Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

This being the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the media is full of images and stories about the incident. Theres the usual “When we first met Mr. So-And-So when he was at the Superdome after being rescued from his roof…..” stories that show survivors in their new locales and new lives. It’s disturbing how many people are still living in FEMA trailers. If you cant get your life together in five years you have bigger problems than the weather.

More than anything else Katrina was invaluable at showing what does and does not happen when the wheels fly off civilization in a big way. Did the federal goveernment drop the ball? You bet. But everyone seems quick to give a free pass to Mayor “Chocolate City” Nagin and to the governor of Louisiana who were probably more responsible for New Orleans’ well-being than the fedgov. But, it was the era of Bush-hating so those two get a free pass.

Lessons learned? Don’t expect .gov, local or federal, to be anything but a possible threat. The New Orleans PD had a worst-case scenario on their hands and while some of their number stayed and did their jobs, many did not and some became part of the problem. It appears that the only real help or assistance either came from the survivors and victims themselves or from private charities. In short, it was probably best not to have much to do with any ‘official’ rescue agents.

Do you think these people learned anything? Some of them did, Im sure. Many of them moved away which was probably the best thing considering that New Orleans is below sea level and thus just going to get flooded again eventually. Really, it was a dumb place to put a city and no amount of cheerleading and public relations will change the fact that water flows downhill and New Orleans is at the bottom of that hill. Hopefully those that decided to stay on will have learned to be a bit better prepared.

Overall, I think the absolute biggest lesson of Katrina, which should be obvious to most folks, is that when every source of news tells you that an apocalyptic hurricane will be on your doorstep in 48 hours you should get in the car, hop on the bus, get on your bike and……leave.  Dont be there. Go visit Cousin Dave in Ohio for a week. If you decide that youre going to stay, dont be half-assed about it. Food, water, fuel, ammo, commo…the whole nine yards. But, in the long run, its probably cheaper to just get a room at the Super 8 in Nashville for a week.

It’s interesting to watch the images and videos from Katrina but its also frustrating…Katrina had the potential to be the catalyst for a new era of domestic preparedness, the way Sputnik kickstarted American space technology. In the end, though, it doesnt seem like much has changed on a national level. In a few years another hurricane will blow in, some southern coastal region will get wiped out and it’ll be the same story all over again.

Would I live in New Orleans today? Sure. But I’d do so knowing full well that its on a bullseye and that if I were to live there I’d have to either a) be uber-prepared or b)be ready to leave for a week or two on a moments notice. Of course, both would be the safe way to play it………