Hurricanes Rita and Katrina - Aftermath and Recovery Experts

The University of Maryland has a number of experts who can talk about the impact of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, their aftermath, recovery efforts and challenges to rebuilding.

We offer a complete list of experts.

Maryland experts look at the lessons of Katrina and 9/11.

A Maryland FEMA expert suggests ways to reform the agency.

Please scroll down for sample quotes.

For information about what the University of Maryland is doing to help displaced students from Louisiana, please point your browser to the Maryland Home Page.

I.M. "Mac" Destler
Expert in homeland security reorganization; University of Maryland professor of public policy.

"The tragic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina proves beyond doubt what many of us have long feared--that the incorporation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the new Department of Homeland Security was a catastrophic mistake. In 2002, FEMA was a reasonably competent disaster relief organization. It has gone downhill within the department, drained of resources and leadership. The challenge posed by the storm was clearly enormous, of course, and the governmental response was inadequate at all levels. But the federal government could and should have done much more, much sooner. The crippling of FEMA was one important reason why it failed."

Gerald E. Galloway
Galloway is a Civil Engineer who was a seven year member of the Mississippi River Commission overseeing Army Corps of Engineer work on the river's lower part.

Galloway says that "Hurricane Katrina's breach of New Orleans's levees has led to the unthinkable: New Orleans is being evacuated. People who live along the levees that hold back the Mississippi River, the Sacramento and American rivers in California and others make the assumption that it's going to hold. We have to make sure it does."

Matthias Ruth
Expert in environmental and engineering policy, including the impact of climate change.

"Now, while Katrina's pain remains fresh, officials around the country ought to face up to the infrastructure shortcomings in their jurisdictions. These inquiries may begin with the height and strength of flood control systems,but that should only be a starting point."

"For example, the disaster in the gulf offers fresh evidence that our reliance on a centralized energy supply system increases our vulnerability to widespread disruptions. Investing in a more decentralized system would be expensive, but deserves consideration and study." "

Chiehwen Ed Hsu
Expert in Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Bioterrorism, as well as Health disparities and minority health.

"You will see situations that resemble UN refugee camps or war zones on other continents. Disease control will become a more pressing problem in the days ahead in the New Orleans and coastal areas. Diseases could result from contaminated water: cholera, dysentery, food poisoning, mosquito-borne illnesses just to name a few.

Ron Walters
Walters is the director of the African American Leadership Institute and an internationally known expert on African American issues.

(Talking about the looting): "Black people are no different than any other group of people in the world. You have to go far, far beyond skin color. Any group - black, white, Hispanic, Asian, whatever - would do anything necessary to survive when faced with tragic circumstances, including raiding stores for supplies."

Sherri Parks
Prof. Parks is an expert in popular American aesthetics with a special focus on culture, family, and gender.

"We're seeing a lot of racial stereotypes in the Katrina coverage. The cameras are capturing the poorest people with the fewest resources, and that's traditionally how the urban poor are covered. In this case, privileged people with more resources got out first and were less likely to end up in the Super Dome. But there's more to it. Coverage usually follows along pre-determined lines that make sense to the media and to the audience. So we're seeing a traditional media pattern here: the people who are arguing and struggling in New Orleans are people of color because they're more conveniently found and that seems to fit the story line."

Peter Morici
Expert in the U.S. Economy, Macroeconomics, International Economics, International Business, and Government Regulation.

"A good way to look at it is Louisiana is 1 percent of the U.S. GDP. The whole state is not down but the damage embraces large portions of Mississippi too. We are more than halfway through the quarter, so a 0.6 percent total loss across the third and fourth quarters seems reasonable. Much of that will be made up next year."

Thomas Miller
Expert in water quality issues.

"New Orleans is totally different than other areas that have hurricanes. It has water problems I don't see solutions to. They are below sea level and at the mercy of the pumps. City water and private septics won't be safe until there is electricity. It could be two months before the water is safe."

David Segal
An expert on the military, Prof. Segal is the Director of the Center for Research on Military Organization.

"Very possibly, the major casualty of this war is going to be the National Guard. They have pretty much used up their combat-ready bridgades."

Susan Moeller
Expert in media coverage of war, violence, conflict and disasters.

"I'm amazed at how it's being covered. There are definite parallels to the tsunami as the scale sinks in. It will be interesting to see if any U.S. media picks up lessons from this for crisis coverage in the future - it's the closest walk-through we're going to get for a catastrophic terrorist attack."

Peter Levine
Deputy Director, CIRCLE -- Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement. He runs a popular blog at www.peterlevine.ws/mt.

(On the moral issues) "New Orleans may have a weak civic culture, manifested in low levels of trust for other citizens and for institutions. I doubt that many cities could avoid looting under the current circumstances--this must be the worst US natural disaster since San Francisco in 1906. But I do think that a strong civic culture helps when the veneer of civilization is removed, and a weak one hurts."

"In New York City, the 1965 power failure was largely characterized by cooperation and good cheer, the blackout in 1977 was defined by widespread looting and arson, and the latest one in 2003 was again peaceful. These changes track the decline and then the recovery of trust and civility in New York City."

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