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 Monday marks the beginning of the 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Season.  In the four years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we’ve heard much about lessons learned.  Hopefully, and especially for those who live on the Gulf Coast and spend one half of our lives in hurricane season, those lessons have been heeded. 

From the ultimate resignation of Michael D. Brown, the one-director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the months of finger pointing and blame-laying over what went wrong with the levees that crumbled and flooded New Orleans, new guidelines have been put in place to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.  It might be decades before we know if those guidelines will suffice.  Then again, it could be put to the test over the next several months.

Hopefully, the 1800-plus deaths that resulted during Katrina alone will be enough incentive for everyone to heed evacuation orders.  It’s doubtful since people have chosen to stay since the beginning of time; still, the horror and fear of the 911 calls that were released and told chilling stories of those who had nowhere to go and could only relay the hell of their last minutes will be enough to give folks pause to rethink their decisions to stay.

Perhaps the most disturbing after-effect of Katrina’s landfall was the kindness extended by Houstonians and the unfortunate cost to them.  By welcoming more than 150,000 New Orleanans, it was repaid with a 22% increase in violent crimes, unemployment rates that most of the rest of the country is just now beginning to see due to the recession and depleted coffers for social programs, hospitals and unemployment.  It was so bad, Houston police officials were forced to form a Gang Murder Squad to deal with the influx of criminals, many of whom were gang members who left their territory on New Orleans’ streets.  Its murders rose 20% in the year after Katrina and many, if not most, involved those relocated from New Orleans, either as the accused or the victim.  It’s estimated that the costs associated with the rise in crime after Katrina neared 18 million dollars. 

Baton Rouge welcomed 100,000 evacuees.  It had its share of crime as well.  As the police chief of that city, Jeff LeDuff, said, “I’m willing to be my brother’s keeper, but while my brother is in Baton Rouge, he must behave.”   Calls to the Baton Rouge police departments went from around 500 a day to over 750.  New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagan said at the time that they welcomed the city’s citizens to return home, but that they must be willing to work.  This left many in Houston and Baton Rouge to wonder what exactly the officials in New Orleans expected them to do with those who would not or could not work.

Sadly, should history repeat itself, neighboring cities will most likely be hesitant to be so welcoming to those most in need.  Then again, southern hospitality being what it is, there’s a good chance memories will be short when it comes to matters such as those.

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