Have We Learned Our Lessons from Rita, Katrina?

Sept. 24, 2005 — -- The damage from Rita still is being felt and measured, but one big question came ashore along with this hurricane three weeks after Katrina: Have we learned better how to handle a potentially catastrophic disaster affecting millions of people?

It only took three weeks for Katrina's painful legacy to become Rita's lessons learned. There is no question that some things simply worked better this time.

Irwin Redlener, director of Columbia University's Center for Disaster Preparedness, said Katrina showed planners how to anticipate every obstacle.

"Don't talk about evacuating populations, and sheltering populations, if we haven't made provisions for people's pets," he said. "Because it is an important human reality that people wanted to take care of their pets and would be reluctant to leave them. Those were the kinds of lessons we have learned."