Lessons From Katrina:

Crisis Readiness, Response & Recovery

by Les Nichols and Jan Still-Lindeman

On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast. By the time it dissipated on Aug. 31, it had become the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in American history. Almost a year later, Katrina is estimated to be responsible for the deaths of more than 1,800 people and more than $81 billion in damages.

The three local Boys & Girls Club organizations most affected by Katrina were Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana in New Orleans, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast in Biloxi, Miss., and the Boys & Girls Club of Jackson County in Moss Point, Miss. Together, they saw 17 Club units destroyed, damaged, flooded, contaminated or otherwise rendered unusable.

Insurance Limbo

As Clubs surfaced from the physical devastation of the storm, their first steps to recover losses proved the most challenging. By and large, all Clubs hit by Katrina were underinsured. Some had structural insurance for damage to their buildings, but no content insurance to cover equipment and supplies. All were initially in limbo about what their recovered damages would actually be.

“Reviewing insurance policies and what they mean is crucial,” says Sue Reed, chief professional officer for the Gulf Coast organization. “We learned after the fact that wind and water involve very different policies. We also had policies on the buildings themselves, but no additional insurance for what it would cost to rebuild them. Issues like these made a huge difference in our recovery plan.”

Bobby Smith, CPO for the Southeast Louisiana organization, faced similar problems. “Only one of our Clubs had flood insurance,” he says. “Going forward, we plan to have periodic meetings between the Club’s board of directors and its insurance agent to learn just what is covered and if any changes in coverage are necessary. The organization has to find a way to afford the insurance it really needs; once the disaster hits, you’re stuck with what you have.”

Both Reed and Smith add that keeping an up-todate content inventory is necessary to verify the loss of equipment and furnishings. Insurance companies will ask for the cost and date of purchase for each item to determine a fair market value based on depreciation and replacement.

In addition, keeping all original insurance policies and documents safe and accessible is also very important in expediting insurance funds. “It’s hard to imagine before something like Katrina happens that all these little distinctions in coverage, the language in your policy and just having all necessary documents in hand, are essential to your survival,” says Smith, “but it is the reality, and it can make or break your recovery efforts.”

“Prior to Katrina, we believed our organization’s affairs were in accordance with emergency polices and procedures,” echoes Catherine Glaude, CPO for the Jackson County organization. “This horrific devastation pointed out that our eyes were ‘wide shut’ in the areas of insurance coverage, especially flood insurance, and the mobilization of our organization’s data. Due to the heartwarming worldwide support we received, we have been able to upgrade our insurance and mobile technology.”

Rethinking Your Response Strategy

Although crisis response plans necessarily vary with each organization, an effective plan must start with an organizing structure that clearly outlines roles and responsibilities. All states now require schools and other organizations to have an Incident Command System (ICS). An ICS is applied by function, rather than personalities or titles, and can expand or shrink as a crisis unfolds or is resolved.

To make this system work, there are four primary ICS roles that must be identified in advance of a crisis:

• Operations (the “Doers”): Responsible for accountability, first aid, parent-child release, search and locate, security.

• Logistics (the “Getters”): Responsible for resources, transportation, communication, food and water.

• Planning (the “Thinkers”): Responsible for maintaining a status board, gathering information and establishing a mental health crisis team.

• Finance (the “Controllers”): Responsible for financial record keeping, funding, payroll and cost control.

For the majority of organizations, the concepts of ICS are familiar; it is the language that is new. Most organizations only have to change titles or add a few components to their existing crisis response structure. For a comprehensive overview of emergency response planning using the ICS method, visit the Club Safety & Design safety page on www.bgca.net.

Act Locally, Think Nationally

Within hours of Hurricane Katrina, the entire nation – including the Boys & Girls Club Movement – became focused on victims of the storm. “The number of local Clubs, area councils, professional associations, and individual board members and staff who immediately stepped up to offer help tells what kind of Movement we are,” says Perry Cooper, BGCA’s senior director of growth and collaboration strategies. Cooper served as coordinator for the many inquiries and donations to help relieve the three Gulf Coast organizations.

“Local Clubs offered to donate paid staff, raise money, utilize Keystone Clubs, and even use their own vacation time to volunteer,” he says.

What can we learn from a disaster of this magnitude? An organization needs to anticipate utilizing a support system that could include other Clubs, donors beyond their normal donor base, the federal government and others. Knowing who to reach out to in times of crisis is essential to survival. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, all Clubs should heed the words of the Southeast Louisiana CPO. “If the disaster is great enough,” says Bobby Smith, “you have to be prepared to re-create your service strategy – and perhaps your entire organization.”