NEW ORLEANS — As the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) will hold a special Presidential Session panel on the devastating storm and its many impacts.

The landfall of Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi on August 29, 2005 led to more than 1,300 deaths and nearly $190 billion in losses. The costliest weather event in American history, it caused catastrophic damage to New Orleans as well as the coastal environment of southern Louisiana and surrounding Gulf states, with impacts that are still felt today even as recovery continues.

Antonio Busalacchi, the president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and a part-time New Orleans resident, will moderate the AMS panel. An interdisciplinary panel of local experts and leaders will discuss the ramifications of Katrina on the people, economy, and environment of southern Louisiana. They will provide multiple perspectives, including meteorological, sociocultural, economic, environmental, and historical.

A key topic that panelists will address will be Katrina’s disproportionate impacts on lower-income communities and its toll on the Black population in New Orleans, leading to a dispersion to nearby regions and states. The panelists will also evaluate national and regional policy responses and ongoing recovery efforts, including the ongoing coastal/wetland restoration led by the Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Louisiana.

“Hurricane Katrina fundamentally reshaped our understanding of America’s vulnerabilities to large-scale disasters, and it is critical to take account of the lessons learned in the past two decades,” Busalacchi said. “This AMS Presidential Session panel will ask the fundamental question of whether our nation is prepared for the next Katrina, and if we have taken the necessary steps to safeguard the lives, properties, and businesses of those at gravest risk.”

UCAR is a nonprofit consortium of 131 North American colleges and universities focused on research and training in Earth system science.

About the Presidential Session
Title: Hurricane Katrina: 20-year Retrospective 
When: Tuesday, January 14, 10:45 a.m.–noon (Central Time)
Where: Great Hall A, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and virtually

Panelists
Ashleigh Gardere, President, PolicyLink
Russel L. Honoré, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army, Retired
Allison Plyer, Chief Demographer, The Data Center
Nancy Rabalais; Professor and Shell Endowed Chair in Oceanography and Wetland Studies,
Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences; Louisiana State University
Mark Schleifstein, Environment Reporter, New Orleans Times Picayune | The Advocate, Retired

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