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Sara Calkins
LIS 881
Research Paper
In the Eye of the Hurricane: Disaster Planning and Hurricane Katrina
When the worst happens, the human elements of disaster relief understandably take
priority. When the storms clear and the damage left behind becomes apparent, however, archives
often find that priceless artifacts and critical records have been damaged or lost forever, even at
institutions where the golden standards of disaster prevention have been put into place. In 2005,
Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc across the southern United States, especially in New Orleans,
Louisiana, where the storm damaged the levees that usually protected the city from excessive
flooding. While many archives stuck to the best practices outlined by experts in the field, the
catastrophic nature of the storm simply overwhelmed their efforts, leaving behind important
lessons in preparation, response, and disaster planning for other institutions to learn from in order
to prevent future losses.
Archivist Gregory S. Hunter outlines the best practices in disaster prevention in four steps
(Hunter 189). First, an archive should define and identify vital records within the organization.
Documents with top priority in the hierarchy should include emergency operating records, or any
materials critical to the running of the organization such as emergency plans, staff contact
information, assignments, and orders of succession, and policy and procedure manuals. The next
priority is legal and financial records, including payroll documents, contracts, licenses, and any
other documentation needed to ensure the protection of the company and any clients or staff. As
these records will not be needed as immediately after a disaster, they can be stored further away

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than emergency operating records, but both types of materials should be prioritized in developing
methods of protection, followed by those documents and records which are difficult or
impossible to replace.
In the second step of disaster prevention and planning, archivists should anticipate
potential disasters for their area by understanding the nature of the likely types of disasters in
the archives location, examining the facility with an eye toward potential emergencies,
implementing simple solutions, and advocating more extensive precautions (Hunter 191). In the
example of flooding and water damage, an archive in an area prone to hurricanes or flooding
from local rivers should be sure to make precautions catered to those concerns, while also
keeping an eye out for potential flaws in their building structure that may not hold up in a storm.
Third, archive staff must devise methods of protection for any and all of these possible
emergency and disaster situations. This step includes three main methods of protection:
duplication and dispersal, on-site protection, and off-site storage. Duplication and dispersal
protections involve the creation of duplicate copies of critical and irreplaceable records to be
stored off-site. These records may be physical duplicates stored at other facilities, preferably
ones far from the path of a possible storm, or more cost-effective digitized copies to be stored in
protected servers or cloud storage. The second method, on-site protection, requires minimizing
possible damage to the documents that must be kept on site with fireproof or waterproof storage
and the placement of stored records. Standards recommend that records should be kept at least
four inches off the ground and twelve inches away from outer walls, with the most valuable and
critical records to be kept on the highest shelves (Hunter 194). Storage in basements or areas
with carpet is not recommended, and keeping materials near any pipes, heaters, or windows
should be avoided in case of emergency. The structure of the building itself should also be

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assessed for the ability to withstand wind and rain. The final method, off-site storage, requires
that the original copy of a document be stored off-site. This option may not be appropriate for
documents needed on a regular basis, though a duplicate could be kept on-site for reference.
Selecting an off-site storage facility also requires additional considerations, including security,
location in relation to possible disasters, and temperature and humidity controls.
The final step of disaster prevention is disaster planning. This process involves the
summarization of all previous brainstorming and using this summation to create a blueprint for
staff to follow when an actual emergency or disaster occurs. The typical disaster plan includes
four parts: an introduction, the establishment of authority and assignment of responsibilities,
recovery procedures, and appendices including important contacts, floor plans, and checklists.
The disaster plan itself is a vital record that should be protected with high priority. Once such a
plan is created, it should be approved by higher administrators and tested regularly, both for the
sake of preparedness and to allow for regular revision as needed. Testing is often a forgotten step
in creating a disaster plan, but having regular run-throughs of the strategy allows staff to become
comfortable with their roles and even make recommendations for any changes that may be
needed over time.
In his text Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives, Gregory Hunter also lays out
steps of response and recovery, from assessing the disaster situation to convening staff and
setting up a command post to ensuring the building is stable for entry. The most important steps,
however, are stopping the source of the problem and stabilizing the environment. These can be
among the hardest things to accomplish in the chaos of a disaster zone, but doing so successfully
dramatically increases the chances of saving materials. In order to fully stabilize the
environment, materials must be removed from the damage area as soon as possible. Restoration

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should never be attempted on site, nor should staff or volunteers attempt to press water out of
items or stack them together with water damage. Freezing is the best response for records in an
emergency state, as it buys time for recovery by delaying mold growth, which can begin within
forty-eight and seventy-two hours of water damage when the temperature is over seventy-five
degrees and humidity is greater than sixty percent (Hunter 194). This can be accomplished
during the removal process by specialty freezer trucks that can evacuate records while
simultaneously preventing further damage.
Many of these methods of prevention and response planning were in place at institutions
across New Orleans and the southern United States when Hurricane Katrina rolled in the week of
August 23, 2005, but no one could have predicted the catastrophic destruction the storm would
leave in its aftermath. According to Robert Lipscomb, director of the Harrison County Library
System in Mississippi, The best plan in the world wouldn't have saved this situation; this was
completely out of controlIt was just horrendous (Clareson and Long 38). Katrina affected
approximately 90,000 square miles across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, with an
estimated death toll ranging from 1,200-1,800 people and total property damage coming in at
nearly $108 billion. At one point nearly 80% of the city of New Orleans was under water, putting
infrastructure into a tailspin (Hurricane Katrina). As it should be in cases such as these, the
first priority was human life. Rescues and the accessibility of shelter, food, water, medical
treatment, and other necessities were paramount, meaning most archives were left in standing
water until these needs had been met.
Once necessities had been dealt with and the area began to settle, archivists were slowly
able to return to their collections, but the heavy damage done by the storm and ensuing
floodwaters quickly became apparent. Many collections in the area were destroyed or swept

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away completely by the rising waters, while many materials survived the storm only to be
damaged by the mold that accompanied high temperatures and humidity in the aftermath. No
electrical power meant the humidity and temperature surrounding the collections could no longer
be controlled. The result was a race against the clock, with mold forming within two to three
days under such conditions. The New Orleans Nortarial Archives, which hold the records of all
property transactions in the city, had to remove a total of 50,000 volumes from its basement
storage, but luckily only 2000 of these volumes had to be removed via freezer trucks to a
restoration firm near Chicago for mold treatments (Oder and Rogers 18). Nearby, cultural
heritage sites also took a hit, The modern Jefferson Davis presidential library still stands, but its
ground floor was swept clean by the storm. Swords, uniforms, and other relics were left strewn
about in the poststorm mud. Many artifactswere dragged back into the dark waters of the gulf
and lost forever (Jensen). University collections took a hit as well, with Tulanes Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, one of the few buildings on campus with a basement storage area,
accumulating a total of thirty to thirty-five million dollars in damages to its microform
collection, newspapers, internationally-known music collection, and a government documents
collection that dated from the 1880s (Skinner 181). While Belfor USA was able to restore about
seventy-five percent of the books and scores in the music collection through freeze-drying, other
materials were found to be a total loss and had to be discarded (Skinner 181).
With many staff displaced, evacuated, or even injured or missing in the devastation,
volunteers from organizations such as the Society of American Archivists tried to assist in
response and recovery. During the 2005 American Library Association conference, 900
volunteers worked at libraries and other sites to gut, clean, and take stock (Bailey 21). In most

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cases, however, there was no suitable housing or supplies for volunteers to stay amidst the
destruction, leaving institutions short-staffed with an overwhelming task ahead of them.
So where did disaster planning and prevention go wrong in the areas struck by Hurricane
Katrina? What can be learned from the destruction and damage done to so many archival
collections throughout New Orleans and other southern cities? To begin with, many in its path
underestimated Katrinas impact. As one library worker put it, We couldnt anticipate total
destruction (Oder 41). Local archives expected that their previous precautions, which had been
sufficient for their predecessors when Hurricane Camille struck in 1969, would be enough
protection for their collections in the coming storm (SAA 1). Important materials were moved to
higher shelves and even floors of the building, but in some cases even that was not enough to
protect from the overwhelming flood waters that came with the breaking of the levees in New
Orleans. In other cases, the records moved higher in the building were still left vulnerable to
damage when roofs and windows were torn from the building. Other institutions had standards
grounded even further in the past. New Orleans Public Library director Bill Johnson, noting that
the librarys most valuable holdings were stored underground, a precarious place in a city mostly
below sea level asked for an explanation only to be told that the space for the Louisiana
Division, which contains the city archives, was designed during the Cold War, when the fear of a
nuclear war trumped hurricane preparation (Oder and Rogers 18).
Long-standing standards and traditional response plans were no match for a storm of this
caliber. These plans generally envision the removal of damaged records from impacted areas
within a few days, but access to some of the neighborhoods damaged by Hurricane Katrina was
restricted for weeks by either the elements themselves or law enforcement who feared for the
safety of those entering the area. This left the collections under water during that time with no

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hope of repair, and many materials not originally damaged in the storm vulnerable to the onset of
mold in the aftermath. Furthermore, disaster plans expect that the staff assigned to each task
outlined in the plan will be available to complete their assigned duties. However, in the
devastation of Katrina, many staff had lost their homes, loved ones, or even their own lives to the
storm and its aftermath, leaving them incapable or unwilling to return to their posts, even if they
were able to access their archive. This left many institutions scrambling to make up for gaps in
their disaster plans by having staff take on additional tasks or filling in with volunteers
unfamiliar with the collections. This turned into an ongoing problem, with numerous institutions
experiencing unexpected retirements and resignations from those who chose not to return to
New Orleans following the catastrophe (Skinner 187).
Looking forward, archivists must take a serious look at what happened during Katrina
and its aftermath when planning for the future. In some cases, already existing principles of
disaster prevention were simply emphasized, In some ways it only reinforced what we already
know about emergencies large and small: Even a little preparedness makes a difference. One of
the most important things is to be aware of what you have and what you want to save first
(Clareson and Long 38). In most cases, however, lessons must be learned from all that went
wrong. The National Weather Service has reported at the time that the United States is in a
cycle of increased hurricane activity in the North Atlantic that could last another 10 to 20 years
(Clareson and Long 39). As such, it should be expected that such a catastrophic event is likely to
happen again.
The first lesson to be learned for archivists, librarians, and other staff is to expect the
catastrophic. Of course, most disasters and emergencies experienced in an archive will not be as
wholly devastating as Hurricane Katrina, but if preparations are made with catastrophe in mind,

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institutions should be better prepared for any smaller calamity they are met with as well. The
first step is to work this expectation for catastrophe into disaster planning. As it is, The Heritage
Health Index found that 80% of all U.S. collecting institutions and 78% of libraries do not have a
written emergency/disaster plan that includes collections with staff trained to carry it out
(Clareson and Long 40). In these cases, the first priority would be for these organizations to
create and document a disaster plan that will work for their institution as soon as possible. One
thing often missed in this process is the inclusion of local law enforcement and emergency
personnel in emergency planning and vice versa. According to Carma Fauntleroy, interim
director of the Louisiana State Museum at the time of Katrina, museums really need to be
integrated into local emergency management plans. Then we're not educating them on the
importance of our collections at the last minute" (Clareson and Long 39). For those who already
have a plan in place, testing and training on that plan should be dramatically increased according
to Julia Young, the director of the Archives and Library Division of the Mississippi Department
of Archives and History. Young recommends that disaster training in archives be more realistic
and more frequent, Training needs to teach people critical thinking and flexibility, not just how
to deal with artifacts and collectionsYou never know what the next day is going to bring
(Clareson and Long 39).
The second lesson to be learned from Katrinas chaos is improved communication
planning. Most disaster plans assume that traditional methods of communication will be
accessible in an emergency, but the phone trees and contact lists outlined in institutions disaster
plans were meaningless in the face of Katrina. As New Orleans City Librarian Bill Johnson put
it, "The whole thing has been nontraditional from day oneYour organizational structure
implodes. Who do you call when the phone doesn't work? (Oder 40). Alternative methods of

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communication and checking in must be put in line. One report recommends, In a worst case
scenario, assume no regular telephone service, no cell phone, little mass media, and no internet
service (Wall 195). Instead of expecting office emails and phone numbers to suffice, multiple
methods of contact for staff members should be kept within the disaster plan, including cell
phone, home phone numbers, home addresses, personal emails, and emergency contacts. While
this cannot guarantee the ability to get in touch with employees in the aftermath of a storm, it at
least increase the chances of communication by diversifying the methods available. This
provides not only the ability to outreach employees for response and recovery purposes, but also
simply to assure that staff members have made it through the storm without injury.
The third lesson to be learned from Hurricane Katrina is a greater emphasis on
duplication and dispersal to off-site storage as the only preservation method truly adequate for
such a catastrophic event. In this technological age, with technology even more developed now
than it was a decade ago when Katrina hit, the best way to accomplish this preservation is
through digitization. As one report put it, In the wake of Katrina, relying on paper-based records
- which are fragile and easily disintegrate in water, heat, and wind - seems terribly risky and outof-date. Local leaders, volunteer organizations, and the federal government havecalled for the
nation to move from paper records to electronic records that can be backed up, stored offsite, and
easily moved to a safe place in the event of a disaster (Swartz 26). In instances where
digitization is not feasible, however, a kind of buddy system for off-site storage has been
proposed by the Society of American Archivists as a solution. Their report states, State
archives, local governments, and private record repositories could institute buddy systems with
comparable repositories in other states far removed (geographically) from their own. Buddy
repositories might store copies of vital records for each other or provide a single point of contact

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for staff displaced by major disasters (SAA 6). In any event, irreplaceable records and
documents cannot be expected to survive the storm if the one and only copy is held right in its
path.
Finally, the support of the archival community, both financial and otherwise, can be a
huge boost to institutions and communities suffering the impact of disasters and emergency
situations. This was true in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in which the National
Endowment for the Humanities made over $1 million available for emergency grants to
institutions throughout the Gulf Coast areas (Oder and Rogers 20). The American Library
Association raised an additional $500,000 for libraries in the affected areas in the first few
months following the storm (Bailey 21). Financial support is not all that is needed however, and
many organizations can attempt to fill other needs through offers of supplies, expertise, advice,
volunteers, and even jobs. The Henry Madden Library of the California State University-Fresno
declared they would hire a librarian displaced or unemployed because of Katrina, while the
library at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb offered a six-month appointment to a displaced
librarian (Oder and Rogers 20).
Moving forward, the Society of American Archivists has recommended additional
supports in the form of mobile response units and laboratories that can be dispatched to disaster
areas to provide immediate relief and recovery and begin the restoration processes as soon as
possible. Such response units would additionally require contracts with companies that could
provide freezer trucks to the area as soon as possible to evacuate records to labs outside the area
as needed (SAA 6). One additional suggestion that is particularly interesting is a toll-free hotline
for the general public to seek advice in restoring personal documents and books ravaged by the
storm, an idea which could be implemented nationwide (SAA 4).

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It is difficult to consider the possibility of facing the kind of destruction Hurricane

Katrina wrought on the southern United States. Without the disaster planning already in place at
the time, however, the losses to cultural history and critical record keeping throughout the South
could have been even greater. Looking to a future which could easily hold another such storm or
similar disaster, archivists must do all they can to learn from the lessons of Katrina by expecting
the catastrophic, strengthening disaster plans for communication, improving duplication and
dispersal methods, and devising additional ways for the archival community as a whole to
support disaster relief. It is only through working together and learning from each other that the
archival community can best protect itself from the whims of Mother Nature.

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Works Cited
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Hurricane Katrina." American Libraries 37.7 (2006): 38-41. Academic Search Complete. Web.
25 Apr. 2016.
Hunter, Gregory S. Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives: A How-to-do-it Manual.
New York: Neal-Schuman, 2003. Print.
"Hurricane Katrina." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
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Wall, Kay L. "Lessons Learned From Katrina: What Really Matters In A Disaster." Public
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