Episode Details

20 years on, and the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina is still being felt.

The category three hurricane made landfall on August 29, 2005 devastating parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama – with New Orleans suffering catastrophic flooding due to levee failures.

About 80% of the city was inundated with water, and while a mandatory evacuation order was made just one day before landfall, many people – up to 150,000 – did not or simply could not leave.

The official death toll is believed to be nearly 1,400.

University of Albany professor of political science, Eric Stern, is with us to examine some of the painful lessons learned from Katrina.

Then, later we speak to Dr Lauren Vinnell, Massey University Senior Lecturer of Emergency Management, about how New Zealand’s systems have evolved over the years.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Chelsea Daniels
Editor/Producer: Richard Martin
Producer: Jane Yee

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.