This week marks 15 years since Hurricane Katrina, an ominous anniversary as communities in the Gulf of Mexico prepare for the arrival of Tropical Storms Marco and Laura.
The storms combine to add even more woes for folks dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some lessons can be drawn from Hurricane Katrina for dealing with simultaneous disasters and events, said Jennifer Trivedi, an assistant professor at the University of Delaware who has a new book, “Mississippi after Katrina, Disaster Recovery and Reconstruciton on the Gulf Coast,” due out this fall.
The book centers on Biloxi, Miss., which will likely be impacted by the storms.
While still recovering from Katrina, people in Biloxi found themselves coping with things like widespread economic problems tied to the housing market and the BP Oil Spill, Trivedi said. The economic complications of these events became intertwined in people’s minds with Katrina and recovery from the storm, leading some to question if recovery funds should be tied to federal aid from Katrina or to BP funds for the oil spill.
“Such complications can slow recovery processes down and make assistance more difficult to track down, an important consideration as we now face a hurricane season during a global pandemic,” Trivedi said.
