW ORLEANS

One of the most visible long-term effects of the storm will be what happens to New Orleans. After the floodwaters are drained, the sludge cleaned up, devastated homes demolished, and city services restored, many difficult questions will follow: Should the city be rebuilt largely the way it was? Will longtime inequities be addressed? Who will make decisions about the contours of the new New Orleans?

Now, hundreds of thousands of people who fled the hurricane's destruction are putting down roots in new places. If even a fraction of them decide not to return to New Orleans, the migration threatens a population crash that could be nearly as devastating as the storm itself.

Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, head of the department of urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, says, "If a big chunk of the population doesn't come back, it's going to be horrific for the city."

But the city's business leaders remain optimistic. They point to the fact that the French Quarter, which drives the city's tourism-based economy, sustained only moderate damage and has already reopened for business. That will provide the foundation for jobs when the citizens return, they say.

President Bush has promised an infusion of federal aid for reconstruction across the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. "There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans," he told the nation, "and this great city will rise again."

GRAPH > NATIONAL

AMERICA'S MOST-COSTLY HURRICANES

Katrina is thought to be the costliest hurricane ever to hit the United States, in terms of dollar damage. But powerful, hurricanes have been striking North America for thousands of fears, weather experts say.

In the late 1940s, the military began naming the most severe hurricanes, so that the public could tell the difference between two or more storms that posed a threat at the same time. The World Meteorological. Organization, a United Nations agency, tater took over naming duties.

Since 1953, every hurricane, no matter how weak, has gotten a name. Between 1953 and 1978, women's names were used exclusively. Since 1979, both men's and women's names have been used.

Hurricanes that do significant damage have their names retired. So for all, of Katrina's wrath, Americans don't have to worry about seeing her again.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

1. How many billions of
dollars in damage was
done in Texas by storms
shown on the graph?

(a) 7           (c) 9
(b) 8           (d) 10

2. One 20th-century
hurricane did $12 billion
worth of damage to one
state. Name the state.

--

3. Katrina, not shown,
crossed southern Florida
before swinging north to
hit the Gulf Coast. How
many other hurricanes on
the graph caused extensive
damage in Florida?

--

4. How many billions of
dollars in damage has
been done by hurricanes
that hit Florida only?

(a) 28          (c) 33
(b) 31          (d) 24

5. In 1998, Hurricane
Georges, not shown, hit
the U.S. Virgin Is[ands and
Puerto Rico. It did $2.2
billion less in damage than
Hurricane Isabel. How
many billions of dollars in
damage did Georges do?

(a) 1.8         (c) 3.3
(b) 2.2         (d) 2.4

6. The damage done by
Katrina, estimated to be
more than $200 billion,
exceeds Andrew's cost
by at least

(a) 100%        (c) 350%
(b) 150%        (d) 450%

7. Two Atlantic and Gulf
Coast hurricanes that
caused equal amounts
of damage together
caused half that of Hurricane
Andrew. Name the
hurricanes. --
-- and --

8. Hurricane --
did twice the amount of
damage as that caused
by Hurricane Diane.

QUIZ 1 > NATIONAL

IN KATRINA'S WAKE

1. Many political leaders say the federal. government's slow response to Katrina raises questions about its

a concern for the American people.

b preparedness for a major terrorist' attack.

c ability to fund disaster relief.

d weather-warning system.

2. The price of gasoline and home heating oil rose following Katrina in large part because

a more people were buying these products.

b oil companies fixed their prices artificially high.

c the region hit by Katrina accounts for more than a quarter of domestic oil production.

d Arab oil nations raised prices to hurt the American economy.

3. How were Midwest farmers affected by Katrina? --

4. Officials estimate that the total damage done by Katrina will. be approximately

a $200 million.

b $2 billion.

c $100 billion.

d $200 billion.

5. Which statement is accurate? "The aftermath of Katrina raised questions about

a the ability to track dangerous storms."

b relocating New Orleans."

c race and poverty in America."

d citizens' rights."

6. New Orleans's famous French Quarter remained largely unscathed by the hurricane, a bit of tuck amid the tragedy, since the city's economy is in great part driven by

a tourism.

b real estate sales.

c construction.

d education.

IN-DEPTH QUESTIONS

1. After Katrina, there were. complaints that the nation had not learned lessons from 9/11. One example: Police, fire, and other agencies couldn't always communicate because they used different radio frequencies, something that caused major problems on 9/11. What might explain the failure to learn this important Lesson?

2. Many schools accepting evacuee students Want to be exempted from requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. (The taw requires students at every school to meet minimum academic standards.) Make an argument for or against exemptions.

ANSWER KEY

1. [b] preparedness against terrorist attacks.

2. [c] the region hit by Katrina accounts for more than a quarter of domestic oil production.

3. They couldn't ship their products through New Orleans.

4. [d] $200 billion

5. [c] race and poverty in America.

6. [a] tourism.

GRAPH EXERCISE > PAGE TE4

1. [d] 10

2. North Carolina 

3. eight

4. [b] 31

5. [a] 1.8

6. [c] 350%

7. Agnes; Betsy

8. Ivan

RELATED ARTICLE: In schools, a massive challenge.

By Patricia Smith

Just a week after 17-year-old Eliezer Cruz watched the waters of Hurricane Katrina surge under the doors and through the walls of his Pascagoula, Miss., home, he found himself enrolled in a new high school in Brunswick, Ga., some 500 miles away.

In some ways, Cruz, a senior, is one of the lucky ones. Though everything in the house where he lived with his mother was destroyed by the floodwaters, his father, who lives in Brunswick, came within days to rescue him.

Cruz is one of thousands of students from the devastated Gulf Coast who are enrolling in school districts across the country, from Maine to Washington. Experts say it could become the largest student resettlement in the nation's history. The total number of displaced students is not yet known, but it appears to be more than 200,000.

"In terms of school systems absorbing kids whose lives and homes have been shattered, what we're going to watch over the next weeks is unprecedented in American education," says Jeffrey Mirel, a professor of history and education at the University of Michigan.

Many students are concentrated in districts along an arc from the Florida Panhandle west through Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Texas.

In New Orleans, which has a history of producing high school football stars, many players are worrying about how their moves will affect their college prospects. Some were snapped up by other high schools looking to bolster their football programs, prompting allegations of unethical recruiting.

For Cruz, the change has been hard even though the people at Brunswick High School have been welcoming. "Everybody wants to know what it was like," Cruz says. "You get tired of talking about it."

With reporting by Sam Dillon and Joe Drape of The New York Times.

With reporting by James Brooke, Jason DeParle, Sewell Chan, Andrew C Revkin, Jeff Bailey, Timothy Egan, James Dao, Richard W. Stevenson, Jere Longman, Ken Belson, and Gary Rivlin of The New York Times.