Hurricane Katrina

25 May 2007 -- U.S. government forecasters say they expect a "very active" Atlantic hurricane season this year. That's bad news for the 153 million Americans who live on or near the nation's coastlines. Coastal communities are especially vulnerable to hurricanes, and the city of New Orleans, struck in 2005 by the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history, is still at great risk.    » read more »

May 15, 2007 -- NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has launched a sales program that will give eligible occupants the opportunity to buy their travel trailer, park model or mobile home.    » read more »

15 May 2007 -- The U.S. official in charge of emergency preparedness has pledged there will be no repeat of the chaotic government response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, saying federal authorities are ready to deal with the aftermath of any storm in the new hurricane season that officially begins on June 1, as well as other disasters.

The government's poor response to Hurricane Katrina which struck the Gulf coast causing severe damage, and overflowing levees in New Orleans, Louisiana, sparked a controversy over emergency management and intensified oversight by Congress.    » read more »

14 May 2007 -- Another controversy is brewing over how the Bush administration handled recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina -- this time over foreign assistance in the wake of the disaster. Recently released government documents show that while countries offered nearly one billion dollars in aid following the 2005 storm, relatively little has reached the disaster victims, because the government had no plan to handle the assistance.    » read more »