New Orleans Disaster Planning on The Universityhouse Channel August 28

The University of New Orleans hosted The National Conference on Disaster Planning for the Carless Society earlier this year to address the issues raised in the aftermath of Katrina. In an interview with "Perils For Pedestrians" host John Z Wetmore, conference chair John Renne says, "The evacuation of Hurricane Katrina, while being the most successful evacuation probably in U.S. history, was also the worst evacuation in U.S. history, because if you had a car you could evacuate, but if you didn't have a car you couldn't get out."

What lessons could be learned from the disaster that befell New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck two years ago? One lesson was the difficulty of evacuating households who did not drive or did not have access to cars. In Orleans Parish, 27 percent of households did not have access to a car. Trapped in the city, they became the tragic images seen on television around the world. Renne goes on to say, "New Orleans is not unique in terms of having a carless population or being vulnerable to disasters. There are seven cities that have a higher percentage of carless people."

One of the key issues raised was who to include in disaster planning. One of the problems with much planning in the past has been the failure to include representatives of groups with particular challenges to evacuating. Along with the usual transportation planners and emergency management specialists, including people with disabilities is essential if their needs are to be understood and addressed.

AARP was the leading sponsor of the conference. Senior citizens were especially vulnerable to Katrina's devastation. Almost two thirds of the fatalities in Orleans Parish were over 65. As the United States population ages, disaster planning for the elderly will become even more critical.

Could similar disasters happen elsewhere? Renne reports, "I looked at evacuation plans from all over the country, and I found that the evacuation plans in other major cities are actually worse than the plans that we had in New Orleans, so it's a real wake up call for our country to begin looking at these issues."

Other stories on the program include a look at "Steps To A Healthier New Orleans", and a look at pedestrian and bicycle planning in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

"Perils For Pedestrians" is a public affairs television series that looks at issues that affect pedestrians. "Perils For Pedestrians" appears every Tuesday evening on The Universityhouse Channel (DISH Network channel 9411) at 9:30 PM Eastern Time, 6:30 PM Pacific Time. Episode 130 can also be seen on Google Video at:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3525600423554485033