Reflections on Katrina: 20 years down the road

Abstract

This essay responds to a request for personal reflections based on my experiences in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and lessons learned from that storm.  The essay begins with comments on how I was swept into the disaster’s aftermath, and reflects on the quest for resilience in a shattered city, some of the lessons learned and unlearned at the local level from the response and recovery to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  It concludes with two important  lessons learned that have a bearing on climate change adaptations in coastal areas globally.